The de Havilland DH.60 Moth is a 1920s British two-seat touring and training aircraft that was developed into a series of aircraft by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. The DH.60 was developed from the larger DH.51 biplane. The first flight of the ADC Cirrus powered prototype DH.60 Moth (registration G-EBKT) was carried out by Geoffrey de Havilland at the works airfield at Stag Lane on 22 February 1925. The Moth was a two-seat biplane of wooden construction, it had a plywood covered fuselage and fabric covered surfaces, a standard tailplane with a single tailplane and fin. A useful feature of the design was its folding wings which allowed owners to hangar the aircraft in much smaller spaces. The then Secretary of State for Air Sir Samuel Hoare became interested in the aircraft and the Air Ministry subsidised five flying clubs and equipped them with Moths. The prototype was modified with a horn-balanced rudder, as used on the production aircraft, and was entered into the 1925 King's Cup Race flown by Alan Cobham. Deliveries commenced to flying schools in England. One of the early aircraft was fitted with an all-metal twin-float landing gear to become the first Moth seaplane. The original production Moths were later known as Cirrus I Moths. Three aircraft were modified for the 1927 King's Cup Race with internal modifications and a Cirrus II engine on a lowered engine mounting. The original designation of DH.60X (for experimental) was soon changed to Cirrus II Moth; the DH.60X designation was re-used in 1928 for the Cirrus III powered version with a split axle. The production run for the DH.60X Moth was short as it was replaced by later variants, but it was still available to special order. Gipsy engine Although the Cirrus engine was reliable, its manufacture was not. It depended on components salvaged from World War I–era 8-cylinder Renault engines and therefore its numbers were limited by the stockpiles of surplus Renaults. de Havilland therefore decided to replace the Cirrus with a new engine designed by Frank Halford built by his own factory. In 1928 when the new de Havilland Gipsy I engine was available a company DH.60 Moth G-EBQH was re-engined as the prototype of the DH.60G Gipsy Moth. Next to the increase in power, the main advantage of this update was that the Gipsy was a completely new engine available in as great a number as the manufacture of Moths necessitated. The new Gipsy engines could simply be built in-house on a production-line side by side with the Moth airframes. This also enabled de Havilland to control the complete process of building a Moth airframe, engine and all, streamline productivity and in the end lower manufacturing costs. While the original DH.60 was offered for a relatively modest £650, by 1930 the price of a new Gipsy-powered Moth was still £650, this in spite of its state-of-the-art engine. A metal-fuselage version of the Gipsy Moth was designated the DH.60M Moth and was originally developed for overseas customers, particularly Canada. The DH.60M was also licence-built in Australia, Canada, the United States and Norway. Also in 1931 a variant of the DH.60M was marketed for military training as the DH.60T Moth Trainer. In 1931 with the upgrade of the Gipsy engine as the Gipsy II, de Havilland inverted the engine and re-designated it the Gipsy III. The engine was fitted into a Moth aircraft, which was re-designated the DH.60G-III Moth Major. This sub-type was intended for the military trainer market and some of the first aircraft were supplied to the Swedish Air Force. The DH.60T Moth was re-engined with the Gipsy III and was initially re-designated the DH.60T Tiger Moth. The DH.60T Tiger Moth was further modified with swept back mainplanes and the cabane struts were moved forward to improve egress from the front cockpit in case of emergency. The changes were great enough that the aircraft was again re-designated, becoming the DH.82 Tiger Moth. The specifications below are for the DH.60G Gipsy Moth. For details of design, operational bistory and variants, click here. DH60 Cirrus Moth DH60G Gypsy Moth VH-UAE is the world's second oldest DH.60 still airworthy (serial number 192, constructed in 1925) and was first registered in Australia as G-AUAE on 5 November 1925 making it the longest registered, airworthy aircraft in Australia. It was impressed into RAAF trainer service during WW2 (A7-88), and disposed of in 1945. The original VH registration was re-issued. Other than a brief restoration time during 2000, the aircraft has been airworthy and registered since 1925. Photographed above at the Houdini Centenary Airshow at Melton, Vic, March 2010. DH60G-III Moth Major
