de Havilland DH.89b Dominie

The de Havilland DH.89, initially known as the Dragon Rapide, was designed in 1934 as a light general purpose transport aircraft, with 206 examples of the type being built over the next five years. After 1939 a further 522 DH.89B's were built for the RAF, primarily for ferrying personnel, and from 1941 onwards these became known as the Dominie. A number of DH.89b's were also used as air ambulances.

The Dominie is an elegant biplane, very characteristic of the aircraft being built in the 1930s.  All Photos on this page: © Les Bushel (unless otherwise noted)

 Year: 1934  Built: 727 (including DH.89a)  Registration: ZK-AKY  Capacity: 8 passengers 1 crew  Wingspan: 14.63m  Length: 10.52m  Height: 3.12m  Engine: 2 x 200hp De Havilland Gipsy 6-cyl inverted inline  Max Speed: 253 km/h  Cruise: 212 km/h  Ceiling: 5,100 m  Range: 895 km  Climb: 4.4 m/sec   

  • Back To Aircraft List »


    • Sixty-six Dominies served with the RAF and Fleet Air Arm, and seven with the Belgian Air Force. Some were transferred to the United States Army Air Force in Europe; nine to the RNZAF; 18 to the South African Air Force, and still more examples to other Allied air forces for communications duties.

    During the Second World War a number of captured DH.89s were operated by the German Luftwaffe. These included two ex-Lithuanian and two ex-Latvian Dragon Rapides that were originally captured by the Soviet forces.

    A short air-to-air clip of the de Havilland DH.89b Domine as it effortlessly glides over the Marlborough countryside.

    During the 1950s/60s all the Dominies that had been used by the Royal New Zealand Air Force during the war were operated as passenger airliners on the newly developed air routes within New Zealand, at one time or another.

    This side-on view highlights the amount of glass in the cabin area, affording all the passengers an excellent view. Here the aircraft is taking off from the grass field at Omaka Aerodrome in Blenheim (NZ).  Photo: © Les Bushel

    Built for the RNZAF in 1943 and used for communications and navigation training, ZK-AKY is now based at Old Mandeville Airfield near Gore, which is also the home of the Croydon Aircraft Heritage Centre, and New Zealand's premier de Havilland aircraft restorers.

    More Videos:

    • Pilot's View of Flying The Dominie

    • Several de Havilland Airliners

    • Another Dominie In New Zealand

    • The Dominie In RNZAF Colours Again


    More Photos:

    Share This Page :


    There's More Exclusive Content On Historical Machines TV

    HMTV is our advert-free streaming video channel which features an awesome array of video and long form documentary material which is not available elsewhere. Sign up for a free trial and enjoy the significant and varied range of material we have on offer...

    HMTV Free Trial  

    Please consider subscribing to HMTV, or buy us a drink to support our historical (story and film) preservation endeavours.