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| Developed to provide the growing numbers
of affluent private pilots with cabin
comfort, the prototype de Havilland
D.H.80 was first flown at Stag Lane on
9 September 1929. It introduced the inverted
de Havilland Gipsy II engine, improving
the pilot's view over the nose,
and had a slab-sided plywood-covered
fuselage accommodating the pilot (forward)
and two passengers side-by-side
at the rear of the cabin. Two doors were
provided on the starboard side. Production
aircraft began to appear in March
1930, designated D.H.80A Puss
Moth, incorporating a new welded
steel-tube and fabric-covered fuselage,
the first de Havilland light aircraft to
feature this method of construction.
Notable were swivelling main landing
gear shock-absorber fairings which
could be turned broadside to the airflow
to act as airbrakes. Other changes included
single doors on each side of the
fuselage, and installation of the improved
89kW Gipsy III; later
examples were powered by the 97kW Gipsy Major. A total of 259 aircraft
was manufactured in the UK, the
last leaving Stag Lane in March 1933,
and many were used for pioneering
flights. Another 25 aircraft were built by
de Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd.
During July 1931 Amy Johnson used
Jason II to fly from Lympne to Tokyo in 8
days 22 hours 35 minutes, and in 1932
Jim Mollison flew from Lympne to Cape
Town in 4 days 17 hours 19 minutes.
Mollison's second Puss, The Heart's
Content, had a 727-litre
fuel tank installed in the front of the cabin
and additional windows in the rear, its
5794km range enabling
him to make the first solo east-west
North Atlantic crossing, leaving Portmarnock
Strand, Dublin, on 18 August 1932
and arriving 31 hours 20 minutes later at
Penfield Ridge, New Brunswick. On 6
February 1933, Mollison took off from
Lympne en route to Natal, Brazil, and became
the first man to make a solo crossing
of the South Atlantic.
 | A three-view drawing (700 x 689) |
| MODEL | D.H.80 |
| ENGINE | 1 x de Havilland Gipsy III inline piston engine, 89kW |
| WEIGHTS |
| Take-off weight | 930 kg | 2050 lb |
| Empty weight | 574 kg | 1265 lb |
| DIMENSIONS |
| Wingspan | 11.2 m | 37 ft 9 in |
| Length | 7.62 m | 25 ft 0 in |
| Height | 2.13 m | 7 ft 0 in |
| Wing area | 20.62 m2 | 221.95 sq ft |
| PERFORMANCE |
| Max. speed | 206 km/h | 128 mph |
| Cruise speed | 174 km/h | 108 mph |
| Ceiling | 5335 m | 17500 ft |
| Range | 483 km | 300 miles |
| Bill Hanshaw, e-mail, 22.08.2016 22:57 I'm searching for a photo of the original 1929 Puss Moth DH80 Prototype coded "E.1", later coded G-AAHZ. It was an all- wood structure with a slab-sided fuselage. The aircraft was later used as a test-bed for testing Gypsy engines. I'm building an indoor rubber-powered scale model of this plane and would appreciate any information on it, especially color information. Thanks, Bill reply |
| drsjvmahipal, e-mail, 30.11.2015 16:22 We are from Bellary Karnataka India 583103 ph 9448006897 1932
J R D tata tata airways flew the indias first air mail starting from karachi Bombay BELLARY to madras he stayed in night at small toy airport, plane was de haviland puss moth we want details of the vevt and plane to celebarate the event any planes available or models kindly help reply | | Chris Hall, e-mail, 16.04.2013 19:34 I have just received a photo of DH Puss Moth G-ABLD on a flat sandy beach with low dunes behind. Can anyone add more information about 'LD for me ? reply | | Agaram Sunderajan, e-mail, 29.08.2012 15:27 Did it have dual controls? reply | |
| | sean duffy, e-mail, 16.04.2012 01:00 Does anyone know the whereabouts of or what bacame of Jim Mollison's plane? Just back from a great walk along the Portmarnock strand where he took off in 1932 -80yr anniversary coming up! No mean achievement considering prevailing winds are west-east across the n.atlantic. reply | | Vince Pleasant, e-mail, 11.12.2010 18:14 The Puss Moth in your photo G-AAZP was based in Hawarden in the early 1970's. It was painted in the colours of Hawarden Flying Club, cream and olive green. There was also a Hornet Moth, Tiger Moth and three DH22 Chipmunks - I went solo in May 1976 in Chipmunk G-BBRV. Happy times..... reply | | chalkes, e-mail, 05.11.2009 10:34 I inderstand that the plane was put on exhibition in a London Theatre for a period of time, does anyone know which theatre it was please. Thank you reply | | Sanjiv Raheja, e-mail, 17.09.2009 21:28 I just wanted to know about the total nos of the type in India and whether any of those were registered as VT-ACS or VT-ACB reply | | Robin Hasting, e-mail, 17.09.2009 02:26 Pierre,
"The Heart's Content" was overall yellow with the name in black script under the side windows with registry
(G-ABXY) in large black letters on the side with the Union Jack on the upper rudder. I have sent you four pictures of the plane for reference. reply | | Romulo Figueiredo, e-mail, 06.01.2007 20:02 The first man to make a solo crossing of South Atlantic was Bert Hinkler, the famous australian flyer, in 1931, from Natal, Brazil, to Bathurst, Africa. His plane (CF-APK) was also a Puss Moth, with a Gipsy III engine, and was the same that led him to the final flight in Northern Italy in 1933. reply | | Pierre Vachon, e-mail, 06.01.2007 16:50 Jim Mollison landed at Pennfield Ridge, about thirty miles from where I live, and I want to do a watercolour painting of him about to land there. I have flown over the area and have a pretty good idea of the landscape he saw as he was about to put down. However, I have little or no information on the colour scheme of the Puss Moth he flew. Can anyone tell me how the machine was painted? reply |
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