De Havilland DH.51

infobox Aircraft
name = DH.51
type = Touring biplane
manufacturer = De Havilland Aircraft Company



caption = Airworthy DH51, G-EBIR, at the Shuttleworth Collection
designer =
first flight = 1924
introduced =
retired =
produced =
number built = 3
status =
unit cost =
primary user =
more users =
developed from =
variants with their own articles = The de Havilland DH.51 was a 1920s British three-seat touring biplane built by De Havilland Aircraft Company at Stag Lane Aerodrome, Edgware.

Design and development

De Havilland designed the DH.51 as an economical touring biplane, based on the 90 hp (67 kW) RAF 1A engine which was available from war-surplus stocks. The aircraft first flew in July 1924; it performed well but because it did not have a dual-ignition system it was refused a certificate of airworthiness. As it would have taken at least 10-hours of flight testing to certify it with a single-ignition system, de Havilland decided to re-engine the aircraft instead. The aircraft was fitted with an Airdisco inline piston engine, which considerably improved performance but was no longer cheap to operate. As a result only three aircraft were built. The first aircraft was fitted with single-bay wings and was designated the DH.51A. It was exported to Australia and later converted to a floatplane as the DH.51B.

Operational service

The first aircraft was exported to Australia in 1927, as a floatplane it capsized in Sydney Harbour in January 1931. The second aircraft was used in Britain until it was scrapped in 1933. The third aircraft was exported to Kenya in 1929. It returned to Britain in 1965 and is still in use today.

urvivors

The third aircraft built (registered G-EBIR and named "Miss Kenya"; built in 1925) is flown regularly and is on public display at the Shuttleworth Trust, Old Warden, England.

pecifications (DH.51)

aircraft specification

plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop
crew=
length main= 26 ft 6 in
length alt= 8.08 m
span main= 37 ft 0 in
span alt= 11.28 m
height main= 9 ft 9 in
height alt=2.97 m
area main= 325 ft²
area alt= 30.19 m²
empty weight main= 1,342 lb
empty weight alt= 609 kg
loaded weight main=
loaded weight alt=
max takeoff weight main= 2,240 lb
max takeoff weight alt= 1016 kg
engine (prop)=Airdisco
type of prop= inline piston engine
number of props=1
power main= 120 hp
power alt= 89 kw
max speed main= 108 mph
max speed alt= 174 km/h
range main=
range alt=
ceiling main= 15,000 ft
ceiling alt= 4570 m
climb rate main=
climb rate alt=
loading main=
loading alt=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
armament=

ee also

aircontent

related=

similar aircraft=

see also=
* List of de Havilland aircraft

References

*cite book |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985)|year= |publisher= Orbis Publishing|location= |issn=
*cite book |last= Jackson|first= A.J.|authorlink= |coauthors= |title= British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 2|year= 1973|publisher= Putnam|location= London|isbn=0 370 10107 X

External links

* [http://www.jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=6208542&nseq=4 Photo of a De Havilland DH-51 Moth]