Donovan Cookes Burgoyne (b. 1901 in Yardley, Warwickshire - d. 25 Nov 1980 in Knowle Solihull) designed and built a single seat monoplane at his home at Darley Green, Warwickshire, originally known as the Darley Monoplane. The aircraft built using the remains of a two-seat B.K. Swallow cut down to suit as a basis. The wings were modified from the mainplanes of the Swallow. The centre section was eliminated on the smaller Dicer and the mainplane junction became the wing root.

Work commenced around 1937 and by 1938 the fuselage was nearly complete. Don moved to Heronfield Farm, nearer to the local airfield at Knowle, on 1 September 1939, but at the time that the engine bearers were being made war broke out and halted manufacture.

Around 1946, Flying Officer F. Howard Stirling (Frederick Howard Stirling, b. 17 July 1891 Highgate, London – d. 16 Jun 1957 Windsor) purchased the airframe from Don Burgoyne and fitted an Aeronca JAP engine close to the bulkhead, much against Don's advice. To counteract the resulting tail heaviness he mounted a lead weight behind the bulkhead. It was Stirling that gave it the name Dicer and, although warned not to do so, he applied Don's unused registration G-AECN, originally taken out for his uncompleted Pou du Ciel DCB1, for which he was later reprimanded.

1. Air Britain Archive 1992/3 (Air-Britain Publications)
2. British Light Aeroplanes, Arthur W.J.G. Ord-Hume (GMS Enterprises, 2000)
3. Aviation in Birmingham, Geoffrey Negus and Tommy Staddon (Midland Counties Publications, 1984)
4. British Homebuilt Aircraft since 1920, Ken Ellis (Merseyside Aviation Society, 1975)