_Imperial_Airways_liner_registration_G-ACVZ_Jupiter.jpg)
3 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. De Havilland DH86 Express ZK-AEG over Dunedin, NZ: Winstonwolfe at English Wikipedia· Public domain
- 2. DH.86 (De Havilland Express) Imperial Airways liner registration G-ACVZ Jupiter: Imperial Airways· Public domain
- 3. Imperial Airways De Havilland D.H. 86 Express G-ACWD: Peter de Jong Collection, Original Photographer Unknown· Public domain
what is it?
The de Havilland Express, also known as the de Havilland DH.86, was a four-engined passenger aircraft manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company between 1934 and 1937.
How to recognise it: 4 piston engines with propellers · 19.7 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 92 years ago, in 1934.
- Top speed is 2.1× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 19.7 m: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1934-01-14
- introduced
- 1934
- number built
- 62
- role
- passenger transport / trainer
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- makers
- de Havilland Aircraft Company
- engines
- 4× de Havilland Gipsy Six I
- crew
- 2
- passengers
- 16
- length
- 14.1 m
- wingspan
- 19.7 m
- height
- 4 m
- max take-off weight
- 4,649 kg
- top speed
- 267 km/h
- cruise speed
- 228 km/h
- range
- —
- ceiling
- 5,304 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q1050742, Wikipedia: De Havilland Express (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.