Category:De Havilland Express

1934: De Haviland Express DH 86 [image info]

1938: "Loila" in Sydney, Australia [image info]

The de Havilland D.H. 86 "Express" commercial passenger biplane, also named the "Diana" class.

1934 description:

The most recent British air liner to be produced is the four-engined De Havilland "Diana". This is not yet used by Imperial Airways Ltd. but has been produced for Qantas Empire Airways, an associated company, for use on the Malaya—Australia extension of the eastern Empire route, which is to be inaugurated next month.

It is interesting to compare this luxurious new liner with the D.H. 18, one of the early liners of Imperial Airways. This was put into service between London and Paris in 1922, was driven by a single 450 h.p. engine, and carried a paying load of 1,100 lb. at a maximum speed of 115 mph. and a cruising speed of 95 mph. In contrast to this, the modern "Diana" type of machine is driven by four engines developing a total of 800 h.p., carries a pay load of 3,147 lb. at a maximum speed of 170 mph. and has a cruising speed of 145 mph.

Constructional progress in the 12 years from 1922 to 1934 is demonstrated by the fact that whereas the D.H.18, built to carry six passengers and a crew of two, weighed 7,200 lb., a machine of the "Diana" ' class, designed to carry 10 passengers and a crew of two, weighs no more than 6,350 lb. even when incorporating all the factors of structural security that are an essential factor of British air design. We hope to publish a fully illustrated article on this interesting machine in an early issue.

— , -, , Meccano Magazine, , November 1934