The de Havilland DH.71 Tiger Moth was a British single-seat

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

, designed to research high-speed flight and to test replacement

engines An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power g ...

for the Cirrus. Only two were built.

Design and development

It was a low-wing monoplane based on the earlier Moth biplanes with a stressed plywood covering and the cockpit designed around its test pilot, Hubert Broad, to make it as streamlined as possible: this resulted in the fuselage sides being sloped outwards to accommodate his shoulders. The Tiger Moth had a fixed conventional landing gear with a tail skid. The first aircraft built (

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''G-EBQU'') first flew from

Stag Lane Aerodrome Stag Lane Aerodrome was a private aerodrome between 1915 and 1933 in Edgware, north London, UK. History The land for an aerodrome was purchased by the London & Provincial Aviation Company (Warren and Smiles - Michael Geoffrey Smiles of Bonning ...

on 24 June 1927 and was fitted with an ADC Cirrus II engine to check its handling characteristics. This was then replaced with Major Halford's prototype engine, by then named the

Gipsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

. The second example, ''G-EBRV'', was fitted with a Cirrus engine and first flew on 28 July 1927.

Operational history

Both aircraft were entered for the 1927

King's Cup Race The King's Cup air race is a British handicapped cross-country event, which has taken place annually since 1922. It is run by the Royal Aero Club Records Racing and Rally Association. The King's Cup is one of the most prestigious prizes of the ...

which was to be held at

Hucknall Hucknall, formerly Hucknall Torkard, is a market town in the Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England. It lies 7 miles north of Nottingham, 7 miles south-east of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, 9 miles from Mansfield and 10 miles south of Sutton-i ...

on 30 July; 'QU was withdrawn but Broad flew 'RV in the race, retiring because of handling problems. In August 1927 Broad flew G-EBQU over a 62-mile (100 km) closed-circuit to set a new record for Class III Light Aircraft of 186.47 mph (300.09 km/h). Five days later he flew to 19,191 ft (5,849 m) without oxygen in an attempt to break the altitude record for its category. For these record attempts the aircraft was fitted with new wings with a reduced span of . G-EBQU was exported to Australia in 1930 and registered VH-UNH. On 17 September 1930 it crashed when the engine cut out while practising for an air race, killing pilot David Smith. The second airframe was for a time displayed outside de Havilland's Hatfield factory, eventually being destroyed there on 3 October 1940 during an air raid.

Specifications (G-EBRV)

References

Bibliography

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External links