De Havilland BC DH.50 Bluebird

The De Havilland BC DH.50 Bluebird was a four-passenger piston-engined airliner built by De Havilland British Columbia between 1929 and 1932 based on the DH.50 Bluebird type of DHBC's parent company, De Havilland Aircraft of the United Kingdom.

It was the first aircraft to be built by De Havilland BC, and the first completed, with constructor's number 1, is preserved at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria restored to original condition.

= Description = To differentiate it from those built in the United Kingdom, the British Columbian-built aircraft were designated DH.50B Bluebird. In most respects the they were the same as the British version, but were powered by Hoffar Aero Engines' supercharged HAE HIV-8A-2 Hawk engine producing 375 hp, which gave them a higher speed than the original.

Besides the UK and BC, the DH.50 was also built be De Havilland Australia (16), and under licence in Czechoslovakia (7) for ČSA Czechoslovak State Airlines and in Belgium (3) for Sabena.

Specifications
= History =

Incidents

 * 7 February 1937 Vancouver Island Air Service DH.50B VB-VID (c/n C8/1930), operating a flight from Quatsino to Nanaimo, crashed shortly after departure near Sara Lake due to contaminated fuel; pilot and three passengers killed.
 * 18 July 1964 privately owned DH.50B VB-HTA (c/n C2/1929) was written off after sustaining damage in an emergency landing in a vegetable field at Barriere, BC; no fatalities.

= Operators =

Other
= Production =