The Douglas Dragonfly was a British touring motorbike developed under the name of the Dart, and produced as the Dragonfly from 1953 until 1956. The Douglas Dragonfly was powered by a 348cc horizontally-opposed twin-cylinder four stroke engine providing a top speed of 75 mph through a four-speed gear box. Although attractively designed, and with a very large capacity fuel tank, the Douglas Dragonfly had poor brakes and a low cruising speed which made it unpopular, and only about 1500 were made. Research Douglas Dragonfly
Elf-bolt (also elf-arrow, elfer-stone and fairy-dart) was a name given to the flintarrow heads found in Britain. It was thought that these were fired by elves at domesticated animals. Research Elf-bolt
Rolls-Royce is an international company best known for its luxurious cars, but also providing power systems, aero engines and marine propulsion equipment.
Rolls-Royce grew from the electrical and mechanical business established by Henry Royce in 1884. Royce built his first motor car in 1904 and in May of that year met Charles Rolls, whose company sold quality cars in London. Agreement was reached that Royce Limited would manufacture a range of cars to be exclusively sold by CS Rolls & Co they were to bear the name Rolls-Royce. In 1906 following success with the cars the Rolls-Royce company was formed to the launch of the six-cylinder SilverGhost car which, within a year, was hailed as 'the best car in the world'. At the start of the Great War, in response to the nation's needs, Royce designed his first aero engine the Eagle, which provided half of the total horsepower used in the air war by the allies. In 1953 Rolls-Royce entered the civil aviation market with the Dart in the Vickers Viscount which was to become the cornerstone of the universal acceptance of the gas turbine by the airline industry. Research Rolls-Royce More information about Rolls-Royce
Belemnites are extinct, squid-like molluscs of the Cephalopoda class with a bullet-shaped internal shell. Fossils are found from the Upper Carboniferous period to the Eocene epoch. The fossils are straight, solid, tapering and dart-shaped, and were formerly popularly known as arrow-heads, thunderbolts, finger-stones, etc. Research Belemnite
The Darters or Snake-bird (Plotus) is a genus of web-footed birds of the pelican tribe closely related to the cormorant, but differing in its much longer neck and heron-like pointed bill. Darters are found in South America, Africa, tropical Asia and Australia, fishing in rivers and ponds after the manner of cormorants, but nesting in trees. The birds perch on trees by the sides of lakes, lagoons, and rivers, and after hovering over the water suddenly dart at their prey with unerring aim (hence the name). From the serpent-like form of their head and neck, the head being scarcely thicker than the neck, they are called snake-birds. Research Darters
The Double Dart (Graphiphora augur) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span measuring from 35 to 42 mm, found in Europe, Asia and North America. A single generation is produced which flies from June until the start of August. Research Double Dart
The fly-catcher is several species of insectivorous birds of the genus Muscicapa, tribe of Dentirostres, with a bill flattened at the base, almost triangular, notched at the upper mandible and beset with bristles. Two species are British - the spotted flycatcher (Muscicapa grisula) and the pied fly-catcher (Muscicapa (or ficedula) atricapilla), both about the size of a sparrow. They perch on branches and wait motionless for passing insects which they dart at and catch with a snap of the bill. The white-collared fly-catcher (Muscicapa albicollis) is a native of southern Europe. Numerous other birds receive the name of fly-catchers, and some, as the paradise flycatchers of the Old World, are brilliantly coloured. In America some of the tyrant birds (Tyrannidae) are named fly-catchers. Research Fly-Catcher
The Heart and Dart (Agrotis exclamationis) is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is one of the most common moths in the temperate and warmer parts of the Palaearctic, with a single brood flying from June to September. Research Heart and Dart
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Matt and Leela Probert
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