De Havilland DH80A Puss Moth

[Che Guava 4,915]

A look up its snout.

And a shot of the side view from the info panel alongside.

Jammed in a poorly lit corner of the hangar, I couldn't do a proper walkaround. Maybe the museum staff will give it a bit more space later.

Edited May 23 by Che Guava

[Jessie_C 12,865]

I've always wanted to fly one of these, mostly to try out the air brakes.

[Miggers 8,320]

Airbrakes???

[Blue Noser 4,394]

3 hours ago, Jessie_C said:

air brakes.

[Jessie_C 12,865]

1 hour ago, Blue Noser said:

Yep. Take a look at those wheel struts going up to the top of the windscreen. Do you see a linkage coming out from the bottom of the windscreen to the strut? That linkage turns them 90 degrees to the airflow, giving you lots of lovely drag. Look closely at this tiny little picture:

 

[RWG686 37,798]

10 minutes ago, Jessie_C said:

Take a look at those wheel struts

Here's a crop from the one photo I took of her.

 

[Che Guava 4,915]

Yup. U/c leg 90deg hinged. Idea unhinged.

Edited May 23 by Che Guava

[Jessie_C 12,865]

Leopard Moths have a similar system, but since the struts are shorter, the airbrake portion is correspondingly wider, and looks a lot like an NHL goalie pad (or possibly a cricket pad for you English lot). Here's one with the brakes full on.

[RWG686 37,798]

All of these moths makes me want to dig out my slides from the Strathallan meet of July 1979.

41 Tiger Moths, 2 Jackaroos, 7 Hornet Moths, 4 Dragon Rapides and I think a Leopard Moth too.

Brilliant day it was.

[Jessie_C 12,865]

Puss Moths had a notorious weakness. They were prone to flutter, which caused several in-flight breakups with corresponding fatalities. The flutter was finally solved by a jury-strut leading from about the lower third of the forward wing strut up to the trailing wing mount. It's clearly visible in the photos above, like this one:

Leopard moths didn't need this strut, so there's 2 readily seen recognition features to tell them apart :)

[Che Guava 4,915]

Airbrakes began to be necessary because DH monoplanes were so 'clean' they couldn't stop as quickly as the biplanes. The Moth Minor, a very clean Magister-like design with a cantilever wing, had a big perforated airbrake across the rear of the centre-section like some modern carrier strike fighter! Tailwheels instead of skids added to the problem, brakes would eventually solve it.

Edited May 24 by Che Guava

[Che Guava 4,915]

So anyway.... Post moved to my other simultaneous post. Thanks Gorbs.

Edited May 24 by Che Guava

[Gorby 20,040]

Very nice...but are you sure you posted that in the correct thread? 

[Che Guava 4,915]

24 minutes ago, Gorby said:

Very nice...but are you sure you posted that in the correct thread? 

I was hoping you'd spot that, Pike.

[Gorby 20,040]

3 minutes ago, Che Guava said:

I was hoping you'd spot that, Pike.

I was hoping that I'd be able to move it but  brain seems to be having a day off. 

[Blue Noser 4,394]

18 hours ago, Jessie_C said:

Yep. Take a look at those wheel struts going up to the top of the windscreen. Do you see a linkage coming out from the bottom of the windscreen to the strut? That linkage turns them 90 degrees to the airflow, giving you lots of lovely drag. Look closely at this tiny little picture:

 

Well i am astounded! I could have guessed all day but would never have went there! Top notch 30's ingenuity! 

[Jessie_C 12,865]

8 hours ago, Che Guava said:

Airbrakes began to be necessary because DH monoplanes were so 'clean' they couldn't stop as quickly as the biplanes. The Moth Minor, a very clean Magister-like design with a cantilever wing, had a big perforated airbrake across the rear of the centre-section like some modern carrier strike fighter! Tailwheels instead of skids added to the problem, brakes would eventually solve it.

This was also a problem in the air, and was a quick-and-dirty substitute for flaps. It produced more drag, but not any more lift, so it was an unpopular solution with pilots. It did, however, let you descend much more steeply at a sane airspeed, letting you set down on shorter airstrips or over tall obstacles on the glidepath. Pilots can use them to control their height and airspeed in the circuit much the same way gliders do.

[Che Guava 4,915]

The Moth Minor had really large flaps too. They must have been a real pig to stop without brakes. Was there a pre-WW1 who used an anchor thrown out the cockpit - that might have just been a device on "Those Magnificent Men...etc" for comedic effect.

[Miggers 8,320]

20 hours ago, RWG686 said:

All of these moths makes me want to dig out my slides from the Strathallan meet of July 1979.

41 Tiger Moths, 2 Jackaroos, 7 Hornet Moths, 4 Dragon Rapides and I think a Leopard Moth too.

Brilliant day it was.

Well,come on,get digging then old bean.

[Miggers 8,320]

20 hours ago, Jessie_C said:

Leopard Moths have a similar system, but since the struts are shorter, the airbrake portion is correspondingly wider, and looks a lot like an NHL goalie pad (or possibly a cricket pad for you English lot). Here's one with the brakes full on.

Well,I've learned something there I must say. Thanks for the tutorial jess.