de Havilland Hornet Moth
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- For the twin-engined 1940s fighter see: de Havilland Hornet
| DH.87 Hornet Moth | |
|---|---|
 1936 de Havilland DH87B Hornet Moth (G-ADNE) |
|
| Type | Trainer and Tourer |
| Manufacturer | de Havilland |
| Maiden flight | 9 May 1934 |
| Primary user | Great Britain |
| Produced | 1935-1938 |
| Number built | 164 |
The de Havilland DH.87 Hornet Moth was a single-engined cabin biplane designed by the de Havilland Aircraft Company in 1934 as a potential replacement for its highly successful de 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 the RAF and the aircraft was eventually put into production for private buyers.
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.
Total production was 164 aircraft, of which 84 were initially placed on the British Register. Many were impressed for military service during World War II, mostly being used by the RAF as liaison aircraft.
Relatively small numbers survived the war but with time became highly prized by vintage aircraft enthusiasts and a small number were still flying nearly seventy years after production ceased.
Contents |
[edit] Variants
- DH.87 Hornet Moth : prototypes
- DH.87A Hornet Moth : production model
- DH.87B Hornet Moth : production model with wing modification
[edit] Operators
- 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 RAF
[edit] Specifications (DH.87B)
Data from De Havilland Aircraft since 1909 [1]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1, pilot
- Capacity: 1, passenger or trainee
- Length: 24 ft 11½ in (7.61 m)
- Wingspan: 31 ft 11 in (9.73 m)
- Height: 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
- Wing area: 244.5 ft² (22.7 m²)
- Empty weight: 1,241 lb (564 kg)
- Loaded weight: 1,950 lb (886 kg)
- Powerplant: 1× de Havilland Gipsy Major 1 4 cylinder air-cooled inverted straight engine, 130 hp (97 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 124 mph (108 knots, 200 km/h)
- Cruise speed: 105 mph (91 knots, 169 km/h)
- Range: 620 miles (539 NM, 998 km)
- Service ceiling 14,800 ft (4,500 m)
- Rate of climb: 690 ft/min (3.51 m/s)
- Wing loading: 7.97 lb/ft² (39.0 kg/m²)
- Power/mass: 0.067 hp/lb (0.11 kW/kg)
[edit] In fiction
A Hornet Moth appears in Ken Follett's 2002 suspense novel Hornet Flight.
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
- ^ Jackson 1987, p.355.
[edit] Bibliography
- Jackson, A.J. De Havilland Aircraft since 1909. London: Putnam, Third edition, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-802-X.
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