aviation history Wood & The Airplane By Bill Bath "Turbulence? It was so rough I was praying the termites in the wing spars were holding hands." - An anecdotal comment by a de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide pilot after an encounter with a thunderstorm. T The de Havilland Rapide was a plywood-and-fabric twinengine biplane small transport introduced into service in 1934 with a crew of one and seats for eight passengers. During WWII more than 530 of the 728 total built were for the military, serving as radio navigation trainers and communications aircraft; 346 of the military models, now renamed Dominie, were fabricated by Brush Coachworks Ltd., Longborough, Gloucestershire U.K. Did you know six of the aircraft were operated by the USAAF Eighth AF 27th Transport Group between 1942 and 1944? They retained the RAF serial numbers but had the USAAF insignias on wings and fuselage. Another Rapide was sold to the Indian government, then to a private owner. It ended up in the U.S. 26 The official publication of the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading