Since the earliest days of my exposure to aviation (as a "hobby"), the de Havilland name, has always conjured up images of (storied) aviation history probably like no other manufacturer (and, of course, the unimaginable tragedy of personal and emotional loss, Geoffrey de Havilland had to endure, for the cause and advancement of aviation, is hard to find a parallel for...). He was a keen "entomologist"...so, he named many of his planes accordingly, most famous of which, was the (early) "Moth" series. In (part of) this post, I've (briefly) portrayed another of DH's insect, the "Mosquito". The original DH company was founded in 1920, on the outskirts of north London, but, a significant overseas expansion occurred, just within 8 short years of inception, that, a full century later, today, still carries on the tradition and memory of its founder's name...(btw, this week, Friday, September 25th, it would have been 100 years, to the day, of the founding of the original de Havilland company...). [Side Note: The de Havilland company, founded, September 25, 1920, lost its separate identity in 1963, after becoming a member of the Hawker Siddeley group in 1960.]

In our times, when one wishes to learn flying, one goes to a flight-training school...well..Geoffrey de Havilland wanted to learn flying, but, there was no aircraft around, so, he built the first airplane, for himself, and then crashed it, but, soon, built a 2nd one, in which he taught himself to fly...(it would later become F.E. #1 of the Royal Aircraft Factory). If one examines the aircraft designation range for DH aircraft, it's simple yet amazing, such as, DH.X (X = 1 to 146(?)), with nearly un-broken sequence of numbers...(it appears DH.146 was the last, to later become well-known, to us, as BAe-146)...!!

On March 5, 1928 the De Havilland Company of England incorporated a subsidiary company in Canada. Over the coming years, this small upstart would become one of the most accomplished aircraft designers and manufacturers in Canadian history, creating a range of multipurpose (utility) aircraft that have stood the test of time, such as, DHC-2 Beaver, DHC-3 Otter, DHC Dash 7, the latest (Viking marketed) DHC-6 Twin Otter (the (STOL) commuter, so popular around the world), and, finally, the culmination of the DHC propliner evolution, the (Bombardier marketed) Dash 8 Q400 etc. If one looks at the original de Havilland (DH) logo, it was the sketch of an airplane, with a "D" and an "H", on its wings, where the two engines would normally be. And, for (DHC) de Havilland Canada, this original logo was adopted, with the letters "CANADA" added across the rear fuselage of the sketch.

Here, I, specifically, wish to explore two of the de Havilland aircraft, both my favorites, from near the two edges of the lineage chain: the legendary DH.98 Mosquito, the wooden wonder of WW II days, unusual in the sense that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, and the final (modern) turboprop still (indirectly) associated with the name of De Havilland, the Bombardier Dash 8 Q400. So, please find, below, a "mixed" set of images, from the (virtual) New Zealand region, first, of the (DH) Mosquito lifting off NZGS (Gisborne Airport) - first 4 screenshots, and, next, of the (DHC) Dash 8 Q400, on a full (but short and scenic ~200nm) flight between NZGS and NZWN (Wellington Intl.) - next 16 screenshots. The MJC-8 Q400 SIM, is one of my perennial favorites, but, I've not got to fly it for several months, now. Here, I've done a engine start-up sequence, at Gisborne, and also a shut-down, at Wellington (pictures not included for the latter, though). It was all quite time-taking and a bit "taxing" for this non-pilot simmer...🙂...but, this wonderful SIM, performed its duties (Autopilot/LNAV/VNAV-Guidance/ILS etc.) flawlessly, as far as I could tell, and, as always, was a great deal of fun...(now, I must find time for more flights and further learning with it...to do (due) justice to this remarkable SIM...)...

Regarding airline, please excuse my preference for the (out-of-place) "Dark-Red" Air Greenland (Polka Dot) livery....🙂....

I've deliberately set the visibility to 3 nms for this post. Hope you enjoy this collection of images, of these two special (DH) aircraft...(While, at the same time, most of you are also immersed in your own enjoyment of MSFS. I know, that SIM is not perfect now, but, still, I do always look forward to the pictures, here, from those, who are pushing its frontiers, for the rest of us...despite the current challenges...till things get stabilized...)...!!

Comments are welcome, and a good weekend, ahead...!!

[JF(DH.98 Mosquito), MJC(Dash8 Q400), Orbx(NZ-NI/NZGS), REX]

Informative and entertaining as expected. I especially like the third shot down (cockpit shot). Looking forward to the day you leap into MSFS...the word/picture combo from that point on should be truly mind-boggling.

John

Great share of information.  Love the vintage representation, nice Q400

John:

Thank you much....!!

Yes, we (you too, hopefully) will get to jump in sometime in future. A few days back I was reading (B2B) comments about the latest Patch effects, such as, e.g., "Everything works for me...", and, next, "Nothing works for me...", etc., and I was thinking to myself, if I were in that mix, I somehow have an inkling, I would be in the latter group,...🙂....so better wait a bit,...(but, seriously, I sure, hope, the dust settles down quickly, and we move forward there...!)....

Simeon:

Appreciated the comments...!!

And, of course, this "Q400", you would know (intimately) for sure....🙂...!!

Very nice P_7878! Big "Mossie" fan here....I think she is prettier IRL than JF's version but hey ho still nice to see her.

The Majestic Q400. Loved your shots...I look forward to the day I get to fly in her. 😎

7 hours ago, edetroit said:

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The Majestic Q400. Loved your shots...I look forward to the day I get to fly in her. 😎

Thanks for the kind word, Ed...!!

Yes, too many good planes....too little time...(especially for "perfectionist" self-doers like you...🙂...). Hope you get to this one (and maybe that F27 Friendship too...🙂...), But, I'm a freelance you know...🙂...I take what I get....

[Credit for this post, of course, mostly goes to its creators....what a contribution to our desktop (turboprop) enjoyment...I like short hops (takes less time), and, this is perfect for me with its elegance and complexity,...and, btw, I do fly and greatly enjoy, also, (your British...🙂...) PMDG JS41...(Q400 "minus" the Glass, so to speak)...🙂...]