I am an enthusiast of the pre-war de Havilland civil aircraft designs and production, and collect airframe and engine related historical artefacts and own an extensive collection of original DH Manuals on both airframes and engines.
The DH86 was designed and progressed quickly to meet an Imperial Airways / QANTAS England to Australia Air mail requirement.
It was originally concepted as a 4 engined development of the DH84 Dragon and initially even proposed to be called the Dragon Express, later known as the DH86 Express Airliner or simply DH86 Express.
Recently I saw a red coloured DH86 Express Manual that I did not have in my collection, despite having a number of the more common green DH86A Express Manual.
I have not seen a specific DH86B Manual and believe that was achieved via addendums to the DH86A Manual.
My Green DH86A Manual refers to the installation of Gipsy Six Series I and Gipsy Six Series II Engines and the propellers associated with those installations.
Surprisingly, and perhaps part of the original design based on the concept of a 4 engined DH Dragon, my Red DH86 Manual refers to both Gipsy Six and Gipsy Major Engines and the propellers associated with those installations.
I have never seen any other recorded reference to consideration of installing 4 cylinder Gipsy Majors into a DH86?
The prototype first flew in January 1934, as a single pilot cockpit layout, which QANTAS rejected, and a two pilot cockpit was developed as the DH86A.
First flown with wooden fixed pitch props and Gipsy Six series I engines, later examples had metal constant speed props and Gipsy Six series II engines.
Later stability issues resulted in the development of the DH86B and modifications such as the fitting of auxilliary fins to the tailplane.
A total of 15 D.H.86s, D.H.86As and D.H.86Bs operated commercially within Australia and New Guinea up to the outbreak of World War II.
A total of 62 D.H.86s of all types were built. Most of those still flying in Europe at start of World War II, except for the Railway Air Services aircraft, were taken into military service, mostly for communications and radio navigational training.
A few Expresses survived the war and were used by UK air charter operators until the last example was burnt out in 1958.
By: Sopwith - 28th January 2025 at 16:52
By: Sopwith - 28th January 2025 at 16:52
Hello Mark PM replied
By: mark_pilkington - 27th January 2025 at 11:09
By: mark_pilkington - 27th January 2025 at 11:09
Hello Sopwith – PM sent.
By: Mothminor - 2nd February 2024 at 10:56
Info from the “Flight” article of 25th Jan 1934 –
The decision to produce the Gipsy Six was taken sometime in July of 1933; first drawing to the works on July 24th; first engine ready to run on 29th September and on October 22nd four engines were ready for installation and one engine ready for type tests which were completed on December 19th.
That seems quite impressive!
By: mark_pilkington - 2nd February 2024 at 05:54
The Gispy Six must have been designed in 1933 and physically in production in 1934 as all of the produced DH86 aircraft including the Prototype E2 that first flew on 14 January 1934 were fitted with four Gipsy Six engines. By the end of 1934 a total of 14 production examples had been built, flown and delivered to various customers including Holymans and QANTAS in Australia., each fitted with four Gipsy Six engines, requiring engine production to have reached at least 60 by that time.
Hamlins / Air Britain book on the Dragon / Rapide Family lists all the DH86 Express aircraft in a chapter dedicated to the type, there is no mention of the Gipsy Major option? or one ever flying with Gipsy Majors.
I can only assume it was intended to offer it with the Gipsy Majors at some time and perhaps the weight and performance of the prototype with fixed pitch Gipsy Six engines convinced the company that the 4 cylinder engine version was not viable (or cost effective?)
By: Mothminor - 1st February 2024 at 14:42
Very early 1934, dhfan. The prototype DH86 flew on 14th January that year. The Gipsy Six (“the latest type of de Havilland engine”) was reviewed in Flight magazine of the 25th January.
By: dhfan - 1st February 2024 at 12:21
The Gipsy Six must have already existed by early 1934 as the uprated Gipsy Six R was used in DH.88 Comets in the MacRobertson air race in October 1934.
By: Mothminor - 31st January 2024 at 19:32
Hi Mark, “de Havilland Aircraft since 1909” states that “during construction of the first DH86 airframe Major Halford produced the Gipsy Six and the first of these was rushed through Air Ministry type tests in time for the prototype DH86’s first flight”
Possibly they had realised the Gipsy Majors would result in an underpowered aircraft hence the rush to get the Gipsy Six ready?
By: Sopwith - 31st January 2024 at 18:33
Thanks Mark, that sounds a reasonable assumption regarding the Gipsy Majors and thanks avion ancien, I am presuming that it was going to be a non flying replica. Guessing it never came off as in one of the posts it mentioned that Geoff was 61 then so that would make him 77 now and it would be s massive undertaking for one man.
By: dhfan - 31st January 2024 at 17:20
I wonder if the Gipsy Major was considered as they were built in Australia and the Gipsy Six wasn’t.
With around a third less power that would have resulted in a seriously under-powered aeroplane.
By: avion ancien - 31st January 2024 at 14:45
I hadn’t heard about Geoff Reichelts’s full scale replica, where abouts was this one being built avion ancien?
It was mentioned on this forum back in 2008 (see https://www.key.aero/forum/historic-aviation/86233-dh-86-express?page=1 page 2) but I haven’t found anything more recent about it. The project was to have been undertaken in Australia, I believe.
By: Arabella-Cox - 31st January 2024 at 14:18
Mark, the date of DH engine development is perhaps key to answering your question.
My understanding is that the Gipsy Six, developed from the Gipsy Major, became available from c.1935. The Gipsy Queen, developed from the -Six, became available c.1936.
By: mark_pilkington - 31st January 2024 at 13:44
@Sopwith
I don’t believe any Gipsy Major variants were ever built, there is no reference to Gipsy Majors in my Green DH86A Manual and hence I suspect the Red DH86 Manual may have been printed very early in the types development and that “option” either never attracted any interest by customers or was resolved to be “underpowered” and deleted as an “option” by the manufacturer?
Unitl I acquired and read my new Red Manual, I had never seen any reference to putting Gipsy Majors in a DH86.
By: Sopwith - 31st January 2024 at 12:32
I have got the red covered instruction manual of the dh86 which I picked up a few years ago, I unfortunately missed out on a few more dh manuals from the same place but I am really chuffed that I managed to get the dh86 one.I wonder how many Gipsy Major engined one’s were built. I hadn’t heard about Geoff Reichelts’s full scale replica, where abouts was this one being built avion ancien?
By: avion ancien - 31st January 2024 at 09:34
Despite its accident (burst tyre and ground loop on landing) and heavy handed removal from the runway in 1958, G-ACZP survived until 1963 before being put to the torch by the firemen at Madrid-Barajas Airport.
p.s. what happened to Geoff Reichelt’s project (c. 2008) to build a full scale replica of a D.H.86?
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January 31, 2024 at 1:27 am