De Havilland D.H.91 Albatross
by last date | by total length | by number


LATEST COMMENTS

29.03.2024 12:12

Mikoyan/Gurevich Ye-8

28.03.2024 13:52

Short S.8/8 Rangoon

27.03.2024 22:04

25.03.2024 18:02

25.03.2024 04:10

22.03.2024 19:36

21.03.2024 23:56

Robin HR.200

21.03.2024 14:54

20.03.2024 19:36

20.03.2024 18:42

20.03.2024 14:05

Blackburn B-101 Beverley

19.03.2024 02:12

18.03.2024 22:06

Supermarine Spitfire

18.03.2024 22:02

Canadair CL-41 "Tutor"

18.03.2024 16:30

Bachem Ba 349 Natter

18.03.2024 14:47

18.03.2024 03:41

Curtiss Eagle

18.03.2024 00:04

17.03.2024 20:30

Junkers Ju 390

17.03.2024 16:34

AIDC Ching-Kuo

17.03.2024 10:52

15.03.2024 23:56

Messerschmitt Me 309

14.03.2024 07:03

Bartel BM.2

14.03.2024 07:02

14.03.2024 07:02

Boeing B-50

14.03.2024 07:02

14.03.2024 07:01

14.03.2024 07:01

Beech Model 2000 Starship

14.03.2024 07:01

Beech Model 18

14.03.2024 07:01


Norrie Southam, e-mail, 26.05.2015 20:19

My uncle Flt Lt John Ried RAFVR piloted both the RAF Abatrosses while he was with 271sqdn.He went on to fly Mosquitos with 605 Sqdn. KIA on 26/6/44 with his observer Roy Phillips.


Sven, 22.05.2015 00:42

The props were 2 bladed


Bob, e-mail, 21.05.2015 14:45

I have a contemporary Brass Model for sale of the early version with inset Fins.

If anyone wants to see a pic, please email.

About 6 inch Span.

Bob


Gregory Smaxwill, e-mail, 09.09.2014 08:38

I would like to know if the constant speed propellers were two or three bladed ?


John Coles, e-mail, 28.11.2013 14:55

Certainly one of the most elegant aeroplanes ever made.Looking at those lovely lines it's hard to believe she's made of wood.I have a photo of DH91s under construction which show the laminated wood structure and the closely cowled Gipsy Major motors. They must've been put in with a shoehorn and grease.To me the only aircraft to rival the DH91 for sheer elegance is the VC10.


John Coles, e-mail, 28.11.2013 14:54

Certainly one of the most elegant aeroplanes ever made.Looking at those lovely lines it's hard to believe she's made of wood.I have a photo of DH91s under construction which show the laminated wood structure and the closely cowled Gipsy Major motors. They must've been put in with a shoehorn and grease.To me the only aircraft to rival the DH91 for sheer elegance is the VC10.


Matthew Kitchen, e-mail, 15.09.2012 10:54

You'd think they would've preserved the last remaining "Albies?" (I called them Albies for short") It's too bad it wasn't the case.


peter, e-mail, 12.02.2012 18:36

Miles closed down when power cuts caused the heating to fail in their store rooms. Their supply of aircraft grade plywood was ruined by cold and damp.
Also, the prototype Marathon crashed when the pilot ( Bastable ? ) forgot to re trim the tailplane.
Miles aerovan was the forerunner of the Short Skyvan
Handley Page produced the Marathon for a while, but it was in competition with the Dh Heron and not very sucessful.
Back to the albatross, I believe the wings were very rigid, giving an uncomfortable ride.


Laurie Harris, e-mail, 02.01.2012 22:37

I've often heard the story that the famous Lockheed Constellation design was based on the DH Albatross. Not sure how true that was but they do have remarkable similarities.


Fiona, e-mail, 27.07.2011 16:45

My Father flew on Albratross F class and he was on a record time flight over the Channel as a crew member on 25th July 1939. I was also named after the aircraft the Fiona!
If anyone has a photo of the Fiona I would be very interested.


Peter Hubbard, e-mail, 06.03.2011 22:14

In belated answer to Tracy's question,; Yes, they did have a toilet. See the excelant write-up in the 'Flight' archive of 1937


Stacy, e-mail, 11.10.2010 17:48

I'm currently writing a novel concerning a WWII war correspondent who flies to Lisbon in Sept 1941 in one of these, so I'm wondering... Did it have a toilet? That was, apparently, a 4&1/2 hour flight.


Bruno Pacifico, e-mail, 03.04.2010 17:13

Gostei muito do artigo, e acho uma pena que essa bela aeronave não exista mais. eu cheguei a penbsar que esse avião ainda existia, por causa da foto colorida ainda existente. Eu cheguei a pensar em viajar para Croydon para ir visitá-lo!


Victor Boyce, e-mail, 08.11.2009 23:33

The Miles Aircraft exported to Australia after WWII were built with wood and Aerolite Urea Formaldehyde Glue. These aircraft fell apart due to glue failure from the heat of Australia. When UF glue reaches a temperature of or about 120°F the glue oxides, looks like brown sugar and fails as a glue. Because of fatal accidents,UF glue has been declared OBSOLETE in the USA And BANNED for aircraft use in Australia. I know, a Miles Gemini was declared unairworthy in my shop at Tamworth N.S.W because GLUE FAILURE.
I was told (I cannot verify)the Miles Aircraft Co. went Bankrupt because of the failure of AEROLITE glue in Miles aircraft, causing them to have STRUCTUAL FAILURE.

Victor Boyce
1335 Robinhood Lane S.
Lakeland FL 33813
A & P IA USA, AME Canada, L.A.M.E. Australia.


Trisha, e-mail, 22.06.2009 17:46

I have the brass handbell that was used to wake the sleeping passengers from Fortuna that crashed in Shannon (Rineanna). My grandfather was a aviation mechanic and was given the bell after she went down. We are trying to get photos certs etc to go with our little "shrine" to Fortuna, wish us luck


Bill Bath, e-mail, 14.10.2008 14:41

I write a column on the history of aviation for the bi-monthly news letter of the International Society of Transport Aircraft Traders, a non-profit society, and need to include a photo of the Albatross as one of the most graceful airliners of its era. To avoid any inadvertent infringement of copy right may I use the above photo in the heading?

I do the column as a volunteer and am not paid for it.

Sincerely
Bill Bath


Peter Lloyd, e-mail, 03.09.2008 18:01

David Miles -

Are you a relative of THE Miles, one of the UK's most brilliant aircraft designers?

I have admired him all my life and cursed those bloody stupid Civil Servants and politicians who shut down the British aircraft industry - including the Miles M-52 and, eventually, Miles Aircraft itself. Criminal traitors.


David Miles, e-mail, 07.02.2007 16:37

I think this site would be improved by a) Giving the names applied by Imperial Airways to each aircraft, e.g.Frobisher, Fortuna, Falcon, etc. and b) quoting all measurements in Imperial as well as metric. I had the privilege - as a boy of 9 - of stepping aboard and looking around "Falcon" in early, 1939.Always interested in aircraft from the earliest possible age, I was so impressed by this advanced and outstandingly beautiful flying machine. The A.W.27 "Ensign", which I was also privileged to look into, was, although impressive by its size, not nearly as beautiful, albeit it was a handsome machine. (Its tyres were taller than I was at the time !)




All the World's Rotorcraft


Virtual Aircraft Museum