Flying the de Havilland Heron
This section details the flying characteristics of the de Havilland Heron model by Dee Waldron. He has in fact produced two models - the DH114-2B and DH-114 2D. Their difference is in the engines. A third type, the DH114-1, can be emulated by making the landing gear inoperable.
The history of the de Havilland Heron is interesting. It is surely the world's smallest four-engine airliner ever. But why? Well, following the immense success of the pre-war de Havilland Dragon Rapide, de Havilland produced a modern looking replacement under the name Dove. In looks it was a great advance, but in reality it was just window dressing - the same basic piston-engines with wooden propellers powered the aircraft. Perceived demand for slightly higher capacity brought about the Heron, with an extended fuselage and two extra engines of the same type.
But before you start, you need to shoe-horn yourself into the cockpit.
The cockpit
A picture at Airliners.net looking forward on a Prinair Heron. Handy that the co-pilot was so small!
This marvellous view of the cockpit of the preserved Jersey Airlines Heron must have been taken with an extremely powerful wide-angle lens. Compared with other photographs at Airliners.net, this cockpit looks far more original than many, although notice that it is not configured to be flown by the co-pilot as there are just radios where his dials and indicators would be. This is the photograph I based my panel on.
The controls
There are no surprises to the controls if you are familiar with flying the default piston-engined aircrafts in Flight Simulator 2004. However, a personal dislike of icons dotted around the panel means that you need to know the hotspots to click the mouse on if you want to use the pop-up panel features. They are quite simple to use when you get the hang of things:
Hotspot |
Key combination |
Pop-up |
Left-hand window pillar |
Shift - 2 |
Radios |
Left-hand wiper motor boss |
Shift - 3 |
Autopilot |
Right-hand wiper motor boss |
Shift - 4 |
RPM and Carburettor Heat |
Centre window pillar |
Shift - 5 |
Magnetos |
Almost every function on the panel can be made using the mouse, if you are so inclined.
We've defined three types of Heron that should all fly differently. Information about their flight characteristics seems contradictory at many internet sources, so a little bit of intuition has to be used. Curiously, nearly all available information applies to aircraft with retractable gear, so there is little to show how the Heron 1 flew.
What is listed below is based on a combination of researched information and how the model actually performs. It is not necessarily accurate or factual. However, I have seen it said that its performance as a type 2B is extremely accurate, which is certainly an excellent start.
General characteristics
Note that it appears that the RPM settings are two-position only on the real aircraft - Full or 1800.
The flaps are fierce, and the small aircraft will respond heavily. It is best to only use flaps on approach - at other times keep the speed up.
You have an autopilot to use if you wish, but be prepared for the aircraft to wallow badly if changing course.
I note that the engines run very hot during climb on the simulation. I do not know what the cooling arrangements were on the real aircraft.
De Havilland Heron 1
Stage |
RPM |
MP |
Knots |
Notes |
TAKE-OFF |
FULL |
FULL |
79 |
Flaps 20°
+10% (20 notches) trim |
CLIMB |
FULL |
23 |
110 |
600 fpm |
CRUISE |
1800 |
21 |
130 (TAS) |
|
DESCEND |
1800 |
12 |
110 + |
600 fpm |
HOLDING |
FULL |
17 |
110 |
No flaps |
APPROACH |
FULL |
13 |
95 |
Flaps stage 1 (20°) |
APPROACH |
FULL |
15½ |
85 |
Flaps stage 2 (60°) |
TOUCH DOWN |
|
|
70-75 |
|
All of the above figures may need adjusting slightly to suit your flight - they are based on a flight of about one hour departing with about 30% fuel.
De Havilland Heron 2B
Stage |
RPM |
MP |
Knots |
Notes |
TAKE-OFF |
FULL |
FULL |
79 |
Flaps 20°
+10% (20 notches) trim |
CLIMB |
FULL |
21-23 |
110 |
700 fpm |
CRUISE |
1800 |
21 |
160-166 (TAS) |
|
DESCEND |
1800 |
12 |
130 + |
700 fpm |
HOLDING |
FULL |
18 |
130 |
No flaps |
APPROACH |
FULL |
13 |
95 |
Flaps stage 1 (20°) |
APPROACH |
FULL |
15½ |
85 |
Flaps stage 2 (60°) |
TOUCH DOWN |
|
|
70-75 |
|
All of the above figures may need adjusting slightly to suit your flight - they are based on a flight of about one hour departing with about 30% fuel.
De Havilland Heron 2D
The 2D model, with more powerful engines, should perform quite differently. But it doesn't in the simulator, as the Flight Dynamics appear to be the same as the 2B.
For the moment, therefore, please use the reference for the 2B.
Other liveries
All other liveries for the Dee Waldron model are compatible with the Three Herons panel, although many distributed as the 2B model are really of the Mk 1 type with fixed undercarriage. They can be matched to the FDEs of my Mk1 Heron. Here is a chart showing all the genuine liveries I have come across. There are also a few ficticious liveries around.
Livery |
Author |
Notes |
Filename |
Air Ivoire
F-AOPO |
Tom Gibson/Mike Stevens |
Heron 1 |
ai2k45.zip (California Classic) |
Allegheny Commuter
N14FB |
Henry William |
Heron 2B |
alghero.zip (AVSIM) |
All Nippon Airlines
JA6153* |
Henry William |
Heron 1 |
anahero.zip (AVSIM) |
Altair
VQ-CJS |
Ismet Mustafic, Dee Waldron & Chris Evans |
Heron 1 |
heron_vh-cjs.zip (AVSIM) |
BEA
G-ALZL |
Henry William |
Heron 1 |
vsophero.zip (AVSIM) |
BEA
G-ANXB |
Henry William |
Heron 1 |
bea2her.zip (AVSIM)
(same livery as mine) |
BEA Scottish
G-ANXB |
Henry William |
Heron 1 |
beahero.zip (AVSIM) |
Braathens SAFE
LN-NPI |
Henry William |
Heron 2B |
braaohero.zip (AVSIM) |
Braathens SAFE
LN-SUR |
Henry William |
Heron 2B |
braanhero.zip (AVSIM) |
British United Island Airways
G-ANWZ |
Mike Stevens |
Heron 2 |
ai2k45.zip (California Classic) |
Cambrian Airways
G-ANCI |
Mike Stevens |
Heron 1B |
ai2k45.zip (California Classic) |
Channel Airways
G-AXHF |
Rolf Annen |
Heron 1 |
channelairheron.zip (AVSIM) |
Dragon Airlines
G-ANYJ |
Mike Stevens |
Heron 2 |
ai2k45.zip (California Classic) |
Executive Air
G-AROS* |
Mike Stevens |
Heron 2B? |
ai2k45.zip (California Classic) |
Falcks Flyvetjeneste
OY-ADV |
Tom Gibson |
Heron 2B |
ai2k45.zip (California Classic) |
Fiji Airways
VQ-FAX |
Tom Gibson/Mike Stevens |
Heron 1B |
ai2k45.zip (California Classic) |
Ghana Airways
9G-AAA |
unknown |
Heron 2D †
|
ai2k45.zip (California Classic) |
Gulf Air
G-APKU |
Mike Stevens |
Heron 1B |
ai2k45.zip (California Classic) |
Hawaiian Air Transport Service
N16721 |
Henry William |
Heron 2B |
hatshero.zip (AVSIM) |
Illini Airlines
N3999A* |
Mike Stevens |
Heron 2A |
ai2k45.zip (California Classic) |
Islands Air |
Dee Waldron |
Heron 2B
Cannot trace this aircraft - imaginary livery? |
Dh114-2b.zip (Dee Waldron) |
Itavia
I-AOZM |
Henry William/Nikko Yaginuma |
Heron 1B |
ai2k45.zip (California Classic) |
Jersey Airlines
G-AORG |
Ismet Mustafic, Chris Evans |
Heron 2B |
g-aorg.zip (AVSIM) |
Jersey Airlines
G-AORG |
Carlos Marrero |
Heron 2B |
the_jersey_airlines.zip (AVSIM) |
Jersey Airlines
G-AORG |
Henry William |
Heron 2B |
jerhero.zip (AVSIM) |
Japan Helicopter & Aeroplane Transport
JA6153* |
Tom Gibson |
Heron 1B |
ai2k45.zip (California Classic) |
Leeward Islands Air Transport
VP-LIA |
Mike Stevens |
Heron2 |
ai2k45.zip (California Classic) |
Martins Air Charter
PH-VLA |
Mike Stevens |
Heron 2D † |
ai2k45.zip (California Classic) |
Manx Airlines
G-AOZM |
Mike Stevens |
Heron 1B |
ai2k45.zip (California Classic) |
Mercury Airlines
G-AOZN |
Mike Stevens |
Heron 1B |
ai2k45.zip (California Classic) |
Metropolitan Air Movements
G-AOGU |
Mike Stevens |
Heron 2D † |
ai2k45.zip (California Classic) |
North-South Airtlines
G-ANCI |
Mike Stevens |
Heron 1B |
ai2k45.zip (California Classic) |
NZNAC
ZK-BBQ |
Henry William |
Heron 1 |
ai2k45.zip (California Classic) |
Prinair N551PR |
Carlos Marrero |
Heron 2D |
dh114_prinair.pr.zip (AVSIM) |
Prinair
N551PR |
Carlos Marrero and Thomas De Jesus |
Heron 2D |
depr.zip (AVSIM) |
Prinair
N571PR |
John D |
Heron 2D |
heron_114.zip (AVSIM) |
Prinair
N571PR |
John D. Mack |
Heron 2D |
heron2.zip (Flightsim) |
Prinair
N571PR |
Carlos Marrero and Thomas De Jesus |
Heron 2D |
heron3.zip (Flightsim) |
Prinair
N575PR |
Carlos Marrero |
Heron 2D |
dh114-heron_prinair2.zip (AVSIM) |
Prinair
N575PR |
Carlos Marrero |
Heron 2D |
heron3.zip (Flightsim) |
Prinair
N581PR |
Carlos Marrero |
Heron 2B |
pnr1142b.zip (Flightsim) |
Prinair
N581PR |
Carlos Marrero |
Heron 2B |
dh114-2b.zip (AVSIM)
prinair2.zip (Flightsim) |
Prinair
N583PR |
Carlos Marrero and Thomas De Jesus |
Heron 2D |
depr.zip (Flightsim) |
Royal Air Force
VP965 |
Henry William |
Heron 2B |
rafbher.zip (AVSIM) |
Royal Air Force |
Henry William |
Heron 2B |
rafhero.zip (AVSIM) |
Royal Navy |
Henry William |
Heron 2B |
rnhero.zip (AVSIM) |
Royal Navy
XR441 |
Jaap de Baare |
Heron 2B |
sea_heron.zip (AVSIM) |
Shell Refining & Marketing
G-ANUO |
Jaap de Baare |
Heron 2D
(modelled as 2B) |
heron_shell.zip (AVSIM) |
Sierra Leone Airways
9L-LAG |
Tom Gibson |
Heron 1B |
ai2k45.zip (California Classic) |
Silver City Airways
G-AOZM |
Mike Stevens |
Heron 1B |
ai2k45.zip (California Classic) |
Sudflug Süddeutsche Fluggeschaft
D-CASE |
Henry William |
Heron 2B |
sudhero.zip (AVSIM) |
Swift Aire
N412SA |
? |
Heron 2D |
? |
Swift Aire
N1420Z |
Dee Waldron |
Heron 2D |
Dh114-2d.zip (Dee Waldron) |
TAG Airlines
N3999A* |
Mike Stevens |
Heron 2A |
ai2k45.zip (California Classic) |
Transpac
F-OANQ |
Tom Gibson/Mike Stevens |
Heron 1B |
ai2k45.zip (California Classic) |
Transportes Aereos da Guinea Portuguesa
CR-GAO |
Mike Stevens |
Heron 2 |
ai2k45.zip (California Classic) |
Transportes Aereos da India Portuguesa
CR-IAB |
Mike Stevens |
Heron 2 |
ai2k45.zip (California Classic) |
Transportes Aereos de TimorCR-TAI* |
Mike Stevens |
Heron 2D † |
ai2k45.zip (California Classic)
|
Transporters Aereos Sao Tome
CR-SAB |
Mike Stevens |
Heron 2 |
ai2k45.zip (California Classic) |
Turk Hava Yollari
TC-HIZ |
Mike Stevens |
Heron 2B |
ai2k45.zip (California Classic) |
UAT
F-OANS |
Tom Gibson/Mike Stevens |
Heron 1 |
ai2k45.zip (California Classic) |
West African Airways Corporation
VR-NAQ |
Mike Stevens |
Heron 2 |
ai2k45.zip (California Classic) |
Note that those shown at California Classic are part of a large AI package - to use them as flyable aircraft you will need to extract them manually.
* - aircraft has been painted with wrong registration
† - incorrectly uses 2B model