De Havilland Heron - Design and Development

Design and Development

Immediately after the Second World War, the aircraft manufacturer de Havilland developed the DH.104 Dove, a small two-engined passenger aircraft intended as a replacement for the earlier Dragon Rapide, and which soon proved to be successful. As a further development, the company basically enlarged the Dove; the fuselage was lengthened to make room for more passengers or freight, and the wingspan was increased to make room for two more engines. The Heron was of all-metal construction, and was laid out as a conventional design; the resulting aircraft could use many of the parts originally designed for the Dove, thus simplifying logistics for airlines using both types.

The emphasis was on rugged simplicity to produce an economical aircraft for short to medium stage routes in isolated and remote areas which did not possess modern airports. The Heron was designed with a fixed undercarriage and reliable ungeared unsupercharged Gipsy Queen 30 engines.

The Heron prototype registered to the de Havilland Aircraft Company, Hatfield, UK as G-ALZL undertook its first flight with Geoffrey Pike at the controls on 10 May 1950. The aircraft was unpainted at the time, and after 100 hours of testing, was introduced to the public on 8 September 1950 at the Farnborough Airshow, still glistening in its polished metal state. By November, the prototype had received its formal British Certificate of Airworthiness and had embarked to Khartoum and Nairobi for tropical trials.

The prototype was then painted and "prepped" as a company demonstrator, undergoing a trial in 1951 with British European Airways on their Scottish routes. Following the successful completion of the prototype trials as a regional airliner, the Heron began series production. The first deliveries were to National Airways Corporation (NAC, later part of Air New Zealand).

Basic price for a new Heron in 1960 was around £60,000 minus radio.