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De Havilland Dove (Devon), Latest Corgi and Oxford Diecast Model Arrivals and Hobbymaster Special Sale offers !

06/10/2017 By Richard Darling

de Havilland Dove

The de Havilland DH.104 Dove was a British short-haul airliner developed and manufactured by de Havilland. It was a monoplane successor to the prewar de Havilland Dragon Rapide biplane. The design came about from the Brabazon Committee report which, amongst other aircraft types, called for a British-designed short-haul feeder for airlines.

RAE De Havilland Devon C.2

The Dove was a popular aircraft and is considered to be one of Britain’s most successful postwar civil designs, in excess of 500 aircraft being manufactured between 1946 and 1967. Several military variants were operated, such as the Devon by the Royal Air Force, the Sea Devon by the Royal Navy and the type also saw service with a number of overseas military forces.

A longer four-engined development of the Dove, intended for use in the less developed areas of the world, was the de Havilland Heron. A considerably re-designed three-engined variant of the Dove was built in Australia as the de Havilland Australia DHA-3 Drover.

Early production Dove 1 of Skyways in June 1948

The development team for the Dove was headed by Ronald Eric Bishop, the creator of the de Havilland Mosquito, a wartime fighter-bomber, and the de Havilland Comet, the first commercial jet aircraft in the world. It had been developed to meet the Type VB requirement issued by the Brabazon Committee. In concept, the Dove was developed to be the replacement of the prewar de Havilland Dragon Rapide. It was also required to be competitive with the large numbers of surplus military transports in the aftermath of the Second World War, such as the Douglas DC-3. Unlike the Dragon Rapide, the Dove made use of a structure entirely of metal. It also featured other innovations of the time, including constant-speed propellers, flaps, and a retractable tricycle undercarriage.

In 1946, aviation magazine Flight praised the qualities of the newly developed Dove, noting its “modernity” as well as the aircraft’s load-carrying capacity, safe engine-failure performance, and positive maintenance features. Considerable attention was paid to aspects of maintainability, many of the components being designed to be interchangeable and easy to remove or replace, such as the rudder, elevator, and power units; other areas include the mounting of the engines upon four quick-release pickup points, the routing of cables and piping, and detachable wings and tail cone. The extensive use of special Redux metal-bonding adhesives reduced the need for riveting during the manufacturing process, reducing overall weight and air-skin friction.

XJ319 DH104 Sea Devon Royal Navy LPL 1964

While standard passenger versions of the Dove would carry between eight and eleven passengers, the cabin was designed to allow operators to convert between higher and lower density seating configurations. Features such as a single aircraft lavatory and an aft luggage compartment could be removed to provide for increased seating capacity. Various specialised models were produced for other roles, such as aerial survey, air ambulance, and flying classroom. Strengthened cabin floor structure was used to enable concentrated freight loads to be carried as well. The Dove could also serve as a dedicated executive transport, and in such a configuration it was capable of seating a total of five passengers; the executive model proved to be popular with various overseas customers, particularly those in the United States.

The crew typically consisted of a pilot and radio operator. However, rapidly removable dual flight controls could be installed for a second flying crewmember instead. A combination of large windows and a transparent perspex cabin roof provided a high level of visibility from the cockpit. From a piloting perspective, the Dove was observed for possessing easy flying qualities and mild stall qualities. A TKS anti-icing system was available for the Dove, involving an alcohol-based jelly delivered via porous metal strips embedded on the leading edges of the wings and tail.

de Havilland DH.104 Dove VH-DHI in the air

In September 1945, the first Dove conducted its maiden flight; in December 1946, the first in-service flight for Central African Airways took place. Production of the Dove and its variants totalled 542 units, including 127 military-orientated Devons and 13 Sea Devons. The first deliveries to customers took place in Summer 1946, while the final example of the type was delivered in 1967. Initial production of the Dove was performed at de Havilland’s Hatfield factory, but from the early 1950s onwards, the majority of aircraft were built at the company’s Broughton facility near Chester.

The Dove first flew on 25th September 1945. From summer 1946 large numbers were sold to scheduled and charter airlines around the world, replacing and supplementing the prewar designed de Havilland Dragon Rapide and other older designs.

The largest order for the Dove was placed by Argentina, which ultimately took delivery of 70 aircraft, the majority of which were used by the Argentine Air Force. LAN Chile took delivery of twelve examples and these were operated from 1949 onwards until the aircraft were sold to several small regional airlines in the United States in 1954.

In excess of 50 Doves were sold to various operators in the United States by Jack Riley, an overseas distributor for the type. De Havilland later assumed direct control of U.S. sales, however did not manage to match this early commercial success for the type.

RNZAF Devon C.1 of 42 Squadron at Wellington Airport in 1971

An initial batch of 30 Devons was delivered to the Royal Air Force, these aircraft were used as VIP and light transports for over 30 years. The Royal New Zealand Air Force acquired 30 Devons between 1948 and 1954 and these remained in service for VIP, crew-training and light transport duties into the 1970s.

The Biafran Air Force operated a single Dove during the Nigerian Civil War, the aircraft was lost and subsequently found in 1970 on the premises of a school in Uli. A second US-registered Riley Dove N477PM delivered in 1967 to Port Harcourt from Switzerland never reached Biafra because it was stopped by Algerian authorities.

A few Doves and civilianised Devons remain in use in 2011 in the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and elsewhere with small commercial firms and with private pilot owners.

DH104 Dove G-AROI British Eagle  ( The subject of Oxford Diecast latest release below)


 

Oxford Diecast 1/72nd scale Dove and Devon models available from Flying Tigers.

The latest arrivals from Oxford Diecast includes 72DV004 Oxford Diecast de Havilland DH104 Dove G-AROI British Eagle. Please click on the image or link below to go straight to the model pages.

72DV004 Oxford Diecast 1/72nd scale de Havilland DH104 Dove G-AROI British Eagle  RRP £35.00  Flying Tigers only £27.99

72DV003 Oxford Diecast 1/72nd scale DH104 Devon VP975 Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE)  RRP £35.00  Flying Tigers only £28.99

72DV002 De Havilland 1/72nd scale Sea Devon 781 Sqn. RNAS Admirals Barge  RRP £35.00  Flying Tigers only £28.99

72DV001 Oxford Diecast 1/72nd scale DH Dove Dan Air  RRP £35.00  Flying Tigers only £29.99


 

Latest Model arrivals from Corgi Aviation Archive, Aviation 72  and Oxford Diecast this week !

There have been a number of other new model arrivals this week along with the 72DV004 Oxford Diecast de Havilland DH104 Dove G-AROI British Eagle shown above. Please click on the images below to go to the model of your choice or CLICK HERE to see them all.

AA27503 Corgi Aviation Archive 1/72nd scale Short Sunderland MkIII W3999 RB-Y 10 Squadron RAAF, Mount Batten Early 1942  RRP £160.00  Flying Tigers only £143.99

AA38306 Corgi Aviation Archive 1/48th scale Fokker Dr.I Triplane, 213/17 ‘K’, Lt. Friederich Kempf, Jasta 2, Pronville Aerodrome 1917  RRP £55.00  Flying Tigers only £49.49

AV7223005 Aviation 72  1/72nd scale Hawker Sea Hawk Reserve 1980s Royal Navy WV826 Z/147  RRP £35.00  Flying Tigers only £31.99

72TM009 Oxford Diecast 1/72nd scale DH Tiger Moth Floatplane Royal Navy T7187  RRP £30.00  Flying Tigers only £26.99

 

Hobbymaster Special Sale offers !

I have put together a limited stock sale offer on Hobbymaster for this weekend. These are special purchases at great prices but with very limited stocks ! If you want any of these for your collection…grab yourself a bargain as the stock will not last long at these prices ! Please click on the model of your choice to go straight to the model page or CLICK HERE to see them all.

I am sorry if you miss out… I have limited stock of each model, but the offer should last the weekend .

HA1427 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale Douglas A-4C Skyhawk “MIG-17 Killer” BuNo 148609, VA-76, USS Bon Homme Richard, 1st May, 1967  RRP £76.00  Flying Tigers only £39.99 !

HA1976 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale McDonnell Douglas F-4N Phantom II 150415, VF-84, USS Roosevelt, over Mount Etna,1975  RRP £88.00  Flying Tigers only £64.99 !

HA4704 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale RA-5C Vigilante 156642, USS Independence, 1970s  RRP £106.00  Flying Tigers only £64.99 !

HA5401 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale T-38A Talon “Chase Plane” N923NA, STS-3 Mission for Space Shuttle “Columbia”, New Mexico, USA, 30th March 1982  RRP £68.00  Flying Tigers only £29.99 !

HA3844 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale Lockheed F-16C Block 30 Fighting Falcon 86-0290, 18th Aggressor Squadron Commander, 2008  RRP £82.00  Flying Tigers only £49.99 !

HA3537 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale McDonnell Douglas CF-18A Hornet “Nightmare 01” 188761, 409 Sqn., CAF, 2006  RRP £84.00  Flying Tigers only £59.99 !

HA4906 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale Lockheed S-3A Viking 160138, VS-24 “Scouts”, 1978  RRP £114.00  Flying Tigers only £79.99 !

HA3535 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale F/A-18A Hornet A21-27, 75 Sqn., RAAF, 2003  RRP £80.00  Flying Tigers only £49.99 !

HA5002 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale Grumman EA-6B Prowler 161120, VAQ-133 “Wizards”, Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, 2007  RRP £108.00  Flying Tigers only £69.99 !

 

That is all for this week.  Happy bargain hunting !

Richard.

Flying Tigers.

Filed Under: Newsletter Tagged With: Corgi Aviation Archive, Newsletter, Oxford Aviation, Hobbymaster sale, Oxford Diecast, Aviation 72, Flying Tigers Newsletter, de Havilland Dove, de Havilland Devon

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