The Dart Kitten was a British-built ultra-light aircraft of the 1930s.

Design and development

The Dart Kitten was designed by A.R. Weyl in 1936 and built by Dart Aircraft Ltd at

Dunstable Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

. It is an ultra-light single-seat low-wing aircraft with a fixed tailskid undercarriage. The four examples built were powered by a variety of engines of between 27 h.p. and 40 h.p.

Operational history

The Dart Kitten I ''G-AERP'' first flew in January 1937 and was sold to a private owner at Tollerton airport near

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

. It was stored during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It was re-engined with a 40 h.p. J.A.P. J-99 postwar and flew with a private owner at Broxbourne airfield Hertfordshire before crashing there in November 1952. The Dart Kitten II ''G-AEXT'' received its authorisation to fly on 30 April 1937 and had a series of owners before being badly damaged in a crash at

Willingale, Essex Willingale is a village and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex, England. The civil parish also includes the village of Shellow Bowells and the hamlet of Miller's Green. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was ...

in November 1964. It was subsequently rebuilt and in 2009 was airworthy with a private owner near

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

. As of 2012 it is based with the Real Aeroplane Company at

Breighton Breighton is a village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the east bank of the River Derwent, approximately north-west of Howden. It forms part of the civil parish of Bubwith. History Breighton as a village is very ...

near

Selby Selby is a market town and civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England, south of York on the River Ouse, with a population at the 2011 census of 14,731. The town was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

. The Dart Kitten III ''G-AMJP'' was built by Dart Aircraft in January 1952 and was flown by owners in Buckinghamshire, Wiltshire and Lincolnshire before being lost in a crash near

Kings Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, no ...

in June 1966. A fourth Kitten was home-built at

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

in 1960 and registered in Australia as ''VH-WGL''.Jackson, 1973, p. 298

Variants

; Kitten I : 27 h.p.

Ava 4A The Ava 4A was a low power flat-four (boxer engine) developed for very light aircraft in France in the 1930s. It was used by several prototypes and at least one production series. Design and development Marcel Violet was a French racing driver ...

-00 flat four engine; ; Kitten II : 36 h.p. Aeronca-J.A.P. J-99 engine, revised rear decking and simplified undercarriage; ; Kitten III : as Kitten II but with wheel brakes.

Specifications (Kitten III)

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * {{Dart aircraft 1930s British sport aircraft 1930s British civil utility aircraft

Kitten A kitten is a juvenile cat. After being born, kittens display primary altriciality and are totally dependent on their mothers for survival. They normally do not open their eyes for seven to ten days. After about two weeks, kittens develop qu ...

Low-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1937