FSX-SE Australian Herons...on My Mind... (20 Pics) ...

[P_7878 6,555]

[This is bit of a research article; I've been lately thinking about. Please read on if interested, or jump to the 2 sets of Heron pictures below...]
First, regarding my Title, no, this post has no connections either to the species of birds called Heron or to the great American pop song "Georgia on My Mind"...that rhymes with it....🙂...Triggered by a couple of (recent) posts here, about the DH.104 Dove and DH.114 Heron, I've been lately roaming, in my virtual world, across the deserts and the skies of the Australian Outback...visualizing e.g., the 2 phases of Gold Rush that would impact the course of Australian history and demographics in a most profound manner, and the (magnetic) effects of abundantly iron-rich Rock and the distinct (red-looking) oxidized soil, capable of throwing the compass readings off, at places, making them unusable. I'd mentioned Mount Magnet earlier, and today I learned of Mt. Jim, in remote north-east Victoria, with an anomalous magnetic variation of 20 degrees, (apparently) caused by a massive, yet unknown (?), submerged (mineral) object...

Anyway, against these backdrops and terrains, some of the earliest (regular and scheduled) pax transporters in Australia, were the De Havilland Doves and Herons... (here, the iconic and reverential (taildragger) Douglas DC-3, been excluded...). This post is about the Australian DH.114 Herons, but one thing that is always of interest about such Classic planes, is, "What were the other aircraft of comparable role and configuration of the same era...?" Curiously, I noted two (little-known) models from two (well-known) makers (i) Beechcraft 34 (One built, two Prototypes in production scrapped (ii) Cessna 620 (One built, Project cancelled). The primary (business) reasons were due to the timing (i) Availability of surplus of ex-military a/c in the Post-war period and (ii) Comet, the first jet, had flown its maiden flight in 1949 and airline operators were already (eagerly) eyeing the Jet age.

Nonetheless, the DH Dove was remarkably successful in a global scale, but the DH Heron, not so much, though it still proved globally popular. The Heron was essentially a development of the de Havilland Dove, with a stretched fuselage and two more engines (see pictures below). They remain one of very few regional commuter airliners to have had four engines (recall, here, the unique British BAe 146, also a quad-engined regional jetliner). The Heron sported the same signature (hairdo style...🙂...) VHF aerial antenna, and the (innovative) tricycle undercarriage which offered many benefits. It was taller than the Dove so the passengers could comfortably stand up while moving down the aisle, in a normal human gait, I might add, in contrast to the practice required on a DC-3's steeply inclined aisle. Heron was powered by the same (de Havilland home-made) famous Gipsy Queen Engines (see close-up engine shots, below).

In this post, I have featured two sets of Herons of two airlines (Butler Air Transport and Air Pacific, both glimpsed previously in another member's post). Early Herons were Fixed-Undercarriage types (see e.g., pictures of Butler, below), while, later on, the Herons were equipped with retractable landing gears (see e.g., Air Pacific pictures, below, starting in the middle of my set, where I've switched (in mid-air) from Butler to Air Pacific, and do notice the retracted gears).

Butler Air Transport was founded by (England born) Australian aviator and entrepreneur, Arthur Butler. It was one of the oldest Australian airlines that, at one point, was a part-carrier in the England-Australia airmail route and would be eventually dissolved into Ansett Airways. When in May 1952, the very first Heron appeared in Australia, which De Havilland had arranged to be used as a demonstrator during its delivery flight to New Zealand, Arthur Butler was impressed with the aircraft. Within a month or so, he announced an order for two new Herons. They were delivered from England as (VH-AHB and VH-ARB, one of which, Butler's very first Heron (VH-AHB), you see below). These Herons, for 25 years, operated scheduled services in the Outback Stations and country towns in New South Wales and Queensland. Butler later wrote, "The introduction of the DH Herons...helped to improve our financial situation. The Heron was faster than our DC-3s and many of our passengers preferred to travel in this modern four-engined aircraft." Note the reference to the DC-3s. 

The other airline, Air Pacific, seen below is not Australian, but this Heron had operated in Australia. The a/c came to Australia (Alice Springs) in 1975, from Air Pacific (former name of today's Fiji Airways), in Air Pacific colors (DQ-FAF), seen below. Re-registered as (VH-KAM), it then served with several Australian Regional operators. Originally built in 1957, it was removed from service in 1997, after "40" years...! Currently, it is seen preserved at the Queensland Air Museum, in the livery of its (final) owner, Airlines of Tasmania. One significant fact about this Heron is that it (later) became a "Riley Heron", a conversion from traditional Gipsy Queen engines to the (American) Lycoming IO-540s. "Riley" here refers to the (American) aviation pioneer, Jack Riley of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Riley is noted to have agreed to do the engine conversions, at a reasonable price, on the conditions that, "He had the blessing of De Havilland, access to their design data and the assistance of one or two of their design engineers...", which were all (apparently) met by the Australian Heron operators...🙂...

For locale of my post, I've chosen two historic sites, associated with De Havilland, as the ORIG/DEST airports of my subject flight. Hatfield, in Hertfordshire, England, was the site of De Havilland aircraft factory and has held an unrivalled place in British aviation history for 60 years with some of the most famous and iconic aircraft made there, the wartime Mosquito, first jet airliner Comet, and the famous Trident were all produced at Hatfield. In 1948, De Havilland acquired a large additional aircraft factory at Hawarden Airport near Chester, Wales, where production supplemented the Hatfield output. After the Prototype Herons were built in Hatfield, the majority of the Herons were then built at Chester. So, symbolically, my Herons, below, lift off from London Luton Airport (EGGW), nearest airport to Hatfield, flying northwest, to Hawarden Airport (EGNR), nearest airport to Chester, across the Border in Wales, a short flight distance of ~150 miles.

Thanks for your interest...!! Hope you enjoy...! Comments welcome...!

[Jack_Sawyer 4,600]

Great shots P but the research and time you put into these really informative articles is amazing.  Always a pleasure to read.

[coastaldriver 915]

Good little history of these amazing little airliners from de Havilland. They seemed to work best on medium distance routes with low passenger numbers (Arthur Butler was alluding to that as to why he chose the Herons. Butler also used another curious British Airliner the Airspeed Ambassador to good effect before switching to the Vickers Viscount - as for Arthur Butler lost out in the world of corporate shenanigans to a shareholder who snaffled the Company - one Reginal Ansett). Did a few trips myself as a pax in the Heron and worked with an Airlines of Tasmania Heron driver for years. He said they were a great little aeroplane and never let them down in some pretty miserable southern climes weather. 

 

 

Edited November 25, 2022 by coastaldriver

[coastaldriver 915]

Airlines of Tasmania Heron

A flock of Herons at Nausori Airport in Fiji (Thanks to Cal Classic AI installed into P3DV5)

Yes I know this is not a Heron but this is Butlers Airspeed Ambassador which is available still and because it is a Craig Richardson work of art is just fine in P3DV5 as well. The Airspeed Ambassador yet another interesting British innovation that actually got killed off by de Havilland when they bought up Airspeed. Pressurised good for 200kts plus and a reasonable load, nothing bad said about them just fell foul of commercial pressures of the time!

 

Edited November 25, 2022 by coastaldriver

[John F 2,406]

Very interesting post. You have become the master of the Deep Dive! 🙂 Something about the build and texturing of the Flight Replicas Heron"s panel has always struck my fancy. Glad you showed it off so nicely.

Edited November 25, 2022 by John F

[Alaska738 8,389]

Great set of pics! 😉 

[P_7878 6,555]

Folks:

Many thanks for the kind words...!! It's always fun exploring with a bit of support from the Natives...🙂...

 

9 hours ago, coastaldriver said:

Good little history of these amazing little airliners from de Havilland. They seemed to work best on medium distance routes with low passenger numbers (Arthur Butler was alluding to that as to why he chose the Herons. Butler also used another curious British Airliner the Airspeed Ambassador to good effect before switching to the Vickers Viscount - as for Arthur Butler lost out in the world of corporate shenanigans to a shareholder who snaffled the Company - one Reginal Ansett). Did a few trips myself as a pax in the Heron and worked with an Airlines of Tasmania Heron driver for years. He said they were a great little aeroplane and never let them down in some pretty miserable southern climes weather. 

 

 

Great tidbits...! Nice pictures above too...of the Herons and the Airspeed Ambassador. The Airlines of Tasmania Heron is in the livery of the one preserved at the Queensland Air Museum...

Thanks for sharing ...!

[coastaldriver 915]

Good to see this type of posting for flight sim - bit of history some pics from the sim. One of the great things about flight simulation you can go down so many rabbit holes once something takes your fancy - just chasing down the history reveals lots of interesting and fascinating facts and figures and many surprises. 

 

[P_7878 6,555]

7 hours ago, coastaldriver said:

Good to see this type of posting for flight sim - bit of history some pics from the sim. One of the great things about flight simulation you can go down so many rabbit holes once something takes your fancy - just chasing down the history reveals lots of interesting and fascinating facts and figures and many surprises. 

 

Folks:

[On re-reading my account...today..., I observed a correction needed in my text...]

It's true, as said in the quoted/replied comment above, that the historical accounts of aviation (plane and place) are like rabbit holes...🙂...indeed fascinating while, at the same time, can be rather complex and intertwined...

In my story, I meant to say Arthur Butler and his airline company (Butler Air Transport) did play a significant role in Australian Aviation for 25 years (1934-1959), but, of course, not with the Herons alone. In 1934, when he won the tender for a leg of the England-Australia airmail route, he started servicing that route with de Havilland DH.84 Dragon aircraft. Later, he would be among the first to operate the DH Herons, in Australia, starting deployment of these a/c, in 1952.

I know the experts, and more knowledgeable folks, around here, do notice errors, but sometimes do not point them out....🙂...

Cheers, all...!!

[pmplayer 9,399]

Wonderful shots, as always!

cheers 😉