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The Hawker Siddeley Heron, originally known as the De Havilland D.H.114 Heron, is basically a
scaled-up version of the successful DH.104 Dove. The D.H.114 was designed with particular
emphasis upon simplicity of construction and maintenance. Utilising many of the Dove's components,
the Heron had a longer fuselage; four Gypsy Queen engines; a wing which allowed good short field
performance and a fixed undercarriage. The prototype Heron Srs. 1 (G-ALZL) flew first on 10 May
1950 and production of the Heron 1B followed with ZK-AYV coming off the production line for
NAC-New Zealand National Airways on 10 March 1952. The initial model of this 14-17-seat
feederliner having a fixed undercarriage, the seventh production aircraft became the prototype
Heron Srs. 2, which provided retractable undercarriage. This Heron Srs. 2 (G-AMTS) flew first on
14 December 1952, and the Srs. 2 eventually supplanted the Srs. 1 in production. When production
ended, 149 De Havilland DH-114 Herons were produced, including 51 Srs. 1s and 98 Srs. 2. |
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De Havilland DH-114 series 3 Heron CC.4 c/n 14130 was delivered to the
R.A.F. as a VIP aircraft for the Queens flight and registered XM296 on
17 April 1958. The 1958-built aircraft was operated for the Queens
flight until 1968. That year, the DH.114 Heron CC.4 XM296 was
transferred to the Royal Air Force Germany Communications Squadron as a
replacemant for the Vicker Valetta VX573 as the AOC-in-C's VIP aircraft.
From 3 February 1969, the RAF Germany Communications Squadron was
renamed RAF 60 squadron. In 1972, the Heron CC.4 was converted to a
Heron C4 and delivered to the Royal Navy Naval Air Command on 9 June
1972. At the end of 1989, the Heron C4 XM296 was retired from service
with the Royal Navy. On 22 July 1993, the aircraft was registered G-BVBI
as a DH-114 Heron 2X with Gloster Aviation Services Ltd.,
Gloucestershire Airport. On 29 August 1996, registration G-BVBI was
cancelled as exported to the USA. On 30 August 1996, the aircraft was
registered N82D in the USA. On 25 August 2009, Happy H. Miles, Linn,
Albany, was registered as owner of the N82D. On 1 November 2014, De
Havilland DH-114 Heron N82D made an emergency landing at Santa Cruz-Viru
Viru International Airport in Bolivia following the in flight
separation of the nr. 3 prop. The prop struck engine nr.4, causing
substantial damage to that engine. The airplane reportedly operated on a
ferry flight to a new owner. It had received maintenance at Opa Locka,
Florida before it departed from Miami,Florida to Providenciales
International Airport, Turks and Caicos Islands on 21 October 2014.
After this incident, the De Haviland DH-114 N82D was registered on 15 May 2015 with
R and R Holdings Inc., Spanaway, WA. On 29 March 2018, the aircraft was registered with an unknown owner
in Oklahoma. On 20 March 2019, registration N82D was cancelled as expiration of the CofA. |
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On 16 September 1971, when seen during the family day at Brüggen
AFB in Germany, the RAF De Havilland DH-114 Heron CC.4 XM296 had the
Queens flight' Royal Blue cheat line and the tail badge of the Royal Air
Force Germany Communications Squadron with under the badge the text 'Quadriga'. |
Luchtvaart déjà vu
