De Havilland entered the field of ultralight
aircraft with the de Havilland
D.H.53 Humming Bird which was
built for the Daily Mail light aeroplane
trials held at Lympne, Kent, in October
1923.
Two examples of the little monoplane
were built, powered by 750cc Douglas motorcycle engines, and in
spite of considerable problems with this
powerplant both aircraft did well.
In an effort to make the type more reliable,
a Blackburn Tomtit engine was installed
and other detail changes made
before the Humming Bird was flown to
the Brussels Aero Show in 1923. It later
took part in several air races together
with the second aircraft, owned by a
group of RAF officers who re-engined it
with a 26kW A.B.C. Scorpion
engine which proved unreliable.
Because of its economical performance,
the first Humming Bird had
secured for de Havilland an Air Ministry
order for eight aircraft for communications
and flying practice. Five others
were built for civil customers, three
going to Australia, one to Czechoslovakia
and one to Russia.
The last two RAF Humming Birds
were used in experiments which involved
launching them from the airship
R-33 and recovering them in the air. Following
the disposal of all eight aircraft by
the RAF in 1927, six were civil registered
and flown for several years. One survives
with the Shuttleworth Trust at Old
Warden, having been rebuilt with a number of new components post-war. It was
flown on occasions, but following extensive
damage is no longer airworthy
and maintained as a static exhibit.
