de Havilland DH114 Heron Mk.2D
Aircraft overview:
Designed at Hatfield, and first flown in 1950, the Heron feeder airliner was effectively a stretched four-engine version of the Dove. It was unpressurised, flown by a crew of two and able to carry up to 17 passengers, or 14 with a lavatory compartment fitted. It used Dove outer wing panels, and Dove nose and tail units joined by an extended fuselage. As with the Dove, the airframe, engines and propellers were all made by de Havilland. Intended for ‘outback’ operations into airfields with minimal facilities, the Heron Mk.1 was designed for simplicity, with two-bladed non-geared propellers, non-supercharged engines, and a fixed tricycle undercarriage. But the four engines and constant speed airscrews gave it good short-field capability. First flown in 1952, the Heron Mk.2 was intended for wider use and became the main production version. The pneumatically-retracting undercarriage added cost and weight but improved fuel consumption and cruise speed. Later changes included a broader chord rudder and fully feathering propellers, both aiding engine-out control. Among sub-variants, the Mk.2D had an executive interior, and could operate at higher all-up weight. Differences from the Dove include; the use of pneumatic rubber de-icing boots on wing and tail leading edges, engine oil coolers in the wings fed from leading-edge intakes between the engines. The cockpit dome carries an ADF blister with a curved support for the MF/HF aerial wire. In total, 150 Herons were built.
Aircraft specifications:
Power Unit: Four 250 hp de Havilland Gipsy Queen 30 Mk.2
Wing Span: 71 ft (21.64 m)
All-Up Weight (A.U.W): 13,500 lb (6,123 kg)
Max. Speed: 183 mph (295 kph)
Ceiling: 18,500 ft (5,639 m)
Range: 915 miles (1,473 km)
On display at the Museum:
The Museum’s exhibit is a Heron 2D built at Chester in 1956 and operated by British European Airways (BEA) on its Scottish ‘Highlands and Islands’ service until 1969. It was acquired by the Museum in 1995.
DH114 Heron MK2D at The de Havilland Museum, London Colney UK. #deHavilland #heron #dh114 #cockpit #theta360 – Spherical Image – RICOH THETA
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