DHBC DH.89 Dragon Rapide operators

This is a list and image gallery of DHBC DH.89 Dragon Rapide operators.

Air British Columbia (BC)
Air British Columbia operated six Dragon Rapides inherited from Vancouver Island Air Service and West Coast Air Services in 1947; they were sold or retired between 1948 and 1952. Three were fitted with floats.

Avianca (Colombia)
Avianca of Colombia inherited four Dragon Rapides from predecessor Servicio Aéreo Colombiano in 1940, retiring them between 1957 and 1961. One is preserved in Medellín.

BC Government Air Service (BC)
The BC Government Air Service bought eight Dragon Rapides from DHBC in 1940 and 1941; four were fitted with floats. Two were transferred to the Royal BC Constabulary in 1960, the remainder were retired between 1959 and 1965.

Canadian Pacific Air Lines (BC/Canada)
Canadian Pacific Air Lines inherited eight Dragon Rapides in 1942, operating them in BC; one was lost in a crash in 1954, the rest were retired or sold between 1951 and 1959.

Central BC Airways (BC)
Central BC Airways bought two Dragon Rapides from DHBC in 1938; they were passed on to successor Pacific Western Airlines in 1952.

Eldorado Radium Silver Express (Canada)
Eldorado Radium Silver Express, a Canadian Crown corporation, bought one float-equipped Dragon Rapide new from DHBC in 1937 to fly personnel between Edmonton, Alberta and Port Radium, Northwest Territories, and pitchblende from Port Radium to the Eldorado refinery in Port Hope, Ontario. During the Second World War, the Port Radium pitchblende was the primary source of uranium for the atomic bomb programme. The Dragon Rapide crashed in 1947; the wreckage was retrieved in 2006, and the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is planning to restore the aircraft.

Ginger Coote Airways (BC)
Ginger Coote Airways bought five Dragon Rapides new from DHBC, one in 1936 and four in 1938, and operated them until the company was absorbed into Canadian Pacific Air Lines in 1942.

Haida Air Charter (BC)
Haida Air Charter bought a single Dragon Rapide in 1953, fitting it with floats, and operating it until 1964.

Inland Empire Airways (United States)
Inland Empire Airways became the first American customer of DHBC when it ordered a single Dragon Rapide in 1938. The small Spokane, Washington-based carrier operated it on a scheduled service between Spokane and Trail, BC through the Second World War. It was sold to a private buyer in 1954; it is presently being restored to its original condition and is expected to fly again in Summer 2023.

Kootenay Airways (BC)
Kootenay Airways began operations with a new Dragon Rapide bought new from DHBC in 1938. After an engine failure forced the cancellation of a flight from Fairmont Hot Springs to Cranbrook in April 1963, it was decided that repair was not worthwhile, and the aeroplane was retired on the spot. It remained languishing at Fairmont for several years until it was finally dismantled in 1968 and transported to Cranbrook, where it sat in storage, in pieces, in Kootenay Airways' hangar in Cranbrook for several more years. A group of the airline's mechanics volunteered in 1972 to restore the plane cosmetically, working in their free time; the restoration was completed in 1975 and the aircraft has been on display outside the terminal building at Cranbrook–BC Rockies International Airport ever since. By the mid 1990s its condition had deteriorated, so it was restored once again, and a new enclosed glass shelter located at the same spot in front of the terminal was built to house the aeroplane in 1997.

Mackenzie Air Services (BC)
Mackenzie Air Services bought two Dragon Rapides new from DHBC in 1936 and operated them until the airline was absorbed into Canadian Pacific Air Lines in 1942.

Mexicana de Aviación (Mexico)
Mexicana de Aviación of Mexico became the third airline outside of British North America to order the Dragon Rapide, buying three in 1939, which they operated until 1953.

Northern Air Lines (BC)
Northern Air Lines operated five Dragon Rapides bought new from DHBC in 1937 until the airline was absorbed into Pacific Western Airlines in 1952.

Pacific Alaska Airways (United States)
Pacific Alaska Airways operated two float-equipped Dragon Rapides bought new from DHBC in 1939. As the airline's initials suggest, Pacific Alaska was a subsidiary of Pan American World Airways, and in 1941 Pan Am absorbed Pacific Alaska.

Pacific Coastal Airlines (BC)
Pacific Coastal Airlines hold the distinction of having received the last three Dragon Rapides to be built in BC in 1946; they were retired between 1962 and 1966.

Pacific Western Airlines (BC/Canada)
Pacific Western Airlines inherited ten Dragon Rapides from its predecessors when it was formed in 1952; of these, the four ex Queen Charlotte Airlines aircraft were equipped with floats. All were retired by 1954.

Pan American World Airways (United States)
Pan Am inherited two float-equipped Dragon Rapides when it absorbed its subsidiary Pacific Alaska Airways in 1941. Both were sold to private buyers in Alaska in 1949, and one remains operational today.

Peace Airways (BC)
Peace Airways bought a single Dragon Rapide new from DHBC in 1936 and operated it until the airline was absorbed into Canadian Pacific Air Lines in 1942.

Port Alberni Airways (BC)
Port Alberni Airways began operations in 1938 with a single new Dragon Rapide on flights connecting Port Alberni with Victoria, Quatsino, and Port Hardy. It was retired in 1954.

Queen Charlotte Airlines (BC)
Queen Charlotte Airlines bought four float-equipped Dragon Rapides new from DHBC, two each in 1936 and 1939, and operated them until the airline was absorbed into Pacific Western in 1952.

Royal BC Air Force (BC)
The Royal BC Air Force operated a total of thirty-five DH.89D Dominies from 1935 onwards; the last was retired in 1960 and was donated to the Royal BC Legion.

Royal BC Constabulary (BC)
In 1943, the Royal BC Constabulary acquired the only two Dragon Rapides built after the outbreak of the Pacific War, one of which was fitted with floats, and in 1960 acquired a further two float-equipped Rapides from the Government Air Service. The landplane was first to be retired in 1974, the floatplanes remained in service until 1977; one is preserved at the RBCC Museum in Chilliwack.

Royal BC Legion (BC)
The Royal BC Legion own and operate a single Dominie that was donated by the RBCAF in 1960. Initially kept as it appeared when it was retired, it was returned to its original RBCAF colours and lettering when it underwent a complete overhaul in 1984. It is a regular visitor to the annual airshows at Abbotsford and Prince George, and is available for charter flights as a fundraising source for the Legion.

Servicio Aéreo Colombiano (Colombia)
Servicio Aéreo Colombiano (SACO) of Colombia were DHBC's first customer outside British North America, taking delivery of two Dragon Rapides in each of 1938 and 1939; the four were passed on to successor Avianca in 1940.

Vancouver Island Air Service (BC)
Vancouver Island Air Service bought two Dragon Rapides new from DHBC in 1935. One was lost in a crash in 1943 during take-off from Powell River that killed all six aboard, the other was passed on to successor Air B.C. in 1947.

West Coast Air Services (BC)
West Coast Air Services bought five Dragon Rapides new from DHBC in 1938 and 1939, of which three were equipped with floats. All five were passed on to successor Air B.C. in 1947.