- De Havilland Hornet Moth
Infobox Aircraft
name = DH.87 Hornet Moth
type = Trainer and Tourer
manufacturer =de Havilland
caption = 1936de Havilland DH87B Hornet Moth
designer =
first flight = 9 May 1934
introduced =
retired =
status =
primary user = Great Britain
more users =
produced = 1935-1938
number built = 164
unit cost =
variants with their own articles =The de Havilland DH.87 Hornet Moth was a single-engined cabin
biplane designed by thede Havilland Aircraft Company in 1934 as a potential replacement for its highly successfulde Havilland Tiger Moth trainer. Although its side-by-side two-seat cabin made it closer in configuration to the modern aircraft that military trainee pilots would later fly, there was no interest from theRAF and the aircraft was put into production for private buyers.Design and development
The prototype first flew at Hatfield on 9 May 1934 and, with two other pre-production aircraft, embarked on an extensive test program that resulted in the first production aircraft (designated DH.87As) completed in August 1935 having wings of greater outboard taper. These were found to cause problems, especially when landing in three-point attitude: there was a tendency for the tips to stall, causing embarrassment to the pilot and often damage to the aeroplane. From early 1936 de Havilland offered owners of the DH.87A replacement wings of the new squarer shape at a reduced price in exchange for the original wings, while new aircraft built with the square wings (which reduced overall span by 8 inches / 20 cm) were designated DH.87Bs (from about Builder's Number 68). The alterations slightly increased overall weight at some penalty to performance.
Production was 164 aircraft, of which 84 were placed on the British Register. Many were impressed for military service during
World War II , mostly being used by the RAF as liaison aircraft.Small numbers survived the war but with time became highly prized by vintage aircraft enthusiasts and a small number are still flying nearly seventy years after production ceased.
Variants
* DH.87 Hornet Moth : prototypes
* DH.87A Hornet Moth : production model
* DH.87B Hornet Moth : production model with wing modificationOperators
;UK
*Royal Air Force
**No. 24 Squadron RAF
**No. 116 Squadron RAF
**No. 510 Squadron RAF
**No. 526 Squadron RAF
**No. 527 Squadron RAF
**No. 528 Squadron RAF
**No. 529 Squadron RAFSpecifications (DH.87B)
In fiction
A Hornet Moth appears in
Ken Follett 's 2002 suspense novel "Hornet Flight ".References
Notes
Bibliography
* Jackson, A.J. "De Havilland Aircraft since 1909". London: Putnam, Third edition, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-802-X.
External links
* [http://www.dhmothclub.co.uk/ The de Havilland Moth Club]
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