• 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

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 de Havilland Hornet was a development of de Havillands classic Mosquito designed as private venture for a long-range fighter for use in the Pacific Theater in the war against Japan. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 542 pixelsFull resolution (1400 × 948 pixel, file size: 442 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) de Havilland DH87B Hornet Moth (UK registration G-ADNE, year of build 1936) at Kemble Airfield, Gloucestershire, England. ... An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, and/or spacecraft. ... For other uses, see De Havilland (disambiguation). ... The Maiden flight of an aircraft is the first occasion on which an aircraft leaves the ground of its own accord. ... is the 129th day of the year (130th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1934: // Soviet pilots Fedossenko, Wassenko and Usyskin take the stratosphere-balloon Ossoaviachim I to 22,000 m (72,160 ft). ... Hs123 biplane. ... For other uses, see De Havilland (disambiguation). ... The de Havilland DH 82 Tiger Moth was a 1930s biplane designed by de Havilland and operated by the Royal Air Force and others as a primary trainer. ... RAF is an three letter acronym for: Royal Air Force -- the Air Force of the United Kingdom (see also Air Ministry) Red Army Faction (Rote Armee Fraktion) -- a German terror organisation Rigas Autobusu Fabrika -- a factory making buses in Riga, Latvia Rapid Action Force in India Računarski Fakultet RAF...

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. Arms of the former Hatfield Rural District Council Hatfield, originally Bishops Hatfield, is in the Welwyn Hatfield district of Hertfordshire, in the south of England. ... is the 129th day of the year (130th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

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. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... “RAF” redirects here. ...

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.

Variants

• DH.87 Hornet Moth : prototypes
• DH.87A Hornet Moth : production model
• DH.87B Hornet Moth : production model with wing modification

Specifications (DH.87)

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Capacity: 2, pilot and passenger
• Length: 25 ft (7.6 m)
• Wingspan: 32 ft (9.8 m)
• Height: 6.6 ft (2.0 m)
• Wing area: 244 ft² (22.7 m²)
• Empty weight: 1241 lb (563 kg)
• Loaded weight: 1951 lb (885 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× de Havilland Gipsy Major, 130 hp (97 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 77 mph (124 km/h)
• Range: 385 miles (620 km)
• Service ceiling: 14,800 ft (4,500 m)
• Rate of climb: 690 ft/min (210 m/min)

The distance AB is the wing span of this Aer Lingus Airbus A320. ... The de Havilland Gipsy Major was a 4-cylinder, air-cooled, inline engine used in a variety of light aircraft in the 1930s including the famous Tiger Moth biplane. ... VNO of an aircraft is the V speed which refers to the velocity of normal operation. ... The maximal total range is the distance an aircraft can fly between takeoff and landing, as limited by fuel capacity in powered aircraft, or cross-country speed and environmental conditions in unpowered aircraft. ... In aeronautics, the service ceiling is the maximum density altitude where the best rate of climb airspeed will produce a 100 feet per minute climb(twin engine) and 50 feet(single engine) at maximum weight while in a clean configuration with maximum continuous power. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ...

In fiction

A Hornet Moth appears in Ken Follet's novel Hornet Flight. Ken Follett (born June 5, 1949) is a British author of thrillers and historical novels. ... Hornet Flight is a World War II based spy thriller written by British author Ken Follett. ...