D.H.89 Dragon Rapide seaplane, Uruguay, converted Heller 1/72nd kit

HIC SUNT DRACONES

(Here be Dragons)

 

And here is one of the two Sea Dragons, the one that -as stated in the building article- flew between Colonia (Uruguay) and Buenos Aires (Argentina) over the Río de la Plata, between 1939 and 1940. The life of the plane ended in an accident as one engine quit on take-off, but fortunately without casualties.

I was fortunate (and grateful) to find this page:

http://aeronavescx.blogspot.com/2011_01_09_archive.html

-see there point 5)

The post describes (in Spanish) the history of this airline and plane.

(For more information please visit the building thread):

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2020/06/a-water-dragon-de-havilland-dh89.html

There wasn't much graphic material regarding this subject, just barely enough to be able to build the model.

The floats as you know if you have read the construction thread are the ones that come with the Matchbox/Revell Norseman, BUT they have to be modified to render a more accurate representation; as they are, they won't do (even for a regular Norseman, by the way, their shape is wrong and they lack the bottom flutes).

The modifications needed to build a Sea Dragon are:

1) Getting or fabricating the floats, either EDO or Fairchild, depending on what subject is being modeled. But there are no accurate options for those in the market, so you have to adapt/modify what there is available.

2) Modification of the bottom of the engine nacelles, fairing the location of the landing gear according to photos. Beware that these modifications differed from one another, depending on the float used and particular machine.

3) Reshaping the fin extending it as per photos.

4) Researching and fabricating all the associated float struts.

5) Adding a mirroring door on the other side.

6) Deleting/painting over back windows, depending on photos.

7) Reducing the number of seats.

8) Modifying exhausts to match photos (they vary)

9) Modifying props as needed (some were Fairey-Reed, others seem to be wooden ones of a brand I can't tell)

Now, wouldn't you like to have an accurate set of EDO Yd 6470 / Ya 6235 or Fairchild 5500 floats available as a conversion set, for this and other projects?

(Aftermarket industry: wink-wink, nudge-nudge?)

The venerable Heller kit was used, and decals as usual were commissioned from Arctic Decals, that delivered an excellent product.

Uruguay and Argentina have a common historical root, but have evolved in slightly different ways. It could be said the Uruguayans are better Argentines ;-)

Shuttling between the countries across the Río de la Plata is extremely common, and many aviation companies throughout the years have provided that service, since the beginning of commercial aviation in those countries.

If you would forgive the mention of personal experiences here, one of the reasons I chose to build this Uruguayan example is this: as some of you know, I was born in Argentina. I went to the neighboring Uruguay many times, always being treated splendidly and enjoying my visits very much, as the country's hospitality, good manners, and calm demeanor are legendary.

I went the first time as a kid on a school trip, and stayed at the house of a fellow primary school student. His father was a teacher, his mother a loving hostess, and that family was extraordinarily kind to me.

My first airplane travel to Uruguay when I was 2 or 3 years old was in a Vickers Viscount. A project for another day.

I hope you enjoy this little known piece of South American aviation history, and a Dragon in an uncommon guise.