De Havilland D.H.37

De Havilland's first venture into the field of private-owner aircraft was the de Haviliand D.H.37, a two-seat biplane built to the specification of Alan Butler, a well-known aviator and DH director. The first of two aircraft flew in June 1922 and the second in 1924, the latter being sold to Australia. Butler's aircraft was used extensively over the next five years, and in 1927 its Rolls-Royce Falcon III engine was exchanged for a 224kW A.D.C. Nimbus, the aircraft being converted to single-seat configuration for racing as the D.H.37A. However, in June that year it crashed while flying as a two-seater, killing the passenger and injuring the pilot.

The Australian D.H.37 had a longer life, being used initially by the Controller of Civil Aviation and later by the Guinea Gold Company in New Guinea, being the first aeroplane in that country. It crashed in New South Wales in March 1932.

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