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| For biplane afficionados with a taste for
additional comfort, the company designed
the de Havilland D.H.87 Hornet
Moth, an enclosed side-by-side
two-seater structurally similar to the
D.H.86. It had tapered wings and a
spruce/plywood box fuselage with external
longerons, stringers and fabric
covering. The prototype, first flown at
Hatfield on 9 May 1934, was joined in a
year-long test programme by two similar
aircraft, preparing for production deliveries
which began in August 1935 under
the designation D.H.87A. Rather more
than 60 aircraft were manufactured to
this standard with new wings of increased
taper and span (9.93m), but in 1936 yet another set of wings
was introduced, first fitted retrospectively
to the second production Hornet
Moth. These new mainplanes, virtually
without taper and with almost square
tips, were made available to existing
owners on a trade-in basis and were fitted
also to almost 100 new aircraft designated
D.H.87B. Following development
of a floatplane version by de
Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd, four
examples were acquired by the Air
Ministry in 1937 for evaluation as seaplane
trainers at the Marine Aircraft Experimental
Establishment at Felixstowe,
Suffolk. Hornet Moth production, including
the prototype, totalled 165 aircraft.
| MODEL | D.H.87B (landplane) |
| ENGINE | 1 x de Havilland Gipsy Major inline piston engine, 97kW |
| WEIGHTS |
| Take-off weight | 885 kg | 1951 lb |
| Empty weight | 563 kg | 1241 lb |
| DIMENSIONS |
| Wingspan | 9.73 m | 32 ft 11 in |
| Length | 7.61 m | 25 ft 12 in |
| Height | 2.01 m | 7 ft 7 in |
| Wing area | 20.44 m2 | 220.01 sq ft |
| PERFORMANCE |
| Max. speed | 200 km/h | 124 mph |
| Cruise speed | 169 km/h | 105 mph |
| Ceiling | 4510 m | 14800 ft |
| Range | 998 km | 620 miles |
 | A three-view drawing (800 x 804) |
| Larry Loretto, e-mail, 02.10.2015 17:33 By the way, I will gladly take interested folks for a flight in EEJ, HOWEVER, you cant be very big in any dimension as in spite of the PR departmenrs statements in the thirtees, its a VERY snug cockpit and most modearn folks just dont fit in, also the payload with two aboard is allmost nill due to the instalation of electrics, txp, radios, battery, generator ,ELT and all the other stuff the Feds seem to want these days! reply |
| Larry Loretto, e-mail, 01.10.2015 19:43 I own and fly C-FEEJ, the only Hornet Moth flying in North America I belive, its a VERY different aircraft to fly with lots of somewhat odd handling suprises, based at CYSH {Smith Falls} at this time. reply |
| kenneth edward danyluk, e-mail, 11.07.2015 04:19 I have log books,aircraft and engine,from P.K.-W.D.R. Its date of construction was 15.2.36.The last entry in the log was 30 may,1939. I was wondering if it survived WW II. reply | | Bev Cook, e-mail, 01.05.2015 11:37 Are there any Hornet Moths flying and giving passenger flights. If so, which location. reply | |
| | David Hunt, e-mail, 26.02.2014 17:29 I flew G-AELO with Surrey and Kent Flying Club at Biggin Hill. My instructor was Brian Shatwell, one of the few active pilots who had one eye. I have a good photo of him with a group of us at Croydon Airport; this was taken by the local press covering the closing of Croydon in 1959. Happy Days!! reply | | Barry, 31.05.2013 12:36 Yes Jerry E there are a number still flying in the U.K. and one, G-ADOT, is a non-flying model at the De Havilland Heritage Museum at London Colney nr, St.Albans Hertfordshire. reply | | Herbert C Schneider, e-mail, 08.12.2012 06:43 This aircraft is the subject of two books, the novel Hornet Flight by Ken Follett, and a history on the facts behind Follett's book, The Hornet's Sting, by Mark Ryan.
In 1941, a Danish aviator, Thomas Sneum, escaped from Nazi-occupied Denmark across the North Sea to England aboard a patched-up Hornet Moth. The flight involved a mid-air refueling, during which Sneum (and Follett's fictional character) climbed out on to the wing with a can of gasoline. Follett's book is a good read, but Ryan's account of what actually happened is even more amazing. reply | | chris finch, e-mail, 01.04.2012 22:40 I am building a radio controlled model and would like to paint it in RAF colours, where can I get Photos reply | | Kenneth Ball, e-mail, 18.02.2011 03:46 We flew this aircraft at the London Aeroplane Club, Panshanger near Hatfield while I worked there in 1949-54 as an apprentice for De Havilland Aircraft Co. reply | | JerryE, e-mail, 03.02.2010 06:19 Where can any be seen in museums and how many are still flying. reply |
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