DH 84 Dragon over Baldonnel Today

Dummy

I saw a DH 84 Dragon flying overhead about 30 minutes ago. We are right beside Baldonnel.

And I had no camera !!! Not even a mobile with me.

Sounded amazing.

kona

Dummy wrote: »

I saw a DH 84 Dragon flying overhead about 30 minutes ago. We are right beside Baldonnel.

And I had no camera !!! Not even a mobile with me.

Sounded amazing.

Probably the Aer Lingus Iolar

Dummy

She came around again & I had a mobile this time.

Lovely plane to watch.

Sorry about the quality of the images - they were taken with a mobile.

Kona - indeed it was the Iolar.

Images in post below.

Dummy

1.jpg

2.jpg

Nforce

The crew have been busy doing training and test flights on ABI over the last few weeks.

PurplePrincess

There's some nice pictures of the Baldonnel visit here: https://www.facebook.com/AerLingusIolar1936

snowserpeant

i work in dublin airport and see this aircraft up close and personal on an almost daily basis:)

Dummy

PurplePrincess - thanks for directing me to those images on the facebook page. They are brilliant. Isn't it fantastic to see planes and indeed the Sliabh na mBan, cared for so well. You can clearly see the hard work that the people involved lovingly put into these.

Snowserpeant - I envy you. I would love a close look at this plane. But I'm delighted to have seen it today flying overhead. She sounded lovely & looked majestic.

snowserpeant

Dummy wrote: »

PurplePrincess - thanks for directing me to those images on the facebook page. They are brilliant. Isn't it fantastic to see planes and indeed the Sliabh na mBan, cared for so well. You can clearly see the hard work that the people involved lovingly put into these.

Snowserpeant - I envy you. I would love a close look at this plane. But I'm delighted to have seen it today flying overhead. She sounded lovely & looked majestic.

i actually work as a security officer in the very aircraft hangar where this aircraft is kept:)

PurplePrincess

Dummy wrote: »

PurplePrincess - thanks for directing me to those images on the facebook page. They are brilliant. Isn't it fantastic to see planes and indeed the Sliabh na mBan, cared for so well. You can clearly see the hard work that the people involved lovingly put into these.

You're welcome. I saw the Iolar at various stages of her restoration and it really was amazing to see the devotion and skill of the team. There was a huge sense of pride the first day she took to the air.

It's funny when you look at her parked beside the modern jets and see how aviation has changed so much in a relatively short space of time. You'd wonder how the original aviators saw the future of aviation?

Tenger

I have to second PurplePrincess with her account of the time and effort that went into the restoration. As with all these projects, it was a labour of love. I believe that lead engineer has been involved with the Iolar since the mid '80's.

PurplePrincess wrote: »

It's funny when you look at her parked beside the modern jets and see how aviation has changed so much in a relatively short space of time. You'd wonder how the original aviators saw the future of aviation?

75 years and 50 feet by tearbringer, on Flickr

typera12

I noticed it in the hanger at weston on Saturday were they doing training flights there

Nforce

typera12 wrote: »

I noticed it in the hanger at weston on Saturday were they doing training flights there

Test flights,I believe. She's now officially ready for the forthcoming show season. It's due in Wexford this weekend (depending on weather) for the anniversary of the very first flight from Britain to Ireland...the "Corbett Wilson centenary commemoration".

Iolar's immaculate condition is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the entire Aer Lingus Charitable Foundation crew. I was fortunate enough to get a flight aboard ABI at the weekend, some pics of which can be found here.

Dummy

Nforce wrote: »

Iolar's immaculate condition is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the entire Aer Lingus Charitable Foundation crew.

I completely agree with you Nforce. Those people did a brilliant job, and made an old bird look majestic & sound very sweet.

Immelman

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D5iM7cPSebxk%26feature%3Dyoutu.be&feature=youtu.be&v=5iM7cPSebxk&gl=IE

lord lucan

Seen her flying over the house late this afternoon on a couple of circuits. Fantastic sound from her engines.

Shamrock231

I too saw her today flying around the Maynooth and Lucan area's between 4:30 and 6pm....

Tenger

Shamrock231 wrote: »

I too saw her today flying around the Maynooth and Lucan area's between 4:30 and 6pm....

She visited Weston today

cocoshovel

She was down in Kilkenny over the weekend on Saturday I think. Damn annoyed I missed it. Would have been a brilliant sight to see it land on the sloped grass runway.

Bearcat

Dummy wrote: »

I completely agree with you Nforce. Those people did a brilliant job, and made an old bird look majestic & sound very sweet.

Ah come on, old bird? Maybe grand old lady might be a nicer way of saying it??:D

Dummy

Bearcat wrote: »

Ah come on, old bird? Maybe grand old lady might be a nicer way of saying it??:D

Indeed, I should have exercised more caution when selecting a term of endearment for this very elegant, majestic old lady.

But whether she is an old bird, or an old lady, I am still delighted to have seen her fly.

Bearcat

I was only having a leg pull dummy! Bird/grand old lady whatever, she's something that we all love to see fly and fair play to EIN for keeping her in funds to fly. Btw the lads that fly her are on their own time and are not on rostered duties. That might change for the air show season.

Immelman

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=951339&l=34bbbc4e86&id=155380664518491

tfitzgerald

Amazing plane . I'd love to see this down around Shannon