Celebrating the Tiger Moths 80th Birthday at the Autumn Air Show
The IWM Duxford Autumn Air Show (Sunday 16 October) celebrates the 80th anniversary of the first flight of the iconic Tiger Moth with a superb display by the Tiger Nine Team, which will see nine Tiger Moths in close formation in the skies above Duxford.The Tiger Nine formation team was created in the summer of 2005 in response to a request for a flypast of nine Tiger Moths at the 25th de Havilland Moth Club Rally at Woburn Abbey.
Having risen to the challenge, the newly-formed team went on to perform its full display routine for the next season.
A challenging aircraft to fly in a formation display, the Tiger Moth requires a mature discipline and expert flying skill, particularly when operating a large group of Tiger Moths simultaneously.
There is something quintessentially British about a group of men from a diverse range of backgrounds, including airline pilots, ex-RAF pilots, a farmer, a sales executive, a company director, an anaesthetist and an RAF Wing Commander, coming together for the camaraderie and fun of flying such a special aircraft.
The Tiger Nine team is the only team in the world to have nine Tiger Moths in close formation. Its crowd pleasing, spectacularly entertaining display will be a significant highlight of the Autumn Air Show 2011.
The Tiger Moth
The de Havilland DH-82 Tiger Moth, designed by Geoffrey de Havilland, was first flown on 26 October 1931 by de Havilland Chief Test Pilot Hubert Broad.
The RAF ordered 35 dual-control Tiger Moth Is which had the company designation DH-82. A subsequent order was placed for 50 aircraft powered by the de Havilland Gipsy Major I engine which was the DH-82A or, to the RAF, Tiger Moth II.
The Tiger Moth entered service at the RAF Central Flying School in February 1932. From the outset, it proved to be an ideal trainer, simple and cheap to own and maintain. The Tiger Moth required a sure and steady hand to fly it well, enabling instructors to easily weed out inept student pilots. Whilst generally docile and forgiving in the normal flight phases encountered during initial training, when used for aerobatic and formation training, the Tiger Moth required definite skill and concentration to perform well. A botched manoeuvre could easily cause the aircraft to stall or spin.
Percival Leggett trained on Tiger Moths during the Second World War in Cambridgeshire:
“The Tiger Moth is easy to fly. No vicious tendencies at all. It’s very responsive to the controls.
Most people, I think, found landing rather tricky, because…it is quite a small aeroplane, with a very small undercarriage. It is very close to the ground. And coming in to land one finds it difficult to decide just at what point you should draw back the stick to land the aircraft. Most people tend to start easing off too high, with the result that either the aircraft stalls or they miss the airfield altogether.
But that apart it’s a good aeroplane – very reliable. We did have one engine failure from one of the pupils but he managed to force land it in a field. It’s a good aeroplane, and still flying today!”
By the start of the Second World War, the RAF had 500 Tiger Moths in service. During a British production run of over 7000 Tiger Moths, a total of 4005 Tiger Moth IIs were built during the war specifically for the RAF.
The Tiger Moth became the foremost primary trainer throughout the Commonwealth and elsewhere and remained in service with the RAF until it was replaced by the de Havilland Chipmunk in 1952.
Post-war, large numbers of surplus Tiger Moths were made available for sale to flying clubs and private individuals. Inexpensive to operate, the aircraft took on new civilian roles including aerial advertising, air ambulance, aerobatic performer, crop duster and glider tug.
www.iwm.org.uk/duxfordairshows
