(de Havilland) DH 61 Giant Moth @·AIRCRAFTUBE

  • In the WAA hangar at Parafield, 11 mi north of Adelaide, South Australia In the WAA hangar at Parafield, 11 mi north of Adelaide, South Australia
    In the WAA hangar at Parafield, 11 mi north of Adelaide, South Australia
  • Giant Moth G-CAJT on the slipway at Short Brothers Rochester works in May 1928 Giant Moth G-CAJT on the slipway at Short Brothers Rochester works in May 1928
    Giant Moth G-CAJT on the slipway at Short Brothers Rochester works in May 1928
  • de Havilland DH.61 Giant Moth "Apollo" de Havilland DH.61 Giant Moth "Apollo"
    de Havilland DH.61 Giant Moth "Apollo"
  • "Old Gold" (1928) "Old Gold" (1928)
    "Old Gold" (1928)
  • DH.61 floatplane of the Ontario provincial air service at Sault Ste. Marie DH.61 floatplane of the Ontario provincial air service at Sault Ste. Marie
    DH.61 floatplane of the Ontario provincial air service at Sault Ste. Marie
  • The Bristol<br>Jupiter VI The Bristol<br>Jupiter VI
    The Bristol
    Jupiter VI
  • "Geraldine" (Daily Mail) "Geraldine" (Daily Mail)
    "Geraldine" (Daily Mail)
  • de Havilland<br>DH.61<br>Giant Moth de Havilland<br>DH.61<br>Giant Moth
    de Havilland
    DH.61
    Giant Moth
  • "Canberra" "Canberra"
    "Canberra"
  • "Canberra" of Les Holden in search for Charles Kingsford-Smith<br>at Alice Springs (Northern Territory) on April 7, 1929 "Canberra" of Les Holden in search for Charles Kingsford-Smith<br>at Alice Springs (Northern Territory) on April 7, 1929
    "Canberra" of Les Holden in search for Charles Kingsford-Smith
    at Alice Springs (Northern Territory) on April 7, 1929
  • Aborigines and stockmen wave goodbye to Les Holden<br>during search for Charles Kingsford-Smith and<br>Southern Cross, forced to land in N-W Australia Aborigines and stockmen wave goodbye to Les Holden<br>during search for Charles Kingsford-Smith and<br>Southern Cross, forced to land in N-W Australia
    Aborigines and stockmen wave goodbye to Les Holden
    during search for Charles Kingsford-Smith and
    Southern Cross, forced to land in N-W Australia
  • "Apollo", new Qantas plane for the Normanton route (April 1929) "Apollo", new Qantas plane for the Normanton route (April 1929)
    "Apollo", new Qantas plane for the Normanton route (April 1929)
  • Stanner family and friends in front<br>of "Diana" early Qantas plane Stanner family and friends in front<br>of "Diana" early Qantas plane
    Stanner family and friends in front
    of "Diana" early Qantas plane
  • "Apollo" (1929) "Apollo" (1929)
    "Apollo" (1929)
  • An DH.61 in Original Qantas hangar at Longreach (Queensland, Australia) An DH.61 in Original Qantas hangar at Longreach (Queensland, Australia)
    An DH.61 in Original Qantas hangar at Longreach (Queensland, Australia)
  • Les Holden (1929) Les Holden (1929)
    Les Holden (1929)
  • The Giant Moth "Canberra" of Les Holden in a Qantas hangar, in April 1929 The Giant Moth "Canberra" of Les Holden in a Qantas hangar, in April 1929
    The Giant Moth "Canberra" of Les Holden in a Qantas hangar, in April 1929
  • "Canberra", circa 1930 "Canberra", circa 1930
    "Canberra", circa 1930
  • Inauguration of the Brisbane-Charleville service in April 1929 Inauguration of the Brisbane-Charleville service in April 1929
    Inauguration of the Brisbane-Charleville service in April 1929
  • de Havilland DH.61 Giant Moth "Apollo" VH-UJB.<br>First aerial mail to Brisbane, in 1929 de Havilland DH.61 Giant Moth "Apollo" VH-UJB.<br>First aerial mail to Brisbane, in 1929
    de Havilland DH.61 Giant Moth "Apollo" VH-UJB.
    First aerial mail to Brisbane, in 1929
  • "Canberra" "Canberra"
    "Canberra"

de Havilland Giant Moth

The de Havilland DH.61 Giant Moth was a 1920s British large single-engined biplane transport built by de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome, Edgware. Intended primarily for use in Australia, a number were also shipped to Canada.

History

Following the success of the de Havilland DH.50J in Australia, the company was asked to design a larger replacement using a Bristol Jupiter engine. The cabin had room for six to eight passengers with the pilot in an open cockpit behind the wings. The aircraft took only 10 weeks to design and the prototype first flew in December 1927. Following test flights in England, the aircraft was sent to de Havilland Australia in Melbourne. After reassembly, the prototype first flew on 2 March 1928 and was used on scheduled services between Adelaide and Broken Hill by MacRobertson Miller Aviation. The prototype was originally called Canberra which was used as a type name until it was changed to Giant Moth.

A total of 10 aircraft were built, including one in Canada built from components with the rest coming from the Stag Lane production line. Three aircraft for Canada (G-CAPG), (G-CARD) and (G-CAJT) were fitted with Short Brothers floats at Rochester before one was delivered to Canadian Vickers. This aircraft (G-CAJT) was sent to Western Canada Airlines Ltd. on a rental arrangement. During a proving flight on 23 October 1928, the Giant Moth suffered structural damage in the air and crashed at Calgary, Alberta in a non-fatal accident. The other DH.61s continued to fly in Ontario in fire-fighting operations. One Giant Moth (CF-OAK) was modified from parts and flew with a Pratt & Witney Hornet engine.

Three aircraft were used in Australia on air mail services by Australian Aerial Services Ltd and QANTAS. The two QANTAS Giant Moths, Apollo (G-AUJB) and Diana (G-AUJC), were acquired in April and May 1929respectively. They were the first QANTAS aircraft equipped with toilets. The airline took them out of service in 1935 because the Bristol Jupiter XI engines were unreliable. Apollo was sold that year and crashed near Mubo, New Guinea, on 9 May 1938.

Another aircraft, Geraldine (G-AAAN), was bought by the Daily Mail to carry a photographer and his motorcycle around the United Kingdom. The aircraft would land at the nearest airfield to the story. This aircraft was also equipped with a dark room to enable the photographs to be developed on the return journey. Later, it was sold to National Flying services and renamed Leone. Western Australian Airways acquired it in the early 1930s; it served Western Australia from 1931 to 1935. When the airline encountered financial difficulties, the Giant Moth was sold to New Guinea Airlines. G-AAAN crashed on 20 August 1935, while landing at Wau, New Guinea.

One aircraft (G-AAEV) named Youth of Britain, modified to carry 10 passengers, was used by Sir Alan Cobham in an aviation promotional tour of the United Kingdom lasting 21 weeks and ending on 7 October 1929. During the tour, Cobham flew 60,000 miles (97,000 km), visited 110 towns and took aloft 40,000 passengers, including 10,000 schoolchildren free of charge. Among those who experienced their first flight in Cobham's Giant Moth was Eric Lock, who grew up to become a Royal Air Force fighter ace during the Battle of Britain.

After the tour, Cobham sold the Giant Moth to Imperial Airways, intended to be used for survey flights. Its use was short-lived as G-AAEV was lost in a crash landing on 19 January 1930.

Operators

  • Australia :
    • Guinea Airways Ltd.
    • Holden Air Transport Ltd.
    • MacRobertson Miller Aviation Company Ltd.
    • QANTAS.
    • West Australian Airlines Ltd.
  • Brazil : Varig.
  • Colombia : Avianca.
  • Canada :
    • London Air Transport Ltd.
    • Ontario Provincial Air Services.
    • Western Canada Airways Ltd.
  • United Kingdom :

— — — = = — — —

This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article De Havilland Giant Moth of Wikipedia ( authors )

de Havilland DH.61 Giant Moth

  • Role : Transport Biplane.
  • Manufacturer : de Havilland.
  • First flight : December 1927.
  • Introduction : 1928.
  • Number built : 10.

    • Specifications (DH.61)

  • Crew : one.
  • Length : 39 ft (11.89 m).
  • Height : 13 ft 1 in (3.99 m).
  • Wingspan : 52 ft (15.85 m).
  • Wing area : 613 ft² (56.95 m²).
  • Empty weight : 3,650 lb (1,656 kg).
  • Max. takeoff weight : 7,000 lb (3,175 kg).
  • Maximum speed : 132 mph (114 kts, 212 km/h).
  • Range : 450 mi (724 km).
  • Service ceiling : 18,000 ft (5,485 m).
  • Powerplant : One Bristol Jupiter XI radial piston engine.
  • Power : 500 hp (373 kw).

— — — = = — — —

This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article De Havilland Giant Moth of Wikipedia ( authors )
de Havilland DH 61 Giant Moth : Your comments on this subject
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