De Havilland Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH 82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and was operated by the Royal Air Force ( RAF ) and others as a primary trainer . The Tiger Moth remained in service with the RAF until replaced by the de Havilland Chipmunk in 1952 , when many of the surplus aircraft entered civil operation . Many other nations used the Tiger Moth in both military and civil applications , and it remains in widespread use as a recreational aircraft in many countries . It is still occasionally used as a primary training aircraft , particularly for those pilots wanting to gain experience before moving on to other tailwheel aircraft , although most Tiger Moths have a skid . Many are now employed by various companies offering trial lesson experiences . Those in private hands generally fly far fewer hours and tend to be kept in concours condition . The de Havilland Moth club founded 1975 is now a highly organized owners ' association offering technical support and focus for Moth enthusiasts . Design and development . The Tiger Moth trainer prototype was derived from the DH 60 de Havilland Gipsy Moth in response to Air Ministry specification 13 / 31 for an " ab - initio " training aircraft . The main change to the DH Moth series was necessitated by a desire to improve access to the front cockpit since the training requirement specified that the front seat occupant had to be able to escape easily , especially when wearing a parachute . Access to the front cockpit of the Moth predecessors was restricted by the proximity of the aircraft ' s fuel tank directly above the front cockpit and the rear cabane struts for the upper wing . The solution adopted was to shift the upper wing forward but sweep the wings back to maintain the centre of lift . Other changes included a strengthened structure , fold - down doors on both sides of the cockpit and a revised exhaust system . It was powered by a de Havilland Gipsy III 120 hp engine and first flew on 26 October 1931 with de Havilland Chief Test Pilot Hubert Broad at the controls . One distinctive characteristic of the Tiger Moth design is its differential aileron control setup . The ailerons ( on the lower wing only ) on a Tiger Moth are operated by an externally mounted circular bellcrank , which lies flush with the lower wing ' s fabric undersurface covering . This circular bellcrank is rotated by metal cables and chains from the cockpit ' s control columns , and has the externally mounted aileron pushrod attached at a point 45° outboard and forward of the bellcrank ' s centre , when the ailerons are both at their neutral position . This results in an aileron control system operating , with barely any travel down at all on the wing on the outside of the turn , while the aileron on the inside travels a large amount upwards to counter - act adverse yaw . From the outset , the Tiger Moth proved to be an ideal trainer , simple and cheap to own and maintain , although control movements required a positive and sure hand as there was a slowness to control inputs . Some instructors preferred these flight characteristics because of the effect of " weeding " out the inept student pilot . Operational history . 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 ( 130 hp ) 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 . By the start of the Second World War , the RAF had 500 of the aircraft in service and large numbers of civilian Tiger Moths were impressed to meet the demand for trainers . During a British production run of over 7 , 000 Tiger Moths , a total of 4 , 005 Tiger Moth IIs were built during the war specifically for the RAF , nearly half being built by Morris Motors LImited at Cowley , Oxford . The Tiger Moth became the foremost primary trainer throughout the Commonwealth and elsewhere . It was the principal type used in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan where thousands of military pilots got their first taste of flight in this robust little machine . The RAF found the Tiger Moth ' s handling ideal for training future fighter 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 . A radio - controlled gunnery target version of Tiger Moth appeared in 1935 called the DH . 82 Queen Bee ; it used a wooden fuselage based on that of the DH . 60 Gipsy Moth ( with appropriate structural changes related to cabane strut placement ) with the wings of the Tiger Moth II . There were nearly 300 in service at the start of the Second World War . It is believed the name " Drone " derived from " Queen Bee " . These aircraft retained a normal front cockpit for test - flying or ferry flights , but had a radio - control system in the rear cockpit that operated the controls using pneumatically driven servos . Four - hundred were built by de Havilland at Hatfield , and a further 70 by Scottish Aviation . de Havilland Canada in Downsview manufactured 1 , 548 of all versions including the DH . 82C and Menasco - engined variants known as the Menasco Moth . The de Havilland Canada operation also built 200 Tiger Moths to USAAF Lend - Lease orders , which were designated for paperwork purposes as the PT - 24 before being delivered to the Royal Canadian Air Force . de Havilland Australia assembled 20 aircraft from parts sent from the United Kingdom before embarking on a major production campaign of their own of the DH . 82A , which resulted in a further 1 , 070 being built locally . Additionally , 23 were built in Sweden as the Sk . 11 by AB Svenska Järnvägsverkstädernas Aeroplanavdelning , 91 were built in Portugal by OGMA , 38 in Norway by Kjeller Flyfabrikk ( some sources say 37 so the first may have been assembled from a kit ) and 133 were built in New Zealand by de Havilland New Zealand in addition to a large number of aircraft assembled from kits shipped from the UK . In the aftermath of Britain ' s disastrous campaign in France , in August 1940 , three proposals for beach defence systems were put forward . 350 Tiger Moths were fitted with bomb racks to serve as light bomber s as a part of Operation Banquet . A more radical conversion involved the " paraslasher , " a scythe - like blade fitted to a Tiger Moth and intended to cut parachutists ' canopies as they descended to earth . Flight tests proved the idea , but it was not officially adopted . The Tiger Moth was also tested as a dispenser of Paris Green rat poison for use against ground troops , with powder dispensers located under the wings . Postwar . In postwar use , large numbers of surplus Tiger Moths were made available for sale to flying clubs and individuals . They proved to be inexpensive to operate and found enthusiastic reception in the civil market , taking on new roles including aerial advertising , aerial ambulance , aerobatic performer , crop duster and glider tug . The Tiger Moth might be confused at first glance with the Belgian - designed Stampe SV . 4 aerobatic aircraft which had a very similar design layout , with similar main landing gear , slight wing sweepback for both airframes , and similar engine / cowling design . Several Tiger Moths were converted during the 1950s to " Coupe " standard with a sliding canopy over both crew positions , not unlike the Canadian - built Fleet Finch biplane trainers which served beside the Tiger Moth in RCAF service as trainers in Canada during the war years . Many ex - RAF examples imported to the Netherlands post war were required by the Dutch civil aviation authorities to be fitted with additional fin area , incorporating an extended forward fillet to the fin . After the development of aerial topdressing in New Zealand , large numbers of ex - Royal New Zealand Air Force Tiger Moths built in that country and in the United Kingdom were converted into agricultural aircraft . The front seat was replaced with a hopper to hold superphosphate for aerial topdressing . From the mid - 1950s , these topdressers were replaced by more modern types such as the PAC Fletcher , and a large number of New Zealand Tiger Moths in good flying condition were then passed to pilot owner enthusiasts . It has been claimed that more people have flown themselves in Tiger Moths than in any other plane . Royal Navy Tiger Moths utilised as target tugs and " air experience " machines became the last military examples when that service purchased a batch of refurbished ex civil examples in 1956 . One became the last biplane to land on an aircraft carrier ( HMS " Eagle " ) in the English Channel during the Summer of 1967 . On take - off the wind over the deck meant she took off but was slower than the carrier , which turned hard to starboard to avoid a possible collision . These planes remained in service until the early 1970s . Tiger Moths were often modified to stand in for rarer aircraft in films . Notably , Tiger Moth biplanes were used in the crash scenes in " The Great Waldo Pepper " , standing in for the Curtiss JN - 1 . Due to the popularity of the design and the rising cost of flyable examples , a number of replicas ( scale and full size ) have been designed for the homebuilder , including the Fisher R - 80 Tiger Moth and the RagWing RW22 Tiger Moth . Flying the Tiger Moth . The Tiger Moth responds well to control input , and is fairly easy to fly for a tail dragger . Its big " parachute " wings are very forgiving , and it stalls at a speed as slow as 25 knots with power . Its stall and spin characteristics are benign . It has some adverse yaw , and therefore requires rudder input during turns . Because the Tiger Moth has no electrical system , it must be started by hand . This needs to be done with care to prevent being struck by the propeller , which would result in serious injury . Being a tail - dragging biplane , taxiing also requires care . The pilot cannot see directly ahead , so the lower wing can hit obstructions , and it is susceptible to gusts of wind on its inclined , large , upper wing . The take off is then uneventful , and it has a reasonable rate of climb . However , full power should not be maintained for more than a minute or so to avoid damaging the engine . The Tiger Moth ' s biplane design makes it strong , and it is fully aerobatic . But it only has ailerons on its bottom wing , which makes its rate of roll relatively slow for a biplane , and the ailerons on a Tiger Moth normally operate with a heavy degree of designed - in differential operation ( mostly deflecting up , hardly at all downwards ) to avoid adverse yaw problems in normal flight . Most manoeuvres are started at about 90 to 110 knots , and it has a Velocity Never Exceeded ( VNE ) of 140 knots . It is important to lock the automatic slats ( leading edge flaps ) during aerobatic manoeuvres . " Wheel " landings are straight forward , as the plane is pushed on to the runway at a moderate speed with just the front wheels on the ground , and then the tail is held up until the speed reduces . The open cockpit allows pilots to stick their heads over the side to see the runway . As the aircraft is a tail dragger , it is essential to land it straight with no sideways movement to avoid ground loops . Operators . Civil operators . The aircraft is operated by many private individuals and flying clubs . Survivors . Numerous examples of the Tiger Moth are still flying today ( an estimated 250 ) . The number of airworthy Tiger Moths has increased as previously neglected aircraft ( or those previously only used for static display in museums ) have been restored . A number of aircraft have been preserved as museum displays ( amongst others ) at the : See also . The Academy Award - Winning film , The English Patient , features a Tiger Moth in a central role , along with a Boeing Stearman .