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Aviation History
1933
1933 - 1087.PDF
FLIGHT, NOVEMBER 30, 1933 AN EARLY " LEOPARD MOTH " : The machine entered by Sir Derwent Hall Caine and flown by the late Mr Styran in the 1933 King's Cup Race. (FLIGHT Photo.) DE HAVILLAND "LEOPARD MOTH" w HEN the de Havilland Air craft Co., Ltd., produced the first batch of six " Leopard Moths," three of which took part in the King's Cup Race and one of which won the race, piloted by its designer, Capt. Geoffrey de Havilland, it was known that these six machines were the forerunners of a new standard de Havilland model. Tiie six machines have been flown fairly hard between last July and the present time, and so the experience accumulated be fore the final details of the production model were settled has been fairly ex tensive. This should mean that the production machines should be without those minor " snags " which can be so irritating to customers, and which may in exceptional cases be serious enough to mar the future of a new type. The first production " Leopard Moth " was finished a short time ago, but as the pur chaser has not yet made up his mind about the colour scheme, the second produc tion model was actually the first to go into the air, which it did early this week. The following notes and sketches, etc., were prepared from the produc tion machines, but time did not permit us to include Photographs of the actual production machine, and the two photographs pub lished herewith show the winner and third respec tively in the King's Cup Race. The changes made '« the production model are not great, and would »ot be noticeable except bv wry careful inspection of the machines themselves. DE HAVILLAND "LEOPARD MOTH' " Gipsy Major " Engine Dimensions Length o.a. Length folded Wing Span Folded width .. Height o.a. Wing area (gross) Area of ailerons (total) Area of centre section Area of folding flaps . Area of fin Area of rudder. . Area of tailplane Area of elevators Tare weight (bare) Removable equipment Normally equipped tart Petrol 35 gals. (159 litr Oil (2 gals. 9 litres) Pilot ..... 2 passengers at 160 lb. Luggage Max. total weight Normal gross weight . Aerobatic gross weight ft. in 24 6 26 6 37 6 12 6 8 9 . . 206 sq. ft. m. 7,47 8,08 11,43 3,81 2,67 (19,12 m2) . . 19-6 sq. ft. (1,82 m2) 20 sq. ft. (1,86 m2) . . 21-4 sq. ft. (1,99 m2) 4-34 sq. 7-69 sq. 14-32 sq. 13-30 sq. Weights lb. 1,300 41 i wt. . . 1,341 es) . . 263 20 160 320 122 2,225 1,850 1,750 ft. (0,40 m2) ft. (0,71 m2) ft. (1,33 m2) ft. (1,24 m2) kg- 590 19 610 119 9 73 145 55 1 010 840 795 Performance Max. speed at sea level (1,850 lb. gross) 141 -5 m.p.h. (228 km./h.) Max. speed at sea level (2,225 lb. gross) 140 m.p.h. (225 km/h.) At 5,000ft. (1 525 m.) 137 m.p.h. (221 km./h.) and 134-5 m.p.h. (217 km./h.) At 10,000 ft. (3 060)m.) 131 -5 m.p.h. (211 km./h.) and 127-5 m.p.h. (205 km/h.) Cruising speed at 1,000 ft. 120 m.p.h. (193 km./h.) Rate of climb (sea level) 850 ft. ,'min. (4,33 m./sec.) and 625 ft./min. (3,19 m./sec.) Time to climb to 3,000 ft. (1 525 m.) 7 min. and 9-5 min. Time to climb to 10,000 ft. (3 060 m.) 16 min. and 23-5 min. Absolute ceiling 21,500 ft. (6 560 m.) and 17,300 ft. (5 280 m.) Service ceiling 19,000 ft. (5 800 m.) and 14,500 ft. (4 420 m.) Petrol consumption at cruising speed 5-9 gal./h. = 20-4 miles per gallon. Maximum range, still air, 745 miles (1 150 km.) " Puss Moth " was pri marily a two-seater, with provision for an occasional third seat, the " Leopard Moth " is fundamentally a three-seater, with pilot in front and the two passen gers side by side behind him. The cabin furnish ings are extremely comfort able and of attractive appearance, and the view is, thanks to the generous window area and the in verted " Gipsy Major " engine, very good indeed. In the matter of external appearance the " Leopard Moth " differs from the " Puss Moth " mainly in that its monoplane wing is strongly tapered in plan view, while the under carriage struts do not run to the top longerons, but to points down the sides of the cabin. Structurally, the main difference is that the " Leopard Moth " has an all-wood fuselage, while that of the " Puss Moth " was of welded steel tube construction. The wing construction also differs in details, but not greatly in the general principles adopted. After some years' ex perience of metal construc tion, the de Havilland Air craft Co., Ltd., came to the conclusion that there was, after all, much to be said for the old wood construc tion. Generally speaking, it was found that whenever a machine was produced in metal, it proved heavier than the corresponding wooden machine, and also in most cases a good deal dearer. When the firm produced the '' Fox Moth '' there were those who re garded this machine as a retrograde step, because it Although resembling the famous " Puss Moth " a good was made entirely of wood except for a few highly stressed deal in outward appearance, the " Leopard Moth " differs steel fittings. But the answer to the critics was that the trom the earlier machine both in structural features and " Fox Moth " had an amazing ratio of gross to tare ln the layout of the seating accommodation. Whereas the weight, and that it could be sold at a competitive price, 1.91
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