The nose was largely fuel...
I hadn't realized that there was another, 20 Imp Gal. tank behind the navigator. Cool!
Next installment ...
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It is often assumed that the D.H.118
Dragonet was simply a monoplane derivative of the D.H.90
Dragonfly. There were certainly strong family resemblances and D.H.118
did did adopt an unmodified D.H.90 empennage. But, in all other respects, the
Dragonet was unrelated to the slightly larger
Dragonfly. Indeed, the aircraft with the most in common with the D.H.118 was the D.H.88
Comet racer.
For the D.H.118,
Comet wings and nacelles were adopted almost without change. [1] The D.H.118
Dragonet fuselage strongly resembled a shortened
Dragonfly unit without the top wing attachment points. However, the interior was quite different - being only a 4-seater. The rear 'bench' seat was really the upholstered top of the main fuel tank (the
Comet wings lacking spare for fuel). Somewhat awkwardly, baggage stowage was aft of that tank and accessed through a starboard-side door.
With its thin, monoplane wing and
Gipsy Six engines, the D.H.118
Dragonet was a much faster aeroplane than the D.H.90
Dragonfly biplane. Doubtless there would have been a private market for the speedy D.H.118
Dragonet had the War not intervened...
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[1] There was some local structural strengthening and the cowlings were new - being much more accessible than the older
Comet designs.