TIGER MOTH
The DH.82 Tiger Moth
FAST FACTS
The DH.82 Tiger Moth was built by de Havilland, and the first flight took place in the U.K. in October 1931 (the first Canadian flight was in March 1940 from Downsview Airport). It was in service from 1932 – 1959 and was powered by one de Havilland Gipsy III 4-cylinder air cooled engine. The Tiger Moth’s primary purpose was as a flight trainer and was used by the Royal Airforce (U.K.), Royal Canadian Airforce, Royal Australian Airforce, Royal New Zealand Airforce and many more. The original “DH.82a” Tiger Moth was open cockpit, but this was found to be unsuitable for our Canadian weather, so they added a canopy and a cabin heater – and the “DH.82c” was born! Approximately 300 Tiger Moths are still flying today (40 of those are in Canada). Over the years, Tiger Moths have served in many roles including Parachute Jumping, Wing Walking/Barnstorming, Crop Dusting as well as appearing in numerous movies.
This particular Tiger Moth was owned by, retired U.S. Navy test pilot, Bob Laidlaw (a Canadian who was living in Truckee, Nevada at the time). He completely restored it several years ago and then decided to donate the aircraft to the Canadian Air and Space Museum in Downsview. Bob actually flew it from Nevada on a route through western Canada touching on bases where the Tiger Moth was used. His flight path took him to Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Regina, Virden and then to Brandon Manitoba. While in Brandon, he discovered an internal problem with the engine, so he shipped the plane by rail to Oshawa where it was reassembled with a “loaner” engine. He then flew it from Oshawa to Downsview for the presentation.
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