Popular Biplane: 90 Years Of The De Havilland Fox Moth

Today marks nine decades since the DH.83 Fox Moth first took to the skies. The aircraft performed its maiden flight on January 29th, 1932, and went on to be introduced with a Gipsy Major I inline inverted piston engine.

There were notable fans of the Fox Moth, including Edward VIII, with his plane being inspected here at London’s Stag Lane in December 1932. Photo: Getty Images

Another innovation

This biplane model was designed by influential British aircraft and boat designer Arthur Ernest Hagg. The innovator was also responsible for the DH.88 Comet racer, the DH.91 Albatross, and the D.H.86 Express. Notably, he invented different ailerons utilized on the Tiger Moth, which performed its first flight three months before the Fox Moth.

The Fox was not as influential as the Tiger. However, it managed to deploy many aspects of its sibling to continue the evolution of British civil operations in some of the most critical years in aviation’s history.

“Designed as a single engine biplane, the prototype DH83 Fox Moth (G-ABUO) flew for the first time in March 1932.  The DH83 Fox Moth had an open cockpit for its pilot, located well aft on the plywood covered fuselage. Ahead of the pilot and enclosed within the fuselage, there was a small cabin that could seat four passengers.,” BAE Systems reports.

“The passengers were provided with side windows, whilst the pilot was provided with a circular glass ‘porthole’ in the instrument panel, so that he could check on the well-being of the passengers. The Fox Moth made use of many DH82 Tiger Moth components (including wings, engine mounting and undercarriage).”

The aircraft could fit up to four passengers and a pilot while reaching a cruise speed of 91 mph (146 km/h) and a range of 369 NM (684 km). Photo: Alan Wilson via Wikimedia Commons

Balanced popularity

The plane saw reasonable success. In the civilian space, Blackpool and West Coast Air Services, Giro Aviation, Hillman’s Airways, Midland & Scottish Air Ferries, North West Air Services, Northern & Scottish Airways, Olley Air Services, Provincial Airways, and Scottish Motor Traction flew the plane in the UK. Across the continents, Adastra Airlines, Tata Airlines, Wardair Canada, Air Travel (NZ) Ltd, and Aeroput could be spotted flying the plane.

There was also attention when it came to the armed forces. Militaries in Brazil, Canada, New Zealand, Spain, South Africa, and Yugoslavia had put their faith in the type.

The Fox Moth wasn’t as powerful as its counterparts, but it was well suited to certain activities of the time due to its nimbleness. Photo: Chris Finney via Wikimedia Commons

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Surviving the war

Canadian productions were built after World War II and went by the name of DH.83C. These were regularly seen with an enclosed sliding cockpit and were put to great use in bush operations.

Of the four variants of the Fox Month family, two were unofficial Japanese copies going by the name of Gasuden KR-1 and Gasuden KR-2. The latter was a version with modified wings.

In total, 155 DH.83 Fox Moth units were produced since the program’s launch in late 1931. The aircraft led to the development of the larger twin-engined de Havilland Dragon to continue the evolution of civil aviation.

What are your thoughts about the de Havilland Fox Moth? What do you make of the aircraft’s impact on civil operations over the years? Let us know what you think of the plane and its history in the comment section.

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