Flying the DH-87B Hornet Moth Flight

Ferry Flight of a 1936 DH-87B Hornet Moth, from Smith's Falls ON, to Grand Valley North airfield, October 2019, and landing in a gusty crosswind. Helmet-cam and voice-over by Dave Hadfield www.hadfield.ca
This is the only one flying in Canada.
The song is "Waltz With A Tiger" from my album "Climbin' Away" (c)2018 Dave Hadfield. I wrote it about the DH-82 Tiger Moth, but it's close enough ;)

[@Garfie1d73]

Looked for a video of the plane because I'm reading "Hornet Flight" by Ken Follett. Found a little gem with this one. Thank you very much for that video.

[@gilbertdavies]

Great video, lovely country. Well done Dave. Superb a/c. I've a fair bit of time in the Tiger Moth, never flown a Hornet. Tailwheel & brakes! Chipmunk was nice too. Best regards

[@davehadfield5906]

Thanks. I'll be flying the overhauled Hornet, and a Gipsy Moth, in the Spring.

[@gilbertdavies]

@@davehadfield5906 Thanks Dave. I annual a dh60, along with a couple of Stampes, & there's also a Moth Minor in the mix. Sadly, I've only flown the Stampe..waiting for a go in the 60. Rebuilding a Jodel presently, usual mount is a CAP 10. Good flying👍

[@Poundingsand]

What a fantastic plane, and a well-documented "fly-along"...It's nice not to have the sounds of the wind and engine drowned out by music...thanks for that!

[@KenMist]

Thanks for taking us along Dave. Beautiful aircraft and your commentary was fantastic.

[@jamesstephenpeyton3305]

What a plane. What a guy.

[@pikeywyatt]

Thank you for another trip down memory lane,an old man in the UK.Thanks.

[@tompierce5969]

I enjoyed watching this, thank you

[@Momo-mw4ef]

Well done video by an experienced pilot. Thank you I just finished Ken Follett book hornet flight a story of Danish resistance in 1941. It’s a great story based on the hornet and if you haven’t read it I suggest it’s a great read.

[@cleekmaker00]

The Gipsy engine sound is music to my ears. What a fabulous airplane! 😄

[@mothmagic1]

Ahh de Havilland. The company was known for good looking aircraft. At least you won't forget that feet are for other things than walking on as you need to use them for coordinated turns with something of that period especially with any of the moth family. Like you I love the sound of Gipsy engines even if they do sound like a tractor when running at low revs. Auster stuck with those windmill generators well into the 50s

[@chrishiatt9686]

I very much enjoy your videos.

[@scott-ish404]

Knowing absolutely nothing about aviation, I just came across this fantastic video as a humble movie goer and Vincent Price fan, as this is the same aircraft model seen in The Abominable Dr. Phibes horror flick.. Thanks for such a great ride!

[@TheLincolnshireFlyer]

Lovely aircraft

[@gryfandjane]

Neat little classic! The air brakes are an interesting feature.

[@_FNQ]

Smart looking aircraft.

[@cavu22]

Very nice ride along Dave.Thanks.

[@pwmiles56]

My second time in a Hornet Moth! The first was a joyride I had in the 60s with an uncle of mine, probably at Biggin Hill, UK. The main thing I remember is, don't step through the wing. Thanks Dave!

[@BaumannJA]

Another AWESOME video Dave! Really enjoyed it!!

[@MEMCITV]

Thank you for sharing the flight.

[@passinthru4328]

I agree the sound of this engine is great. Landing looked really good! Music was right in there.

[@xpump876]

Wow -what beautiful lines the Hornet has. It's my favorite Moth ! Very appropriate music accompaniment and excellent landing. i would have been very nervous in those conditions ..even with the fly round.

[@fredscratchet1355]

What a beautiful old classic.

[@ChrisHadfieldAstronaut]

Nice insight into how you fly, Dave - thanks for making the video!

[@davehadfield5906]

Thanks Chris!

[@mig21pilot]

Nice review Dave!

[@kevintaylor791]

That air driven generator gave me a chuckle. We've come full circle! Look up the "Bom" from Levil aviation. If you're not sure why I'm amused.

[@wiseoldfool]

Great flight!

[@stevenmcdowell9344]

I enjoyed watching the video. The narration helps me understand such a rare bird, and the airplane too!

[@jeffcard3623]

Lol!

[@tgray119]

Never seen a Hornet 87A had faster taper Wings! DH exchanged for B Wings,for less experienced.

[@avcat1209]

I love the Hornet Moth! First I have ever seen one, so love at first sight.

[@WrightCycloneR1820]

Thanks for sharing the experience Dave, that landing looked challenging! Such a shame there are so few Hornet Moths still flying, an under-appreciated classic.

[@davehadfield5906]

Very true. And it's performance is surprisingly good -- quite useful. It'll fly about 6 hours if you fill it right up, and get out of and into fairly short rough strips. Plus it cruises at about 85 kts indicated at an economy power setting, which is far better than the Tiger.

[@DataWaveTaGo]

These videos are a great means to explore aviation.

[@davehadfield5906]

There are times when we should all explore, together.

[@tgray119]

Flew G-ADND after we rebuilt.Take-off 75 yards 145 hp 10.1

[@ericlakota1847]

Little tight inside but still looks cozy just don't want 2 guys coming back from 5day bush hunt

[@daedaluscan]

Wonderful. I learnt a lot.

[@Ecka63]

Hey Dave, my father Gunnar Andersen, bought a DH87A and fully restored it himself to original condition (you can do that when you're a mechanical engineer) over two or three years. The weekend after he finished the restoration, he flew it to the Richmond Air Base, just outside Sydney Australia for the Queens 1977 Silver Jubilee Air Show and came home with Best Restored Aircraft in Show and a couple of other prizes. I used to fly with him after school and on weekends .... I loved that plane and was gutted when he sold it. The DH87A had tapered wing tips like a Spitfire and was by far the better looking when compared against the squared wing tips of the B model. The famous Aviatrix Nancy Bird-Walton came to our home to see the plane because she had flown it in the 30's or 40's and the log book also had a record of transporting the Prince of Wales. Rego was VH-UTE and as I understood it, at the time we had her, she was the only example of a DH87A still flying.

[@davehadfield5906]

Great story! Thanks!

[@ottovollmerhousen9055]

Dave; really like this stuff. You give a great education on common sense protocols for these oddball old ones. I have some of my own oddballs but enjoy these vicarious journeys with you.

[@shannonwittman950]

Great flight video! This seems to me a British / Canadian version of the old charm of Piper and Aeronca and Taylorcraft planes. Ha! All the folks looking with wonder at you as you taxi up! Makes me want to set up my board and build a balsa model of this graceful DeHavilland!

[@ericswild]

Thanks for sharing

[@nergispaul9022]

So many interesting aircraft produced by De Havilland. Thanks.

[@aloisiocarvalho2455]

...we flew together, tks and greetings from Brasil !!!

[@samuelcruz9258]

Una belleza.

[@MayhemCanuck]

That was great, thinking maybe my grandfather might have helped built that originally. He retired after 55 years with DH.

[@angelreading5098]

Dave lovely video of this grand old lady,we had two Hornet Moth's in the fleet back in 1960 G-ADKC & G-ADSK,I remember the not too effective airbrakes but cannot remember that elevator trim lever ? keep her flying she is a beauty and a reminder of times past in aviation.

[@davehadfield5906]

Thanks!

[@ThePorridgeGobbler]

Real seat of the pants flying, as an Avionics guy I'd be maxed out. 😉😁 A beautiful Old a/c.

[@carlwesternut2434]

If i owned a classic plane, I'd want dave flying it. Cool video. Now... if only i could go back in time and aquire a henschel hs 126 😁

[@love2soar]

I think it used to belong to the late Larry Loretto, we were sharing hangar in Lachute! Boy was he passionate about his Hornet Moth! Im glad to see it is still flying :)

[@davehadfield5906]

Yes, Larry had it.

[@hotttt28]

that was fun !

[@henrybartlett1986]

Nice landing.

[@4586johnc]

Very nice video Dave. An old friend of mine, Ron Hayter, won the 1968 Kings Cup Air Race in DH 87B G-ADKM. His average speed 121 MPH.

[@davehadfield5906]

Great!

[@mikedunn7795]

The engine doesn't seem as loud as a lot of similar aircraft,which must make it more pleasant to fly.

[@johnjones4825]

Just discovered your channel yesterday. What a refreshing new experience, oh the flying is OK but the music is great! (Kidding, the flying is also refreshingly different, and really well presented!) Do you know if your album is available in South Africa?Edit: OK. so I walked away for a few seconds, mind changed, this is now among my current favourite channels...subbed.

[@sloleydave]

I just found your video Dave. Larry kindly let me fly EEJ from Smith Falls 2016 when visiting my wife's family - I had about 500 hours on my own Hornet at the time (G-ADMT). I feel I know you Dave!

[@davehadfield5906]

Hello! Thanks for the note. Are your initials DCR?

[@sloleydave]

Ha ha! That's me! @@davehadfield5906

[@grovecitysirens_GCS]

Now imagen flying it over an ocean in ww2 to escape Denmark Thatd in my book Courage and defiance

[@thephilpott2194]

Very nice. I'm sure someone in the UK can find you a genuine pair of mag. switches to finalise the restoration!

[@TFuzz58]

So is this George Neil’s Hornet? I was fortunate to get to talk to him about his Hornet and it was his second favourite airplane. The first being the Mosquito. It was a great conversation and he was a genuinely nice guy. Cheers. Tim

[@davehadfield5906]

Yes. George sold it to Larry Loretto. Then when Larry died it was sold to Blake R, who still owns it. I spent some time with George, 2007-until he died, because I was in charge of the Fury biplane project once Mike P bought it. But it was a 2-hour drive in busy traffic to get to George's house/shop, so I didn't get the hands-on time with him in his shop that I would have liked. Which Tim are you?

[@TFuzz58]

I’m Tim Feusi in Moose Jaw. I’m not sure how George got my phone number but I used to own the maintenance company at the municipal airport here in the 90s and had a Tiger I purchased from a nice gentleman in Highgate Ontario. George called me to ask if I had any Tiger drawings and I did, but were ones I got from a friend who had gotten them from George. The conversation then went to early De Havilland survivors around and then on to his Hornet. It’s truly a shame there isn’t any easy in-line engines of suitable HP and reliability to make replicas of the early aircraft. They were such elegant works of art. Cheers from Moose Jaw Tim

[@christopheschwartz7374]

Ce merveilleux DH-87! Est-il le seul exemplaire en état de vol? Les salutations de France. 🥰👍

[@davehadfield5906]

Merci. Cest le seul exemple de vol au Canada.

[@christopherbasham2179]

This was George Neil's Hornet Moth? I think it is and George chased me around the circuit in Brampton more than a few times in it.

[@davehadfield5906]

Yes, he sold it to Larry L, and Blake R bought it from Larry's estate. It's having a lot of necessary work done to it right now, engine and airframe.

[@christopherbasham2179]

@@davehadfield5906 May see it when I drop into Grand Valley for tire replacement Stan and I planned last year.

[@briansteffmagnussen9078]

This Moth That Moth Another Moth and all the License builds. I think i've seen 100 of them and the only difference are the number of seats or if they are biplane or monoplane. Have anyone kept track over the numbers and variations during it's time.

[@bfmcarparts]

Was this Hornet Moth based or spent some time at the Collingwood airport in the 1975 -76 period? My father and I flew into Collingwood in his BC-12D CF-SJZ for their airshow. The Hornet Moth was in the aircraft tiedown area and was fenced off. There was quite an admirable warbird display, Don Plumb's P-51D CF-USA, Tom Camp's modified canopy P-40, and Planes of Fame's Mustang and F6F Hellcat. It must have been after the Windsor Air Show for PoF to be in this region. We left our base as soon as the ground fog burned off and when we arrived at Collingwood I must have had over an hour of uninterrupted photography time with those airplanes in the sharp morning sun. What else do I remember of that morning? How much the Hellcat's solid rubber tire had sunk into the asphalt!

[@davehadfield5906]

Possibly was -- I wouldn't know. But I didn't know George owned it back then.

[@sblack48]

The previous owner told me the crosswind limit was 5 kts. It seems to not be such an issue.

[@davehadfield5906]

There was no crosswind when below the height of the trees. They screened it out. The concern was controllability in the sheer-zone at treetop-height. Once I established that we were OK there, then the landing was straightforward.

[@sblack48]

dave hadfield do you have any feel for the crosswind capability? Do you think it is much different than a Tiger Moth? I suppose those airplanes date back almost to before the crosswind was invented so perhaps they generally aren’t great. I have a bit of time in a tiger but the owner wouldn’t let me get near a crosswind 🙂. Smart guy

[@davehadfield5906]

@@sblack48 It's a bit more complicated than that. If you go onto my website and contact me through there, I'll fill you in.

[@stellahighton74]

I notice that the artificial horizon is not a happy instrument.

[@wendywood3268]

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[@Robb-jf7vg]

What was that HORRIBLE intro music???? I had to STOP immediately.

[@davehadfield5906]

Hah! It's a whimsical song about Tigers which, if you listen, incorporates "Pilot's Notes For Flying Moth Aircraft". I've also been told it perfectly describes living with a Big Awkward Neighbour. Give it a shot -- in fact, order the album! The lyrics are here: hadfield.ca/waltz-with-a-tiger/

[@waynegilbert9504]

Great flight!