De Havilland Humming Bird

infobox Aircraft
name = DH.53 Humming Bird
type = Ultralight Monoplane
logo =
manufacturer = de Havilland Aircraft



caption = DH.53, G-EBHX, at the Shuttleworth Collection
designer =
first flight = 1923
introduction =
retired =
status =
primary user = Royal Air Force
more users =
produced = 1923-1924
number built = 15
unit cost =
developed from =
variants with their own articles =

The de Havilland DH.53 Humming Bird is a British light aircraft of the 1920s.

Design and development

In response to the "Daily Mail" Light Aeroplane Competition of 1923 the de Havilland Aircraft Company built two DH.53s which were named "Humming Bird" and "Sylvia II". The DH.53 was a low-wing single-seat monoplane powered by a Douglas 750 cc motor-cycle engine. At Lympne in October 1923 the DH.53s did not win any prizes but gave an impressive performance for a light aircraft. The Air Ministry subsequently became interested in the design and ordered eight in 1924 as communications and training aircraft for the Royal Air Force.

Early in 1924 twelve aircraft were built at Stag Lane Aerodrome and were named Humming Bird after the first prototype. Eight aircraft were for the Air Ministry order, three were for export to Australia, and one was exported to Aero in Prague. One further aircraft was later built for an order from Russia. The production aircraft were powered by a 26hp (19kW) Blackburne Tomtit two-cylinder engine.

Operational service

The first six aircraft for the Royal Air Force all made their public debut at the 1925 display at RAF Hendon, where they were raced against each other. The last two aircraft would later be used for "parasite aircraft" trials being launched from below an airship - the R.33. The aircraft were retired in 1927 and all eight were sold as civil aircraft.

Operators

;UK
*Royal Air Force

urvivors

*"G-EBHX" the prototype is airworthy and on display at the Shuttleworth Collection.
*"J7326" fuselage is on display at the de Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre.

pecifications

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop
ref=British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Vol 2,cite book |last= Jackson|first= A J |title= British Civil Aircraft Since 1919, Volume 2 |edition= Second Edition|year= 1973|publisher= Putnam & Company|isbn= 0 370 10010 7
crew=1
capacity=
length main= 19 ft 8 in
length alt= 6 m
span main= 30 ft 1 in
span alt= 9.17 m
height main= 7 ft 3 in
height alt= 2.21 m
area main= 125 ft²
area alt= 11.6 m²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 326 lb
empty weight alt= 148 kg
loaded weight main= 565 lb
loaded weight alt= 257 kg
useful load main= lb
useful load alt= kg
max takeoff weight main= lb
max takeoff weight alt= kg
more general=
engine (jet)=
type of jet=
number of jets=
thrust main= lbf
thrust alt= kN
thrust original=
afterburning thrust main= lbf
afterburning thrust alt= kN
engine (prop)=Blackburne Tomtit
type of prop= inverted vee, two cylinder engine
number of props=1
power main= 26 hp
power alt= 19 kW
power original=
max speed main= 63 knots
max speed alt= 73 mph, 118 km/h
cruise speed main= 52 knots
cruise speed alt= 60 mph, 97 km/h
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
stall speed main= knots
stall speed alt= mph, km/h
range main= 130 nm
range alt= 150 mi, 242 km
ceiling main= 15,000 ft
ceiling alt= 4570 m
climb rate main= 225 ft/min
climb rate alt= 1.1 m/s
loading main= 4.52 lb/ft²
loading alt= 22.2 kg/m²
thrust/weight=
power/mass main= 0.046 hp/lb
power/mass alt= 62 W/kg
more performance=
armament=
avionics=

ee also

aircontent
related=
similar aircraft=
lists=
* List of aircraft of the RAF
see also=

References

External links

* [http://www.britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=453 British Aircraft Directory] Accessed 1 February 2007
* [http://www.shuttleworth.org/shuttleworth_aircraft_details.asp?ID=14 Shuttleworth collection] Accessed 1 February 2007