When did the dH86 beome extinct?

Two little bits
The Bellamy DH86 was last actually reported at Madrid summer 1959, after that time is guesswork/wishful thinking.
The TC-ERK reported in 1959 – was by that time a DH89

Yes a static fibreglass replica…In post #15 there’s a link to the thread ‘DH86 First and Last'(2008) and Geoff R comes in at post#18 on that

Gentlemen……………..

Very many thanks for all the contributions: in particular Graham for your infomation on the projected Viv Bellamy / Adrian Swire recontruction: great shame that time and money ran out on them. Also AA for the Turkish leads, I will try to follow them up. Just have in my head there MIGHT be someting there. Nothing to go, a lomg time back but just have a nagging feeling something COULD be there, even after all this time. Would be great to hear from someone who could confirm (or otherwise ) their demise.

Take it Geoff Reichelt’s project is the Australian non flyer??

Planemike

Any news on Geoff Reichelt’s DH86 replica project?

The one I would have liked to have seen in reality the most was still the DH.91 Albatross. I guess that’s got to be an order of magnitude more unlikely than seeing an ’86 rebuilt from the bits that are left!

Bit of thread drift…one almost extinct type which could be fully restored (IMHO) is the Spartan Cruiser ,’North of the Border’
It would indeed be nice to find some photos/info about Turkish or Egyptian DH86s on the net…a swift look at flickr produces just British and Australian examples

De Havilland DH-86 by San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives, on Flickr

Royal Mail plane, Launceston aerodrome by boobook48, on Flickr

De Havilland DH86 1936 by Austin7nut, on Flickr

My memory of G-ACZP was of it flying back and forth to the Isle of Man when it was operating for Lancashire Aircraft Corporation. At that time it was in the LAC house colours of a light duck egg blue with a red cheat line. Looking up my very amateur photographs of those days at Squires Gate I came across a shot of DH86B G-ADUF taken in August 1950. According to G-INFO it went to Gulf Aviation in 1952. I wonder if any bits remain?

See MacArthur Job’s accounts of the accidents.

MacArthur Job did a quite remarkable investigation into the antipodean accidents and makes facinating reading – he made use of some of the drawings and A&AEE data I used for an earlier article in Alan Forburg’s ‘Wingspan’ magazine.

Certainly the DH86 was a hurried design and not one of DH’s best. The changes converting it from a single pilot nose to two crew operation and the tail trim design and operation all conspired to create a whole series of handling problems as the large number of A&AEE Investigation Reports demonstrated. Amongst these problems A&AEE discovered was a fairly large number of rigging ‘inconsistencies’ across the fleet. There was a real and very serious problem with the vertical fin trim mechanism that was prone to jamming.

Is there any posibility any of the remains of the Turkish deH86s may have survived. Do we have any forum members in Turkey?

I don’t know of any Turkish members of this forum but take a look at http://www.tayyareci.com/digerucaklar/turkiye/1951ve2006/mkek-ugur.asp and perhaps it might be worthwhile to e-mail [email]m_h_sevel@yahoo.com[/email] and ask the question of him. If he can’t help, he may be able to point you in the direction of someone who might be able to do so. Furthermore you may find some useful contacts listed at http://www.tuncay-deniz.com/LINKS/links.html.

Wasn’t the type a bit of a death trap?

Initially, yes, it was (although the de Havillandites never admit anything DH was as awful as some of them were). Several fatal accidents and a major loss of confidence in the type, as well as shock at a poor DH response, and the British response to Antipodean concerns about the type.

See MacArthur Job’s accounts of the accidents.

That said, most of the issues were addressed, and it made a very sleek looking aircraft later in the career. But compared to the contemporary US alternatives it was a pretty, slow, awkward, tea-chest.

Regards,

Western Desert Ambulance use of DH86

http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?imgurl=32bad9d81022c13e
http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?imgurl=8d610ba2bc38a94b

and a link to earlier thread on DH86, mainly single pilot type
http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?p=1306117

and the prototype
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/3067405/Hulton-Archive

The last Kiwi DH86 – NZ553 ex ZK-AEG/NZ553/ZK-AHW – was broken up at Ohakea 1946 The fuselage was sold to G E Tynan for £5/10/- who planned to use it as a chicken house.
Maybe we should check out the chook farms in the Manawatu area?

Let’s re-open Croydon as well!

Interesting stuff, I hadn’t heard of there being anything surviving.
If a rebuild had occurred, would it really have been cleared to fly by the CAA? Wasn’t the type a bit of a death trap?

I have G-ACZP in my spotters logbook at Kidlington 1958 but have no visual memory of it!

Red and yellow, red and yellow!!!!!!!! although I would describe it as more a light custard colour. 🙂

http://www.abpic.co.uk/photo/1026440/

It was in a DH 86 that he had his first flight, so he always wanted to see one fly again.

Dave

Mike could be a strange person at times – very multi-faceted. Sometimes he was very open, sometimes very secretive. I remember when he and I took the RAeS Sir Frederick Tymns Memorial Lecture that we put together about Capt Ted Fresson up to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland there was much talk about the ’86 and the associated ‘Project X’ as it was called. Out would come his wallet and the picture of him as a child with his father in front of one of the Air Council Express’ – then he would then suddenly clam up and dissapear, only showing up just as the lecture was about to start!

And look at that one!
http://images.google.com/hosted/life/f?imgurl=e60c6962b9d11172

DH-86 TC-GEN

Interesting thread. Couple of tantalising glimpses of TC-GEN in a LIFE photo essay about Turkey 1942, with the Libs interned after the first Ploesti raid
http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?imgurl=ca35ebc48eb7d97e
http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?imgurl=7008e711afc2c6e3

I have G-ACZP in my spotters logbook at Kidlington 1958 but have no visual memory of it!

Heck, I would have loved to have seen a DH86. Beautiful looking aircraft IMHO.

I remember many conversion’s with Mike Russell and other aircraft restorer’s about getting a DH86 built. He always thought one would be built in the near future. It was in a DH 86 that he had his first flight, so he always wanted to see one fly again.

Dave