Handley Page Herald

Handley Page HPR.7 Dart Heralds at London Southend Airport in the 1990s.
The Herald was designed in the 1950s as a replacement for the DC3 Dakota. Other manufacturers were competing for the same market, including Fokker with their F.27 Friendship, the Avro 748, and even Southend's own Aviation Traders with the Accountant.
When Handley Page acquired the Miles Aircraft Company in 1947, plans for a new airliner, named Herald, were already being developed by Miles.This was a development of the Miles Marathon, later produced by Handley Page as the HPR1 Marathon.The HPR prefix to the designs came from the combined company name , Handley Page (Reading) Limited, based in the Miles works at Woodley, near Reading.
The first plans were designed with two large piston engines, but circumstances dictated a change to four smaller engines, and the first prototypes, known as HPR.3 Herald appeared in this form in 1955.
Customer demand was favouring the newly developed turboprop engines as fitted to the rival F.27, and facing a lack of orders for the HPR.3, the aircraft was re-designed with two Rolls-Royce Dart engines, the second prototype HPR.3 being rebuilt and renamed HPR.7 Dart Herald.
By this time, the F.27 had gained a dominant position in the market, and even after continued development, with a longer fuselage in the HPR.7 - 200 series, and a 400 series military version , total production only amounted to fifty aircraft.
British Air Ferries, based at Southend , acquired a large fleet of Heralds that were used on scheduled passenger services in the 1970's, before the services, and several of the aircraft were operated by British Island Airways, later becoming Air UK. BAF also leased aircraft to many operators, and continued to do so until the last one went to Channel Express, who continued to use them until 1999.
Music;
Cylinder Three by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommon...)
Source: chriszabriskie....
Artist: chriszabriskie....
Seeger by John Deley And The 41 Players.
Artwork;
'Loading The Classics'. Painting by Robin Pinnock.

[@northernhardcore.7899]

I flew on one in 1972 from Blackpool-Squire’s Gate Airport to the Isle of Man. Great aircraft, great sound from the engines & great big windows to look out of! Excellent machine!

[@johannmckraken9399]

Very hard not to like any aircraft powered by the superb RR Dart.

[@beagle5]

Brilliant Thank you for putting it on

[@Dunstire]

When i was a young lad,about 50 years back now,we used to go on regular holidays to Guernsey and flew on these and Viscouts.I think the Heralds were flown by BIA if remember rightly.The screetch from the engines on either of them is one of my earliest childhood memories

[@michaelclarkson2218]

When I first moved to Southampton in th early '70's I remember seeing theses Heralds every day flying over my house with that lovely distinctive sound of the two Dart engines. At the time they were operated by B.I.A. then under the Air UK name after they were taken over. I often used to listen in on on Southampton Approach and Tower on my little airband radio.

[@209neil]

wonderful footage

[@nicholasbenies6456]

In 1966 we flew on Globe Air Herald HB-AAL "Herald of Interlaken" from Zurich to Málaga. The flight took all night involving a planned fuel stop in Palma de Mallorca (Majorca). Wonderful memories. Thanks for this video.

[@simongray8019]

Worked for BAF as cabin crew in the early 80's, Viscount, Herald and Short 330/360. I can honestly say that the galley at the front of the Herald was one of the noisiest places on the planet. An amazing company to work for and I learnt much from the seasoned older staff. The best trip ever was 31 days on a Viscount for the Paris-Dakar rally, and sleeping onboard for most of it. We were accompanied by a Herald which flew ice cold coca-cola for the competitors at the end of each stage. Happy memories

[@Tirana44]

Very nice video. Back in the 80s and 90s I worked with both the Herald and the F27, so I have a soft spot for both types.

[@intelligentreviews8416]

Very nicely done. Although a sales failure, many people underestimate this robust machine. The Herald had a character; almost a personality that was quite charming, captivating even. It’s upswept dihedral gave it clear distinction over other types where that design was not employed on high wing configuration. You can see in this nice compilation a short take off and they were good for it and a quick climb away to 10,000 feet in 5 mins. My first flight as a teenager was in a Herald. The take off acceleration on a short runway was a real push in the back. The pilot seemed to wind it up three quarters before letting the brakes off and as she went she was wound up the last 25% and it was very surprising. I couldn’t believe how the power just kept coming. Inside it was not very easy to have a conversation as the dart sound was changed internally into a strong loud drone. The Herald seemed to make a strange connection with me that even to this day I can’t really explain what that was or why. Despite travelling on successor like the Dash-8 with all its power & sophistication and a great take off performance the Herald felt punchy. It was a very nice solid aircraft. They worked hard and could take it. Great pity we didn’t make more of a success of it. But Handley Page had too many distractions and misconceived the design at the outset by choosing four radial piston engines. A bizarre mistake for such a venerable Company that also produced the fantastic Victor and the Jetstream. It has been said that the development of the latter was prohibitively expensive and when Handley Page had refused to form part of the nationalised BAC they opted to wind up the company in March 1970.The last Herald (a super 401 Ex RMAF) to fly the Royal Mail was retired at the end of March 1999 so from 1966 to 1999 was a good run. I was pleased to find this compilation. Thanks for doing it.

[@air5002]

I can agree with every word here. A great compilation here. Really is a good view.

[@ih302]

I don't know that they were all that robust, just look up what happened to EPA flight 102. The aircraft was only three years old at the time.

[@ClassicTrialsChannel]

I've Lost count how many times I loaded these planes in 9 years. 2 did mail flights every night from ema Airport. Mid 80s into the 90s

[@flymachine]

One of the many classic types I am sorry never to have laid eyes on in person is definitely the Dart Herald, I’ve always respected her as some sort of forerunner or godfather to the various modern turboprop liners, it has the look of a cargo twin like the Transall crossed with the sexiness of the lanky Dash8 and the sound of a vintage business jet, what’s not to like?

[@Darwenhypnotherapy]

Wonderful memories here,I remember seeing the Heralds of BIA flying out of Blackpool airport as a child,unforgettable sound of the Rolls Royce Darts,a hark back to when we in the UK were world leaders in aircraft engineering.

[@davidhunt3808]

I used to work for BIA/Air UK at Gatwick during the late seventies early eighties I remember I remember the Herald very well ! Did quite a few trips in the them .

[@globalnomad450]

50, I never knew that. I flew 8 of them back in the late 80’s

[@funkabby1]

God I miss the early 80’s to early 90’s aviation. If only I had a time machine. Loved the sound of the screaming darts and the heavy smell of aviation fuel in the air.

[@mydogsmylifecircusdogtrainer]

I was a teenager living near Woodley airdrome in the late fifties and early sixties and I remember the Herald flying overhead doing it's early flight testing.Ever since I have a fondness for this aircraft and thought it a shame it didn't do better commercially

[@espr7564]

Nice film very nostalgic 👏👏👏👏👏

[@LY-But]

nicely done....brings back lovely memories!

[@fardellp]

What a beautiful aircraft - I lived opposite the Radlett aurodrome where they frequently took off.

[@johnjephcote7636]

...and everything for Radlett seemed to come low over North Watford! I still call them 'Dart' Heralds (after the previous Leonides equippage).

[@knightflightvideo]

Another pearl of aviation history. Excellent filmed and edited. Thumbs up!

[@toonmag508]

The Herald, probably my favourite. My first flight was on one, Newcastle upon Tyne to Ronaldsway IOM. The high wing gave a beautiful view of the Lake District below, on a summers day. As a child my aircraft knowledge and interest was primarily British aircraft. I knew them all, so I was so pleased that my wonderful first flight was the Herald.

[@robinpinnock2678]

My first fixed wing flight was in a Herald - G-BEBB, the on-board photos in the introduction were from the flight. The acceleration on take-off, the interior noise, and great view from the big windows are clear memories shared by many.

[@rbonotto]

I flew a few times when I was a kid, from 1968 to 1970 with Sadia Transportes Aéreos, later renamed Trans-Brasil Beautiful plane and wonderful sound.

[@suededogs9670]

Great vid , great music , my Dad worked for Handley Page. Thank you xxx

[@shukryyeoh9145]

These dart herald were one time the workhorses of theRoyal Malaysian Airforce and used to transport military personals from west to east Malysia vice versa. They served from the sixties till the sventies until they were replaced by the hercules.

[@fredtedstedman]

What a lovely aircraft . Beautiful Dart nacelles . Wales UK

[@rogerhowell6269]

A great plane, flew in a Malaysian Airforce Herald in the Sixties, coming back from Borneo to Singapore!

[@yamahabradley]

I loved the F27 which I flew in while in Nigeria. We had Heralds in Eastern Canada but they were susceptible for icing and I believed had wing issues!! They didnt last long. The Viscount was an incredibly good aircraft as Air Canada had lots of them and they had a a good service life.

[@diggr13]

One disintegrated in mid air over Nova Scotia.

[@danieleregoli812]

Thanks you so much for this amazing trip down memory lane.... Oh my god, the sweeeeeet memories!!! My grandad lived in Benfleet and he would drive me to Southend Airport to see the old Viscounts and Heralds ...what a sight that was... I remember either a fence or a terrace from where you would watch the parked Viscounts from behind... And that piercing, shrilling, ear-splitting 'Dart' music..Ahhhh. Sometime in December 1992, through a friend of a friend who worked at BAF, we were taken for a visit to the maintenance hangar, where we toured a number of BAC-111s under refurbishment... There was one being prepped in Nigeria's ADC Airlines ( I think a former Aer Lingus -200??), another was being prepared I think for Okada or some other outfit; then outside there was an old former Braniff hull, and I also seem to remember a 146 in BAF colours, as well as the many newly retired 1-11s of Dan-Air. Then of course there was the old Belfast in one corner, the (still!) many Viscounts, the SD3-60s, and I think one abandoned 707...Ohhh, that day is etched in my memory. I remember that BAF at that stage was in the process of being renamed British World... How wish I could go back in time....

[@robinpinnock2678]

Yes, you will find plenty of memories in my Viscount, 1-11, Belfast and 'Shed' videos.

[@danieleregoli812]

@@robinpinnock2678 I'm ready to get my eyes watery....

[@AccessAir]

Wow, the Herald is even louder on a flyby than my beloved Fairchild Hiller FH-[227!! Ive said it once and I will say it again, every RR Dart powered airplane makes its own unique sounds, the Herald is no exception. By the way, I have N515AW on video tape that I shot in 1992 with United Express/Air Wisconsin at Moline, Illinois.

[@robinpinnock2678]

Gary Orlando. I have some better video of N515AW taken the following day ; I will have to make another project featuring F27s one day. The sequence used in this video of the F27 and Herald was shot in near darkness, with a strong breeze, standing on a bicycle propped against a wobbly fence, so it needed a lot of work in the computer to make it viewable.!

[@AccessAir]

Sounds good. I love watching all these planes that I have never had the chance to see in real life opertaing, well, the British made ones like the Herald or the Viscounts.

[@RobertoRMOLA]

I remember, as a child, when F-27s and HP Heralds passed on final to land at SBSP rwy 16 (now is 17 - magnetic "inflation"). They sounded as crying babies. Contrasted to the DC-3s that sounded as a distant and sad "rumor" (on Pratt&Whitney 1830s - the Wright 1820s are more popping or cracked sound). Missing all that planes...😢

[@warrenchinn4114]

Great dollops of nostalgia! An interesting aircraft from a very interesting time (the great 'mid century modern' period). Here in New Zealand, I grew up on the tear-duct squeezing crescendo's of the Viscount, the HS-748, Fokker F-27, Andover's and various Dash 7's and 8's. Alas all gone. As for the Herald, can anyone comment of it's curiously large vertical stabiliser (rudder). It 'seems' overly large in area - or is this an optical illusion? Cf. the Friendship tail for instance. In any case, the comments here make amusing reading; Are we all fellas in our 50's to 60's with shared sentimental pangs for that less complicated world of kerosine fumes, airshows with no security and journeys in the rear seat-belt free Ford Cortina station wagon? Dunno. Cheers all.

[@fredtedstedman]

yes it does seem enormous compared to Friendship and 748 ! almost like looking at a Caribou

[@alejandropaez2659]

"Por favor, a estas grandes aeronaves no les pongan Musica triste, fueron, son y siempre seran grandes aviones. Que no hayan sido un existo en ventas comparandolos con los best seller no significa que no fueron importantes, démosle un gran homenaje aljido y ferviente como debe ser...

[@flybobbie1449]

A sound that has vanished the dart viscounts flying over head. A bit like the sounds of deltic locos.

[@joseantoniomartinsdovale4856]

I ALSO FLEW THIS ONE IN THE AZORES

[@LCMNUNES1962]

IDENTIC FOKER 27 HOLLS ROYCE ENGINE, BRASIL CONGRATULATIONs

[@commandingjudgedredd1841]

The nose and some of the fuselage section of G-ASVO is displayed at my local aviation museum.

[@ianjohnson4052]

This is great.

[@shemdickson7235]

TO THIS ENGLISH FLIGHT BLOGGER, WHAT "A HISTORIC FLIGHT RANGE WITH THIS HANDLEY PAGE HERALD [PASSENGER PROPJET]," AND TO Y'ALL, 'HERALD'S FLIGHT' VIEWERS, MAY THIS SHORT FILM BE YOUR PASTIME!!

[@diggr13]

One of these disintigrated in midair over Musquodoboit in 1965.

[@stevenholt1867]

Then came the Fokker F27 Friendship from the Netherlands.

[@jackyclaiborne2142]

With he Darts, you can really tell that it's a jet engine with a propeller attached. When I first heard that word turboprop, I thought it was a turbocharged piston driven propeller engine.

[@robinpinnock2678]

Hoping everybody's hearing has recovered after 08:00..! Almost as painful as in real life..this sound could be heard for miles..!

[@ZKaviation]

Robin Pinnock I am a sucker for punishment, turned up with headphones on!!

[@AccessAir]

Anything with RR Darts is cool!!

[@piccwm]

I also liked the Embraer bandeirante EMB-110

[@RobertoRMOLA]

... that shows off at 06:11!

[@nuil501]

@@RobertoRMOLA And also at 9:10

[@jonathancooper8850]

Am in total shock.........landed in Vanguard...........ma' father based \viscount CI Division JER........live \Belfast NIreland

[@air5002]

This was a super aircraft. I suppose it would now be what the Dash 8 is. But as so often the British made great things and completely failed on the marketing. One could probably name ten of them including the very last Handley Page design which was the Jetstream 137. Failed again, although pleased that some companies saw the potential and there were moderate sales by the time it was in the hands of BAe. Many still fly. The bulk in the US. It was odd they opted for a low wing on that because they already had great airfoil charateristics with high wing. The upshot was that in the small cabin one had to step over a main spar which runs through the cabin floor. I can see that many potential purchasers would not have been happy with that. The Herald was a robust machine. Eventually it flew our mail around at night right up to March 1999.

[@Ibirdball]

G-ASKK is at the City of Norwich Aviation Museum in her stunning blue Air UK colours.

[@robinpinnock2678]

And now visible from the new Northern bypass.

[@Ibirdball]

Yep.

[@AccessAir]

Robin, One question. Do you have any flyby's of the Herald similar tot he singe engine trial but with both engines running normally? Id just like to hear a normal flyby in that same manner. Once again, thank you so much for sharing all of these wonderful Rolls Royce Dart powered flying machines!!

[@robinpinnock2678]

Gary Orlando - sorry, I don't have any reserve footage of Heralds - everything is included in this video.

[@pauljones8149]

Why would anyone click dislike ?

[@mikkie444]

and to think that the NIMBYS & THE TREE HUGGERS moan about the noise an A319/20 MAKES

[@Altenholz]

All in all a bit likewise to the F 27 Friendship!

[@claudio743]

Were the early Heralds, piston engined aircrafts???

[@robinpinnock2678]

Only the prototype HPR3 had four piston engines. All production models had Dart turboprops.

[@claudio743]

@@robinpinnock2678 Thanks for your response,sir.

[@Amyr1976ify]

а еще какие небуть борта Handley Page Dart Herald на крыле?

[@robinpinnock2678]

Google translation ; "and what are the sides of the Handley Page Dart Herald wing" ...??

[@Amyr1976ify]

@@robinpinnock2678 я хотел спросить сколько бортов в настоящее время действуют на авиалиниях!?

[@robinpinnock2678]

@@Amyr1976ify DeepL translation; "I was wondering how many flights are currently operating on airlines!?" Answer; The last Herald flew in 1999: there are three remaining in museums, and one attempting salvage. DeepL translation: Последний "Геральд" прилетел в 1999 году: в музеях осталось трое, а один пытался спасти.

[@howardfisher5127]

IsawthematLeedsAndblackpool

[@yamahabradley]

The Heralds were not a success even in English aircraft production terms.

[@vicentetadeu3527]

👏👏👏👍👍👍👮👮👮

[@Pileits]

Generally if an airplane looks bad, which this one does it is bad. No wonder the UK aviation hardly exists anymore with lousy designs like this it's no wonder.

[@flybyairplane3528]

Pileits Although I was born in Jamaica BWI, there only very few British planes I was on, The Vickers Viking, then when in the US in 1959, there was CAPITAL AIRLINES, flew VISCOUNTS, , that became UNITED AIRLINES, then they flew some CARAVELLES, .BOAC ,flew Bristol Brittanias, , then B 707, VC10 .

[@crazybrit-nasafan]

Sure the Herald wouldn't win a beauty contest but it was a good reliable aircraft. Liked by passengers and crew . the C130. F4 Phantom and A10 are all pretty ugly but nobody can disagree that they were great aircraft. It wasn't the aircraft that killed the British aircraft industry, that was murdered by the British government.

[@air5002]

I think there's something lovable about the appearance of the Herald. It showed that Handley Page were making aircraft for their facility not so much the looks. After all, take a look at the Victor. What a menacing look. But clearly Handley Page had a functional reason for not having such a nice face, but technically, what a superb aircraft. There are of course glamour babes in all walks of life. Take the Dash 8 for example. Probably what the Herald would have become if the British had been better at marketing their products. No point making something really good if you fail to promote it adequately or take a long time to listen to that customers wanted, namely the new turboprop engines, which is widely regarded as the reason the Herald lost out in the sales war with the Dutch F-27, whilst it was re-engined and recertified with the necessary modifications to the wing. The British still make the best wings in the world. I suppose one day we'll still make the best propellor, and then go on to product the best locking nut or something. Talk about throw it all away. We're a disaster on that front. Farewell ugly duckling. Your personality was so beautiful. The naysayers just didn't get to know you.

[@NoTaboos]

Absolutely no style compared to an F-27.

[@ih302]

Terrible aircraft.

[@fightersweep]

The film shot from the back garden looks very familiar. I grew up in Westcliff, so well remember the sights and sounds of Viscounts, Heralds and Belfasts. My second flight was on a BAF Herald in 1984 (could have been 85) Wish I had noted the reg! Great film which brought back a lot of memories of my favourite airport.