Aircraft Type
Civil Aviation Aircraft

HISTORY OF THE TIGER MOTH

The Tiger Moth was designed in England by Geoffrey De Havilland and first flew on October 26, 1931 as the final development in a long and successful line of light ‘Moth’ biplanes. By 1939 more than 1,000 Tiger Moths had been produced in Britain. At the outbreak of World War II it was the fully aerobatic basic pilot trainer for the Royal Air Force. Subsequently it became an integral part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan teaching young Canadians, Britons, Australians, New Zealanders and others how to fly.

9,231 Tiger Moths were built between 1931 and 1945 of which 1,747 were built in Canada, most as D.H.82Cs, with cockpit enclosure, brakes, tail wheel, etc. After the war, considerable numbers were released to the civilian market for general aviation purposes including pilot instruction, glider towing and recreational flying.

OUR AIRCRAFT

De Havilland Aircraft of Canada in Downsview (now part of Toronto) built it as c/n 1547 in early 1942. The RCAF took it on strength on March 4, 1942 as RCAF 3886. In July, 1945 it was transferred to Royal Canadian Flying Clubs Association # 2 Training Command as CFCJO. In 1950 the remains of CF-CJO were acquired by Reynolds-Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin. On September 11, 1998, we traded an unrestored Fairey Swordfish to the Reynolds-Alberta Museum for the remains of ‘CJO. Restoration and replication work began in 2000 and was completed in 2003.

FAST FACTS

  • Often referred to by veterans by its nickname, the ‘Tiger-Schmidt’.
  • Because of the ever increasing popularity of the type, there are more Tiger Moths flying now than there were twenty and thirty years ago!
  • In Australia, Tigers were converted as four seat cabin biplanes which they called Jackaroos!
  • As of 2005, 55 Tiger Moths were still listed on the Canadian registry with 170 registered in Australia!
  • The Tiger Moth was the 1st aircraft that BCATP pilots were trained on. A very forgiving aircraft it could recover from a spin by itself if the pilot had enough altitude.
  • The handholds on the lower wing were used to hold the aircraft on the ground if there was a stiff breeze.