How many DhDragonRapides are still flying ?

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15 years 2 months

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I am very fond of this airliner; http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=2reROkW_jc0&feature=endscreen

Original post

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12 years 11 months

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I do remember well, as a nipper, standing on tiptoe grasping the rails that ran around the outside of Croydon Airport near to the Terminal entrance watching De Havilland Rapides arriving just a few feet above my head. What a thrill for a kid! Look at a Rapide and you are straight back to the 1930's.

My uncle and his family lived just a couple of hundred yards from the Airport entrance, on one side of the enormous, I believe, Olympic sized swimming and diving pool. They were in their garden when the airport was attacked by Me 109s and 110's. They were either seen in their garden hanging our some washing and were then strafed or, stray bullets stitched a pattern across their washing as it hung on the line.

Exciting times.

John Green

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18 years 11 months

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Yes. Let me open the link for you. UK, Spain, France, NZ, Oz, Germany and USA. ;)

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24 years 2 months

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The list is somewhat out of date. At least 2 of those listed as 'under restoration' have flown, at least one listed as 'airworthy' has been parked up for quite a few years now. And didn't the German one get broken last year?

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18 years 11 months

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Hope not as I flew on it last year! :)

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19 years 5 months

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In a related matter, in the new Trade-A-Plane I see an airworthy Dragonfly is being offered at $2.3 million in NZ.

Somehow, I don't think it will sell at that price.

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24 years 2 months

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Hope not as I flew on it last year! :)

Before or after Hahnweide?

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18 years 11 months

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Before, what do you know? :D

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24 years 2 months

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I believe the damage was done during the Hahnweide weekend when it was caught in the eflux from an airliner at Frankfurt airport whilst the Rapide was being used as a shuttle between Hahnweide and Frankfurt. I'm not sure how serious the damage was or whether it has been repaired.

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18 years 11 months

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In a related matter, in the new Trade-A-Plane I see an airworthy Dragonfly is being offered at $2.3 million in NZ.

Somehow, I don't think it will sell at that price.

I dont think so either, its a nice machine but certainly not $2.3 mill nice.

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15 years 2 months

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How about a retro Dh Dragon Rapide with 2 x 912 ULS for 9 people..lighter than original etc.

£ 800 000 worth ?

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15 years 2 months

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Rapide beats all commuters in economy ?

I did some calculations and I figured that only the big jets flying high fully laden beat the economy you get when operating a DH89 Dragon Rapide....all faster prop planes are less economical.

Is there a lesson to be learned from this ?

:cool: