Modernization | 1947-1951

(TOP)
Airline - Royal Imperial Air Company
Aircraft - DeHavilland DH.104 Dove | G-ADDS
Delivered to the Royal Imperial Air Company, 1947
Sold to Guernsey Air Ferries, 1965
Sold to InterBank AG, 1974
Sold to Maine Airways, 1980
Stored at Bangor International Airport, 1982
Livery - Standard 1947
Country - Great Britain

(BOTTOM)
Airline - Royal Imperial Air Company
Aircraft - Airspeed AS.57 Ambassador | G-ADAM
Delivered to the Royal Imperial Air Company, 1951
Transferred to Royal Airways, 1974
Sold to Anglican Airways, 1978
Stored at Southampton Airport, 1986
Livery - Standard 1947
Country - Great Britain

Between 1947 and 1951, RIAC retired many of its older fleet types, most notably the DeHavilland DH.84 Dragon and the Armstrong AW.15 Whitworth Atalanta. To replace these two types - which had been key parts of the airline's short- to medium-range fleet - two new aircraft models were aquired. The DeHavilland DH.104 Dove replaced the Dragon on short-range and low-demand routes, acting as a small commuter aircraft, while the AW.15 was replaced by the Airspeed AS.57 Ambassador, at the time the most modern British aircraft available, and the first in the fleet to be equipped with first-generation weather radar. In 1950 (a year before the Ambassador) several DeHavilland DH.114 Herons were purchased to increase capacity on the most important of commuter routes. In 1951, RIAC acquired the Handley Page HP.81 Hermes, attempting to replace the demilitarized C-54s it had received after the war, however sadly the Hermes proved to be an inferior aircraft and was only operated for three years.