Friday 15 June 2018.
We went out in a bright and clean Plus 8 this morning.
Destination: Old Sarum Airfield, an ex RFC Airfield in constant use since 1916....
Objective: To fly in a 1942 DH 82A Tiger Moth!
That is me in the front cockpit....
It would be hard to pick a better day for flying in a veteran aircraft. Light breeze, blue sky and puffy white clouds at about 5000ft.
We took off at about 10:45 and flew south, gaining height towards the New Forest. The performance of a 1930s aircraft is, by modern standards, slow. Maximum climbing speed is 90kts, with the engine rumbling along at 2100 rpm. We got up to 3000 feet and commenced a series of aerobatic manoeuvres, loops, rolls and wing-over turns.
Enormous fun, there were a couple of GoPro cameras filming me....I can't wait to see the video.
After that I took over control and flew the aircraft for about 15 mins as we returned towards Alderbury, passing over our house on the way back to Old Sarum. I was pleased to discover that my flying skills are still acceptable, at least when flying straight and level and making gentle left and right turns.
The fuel tank on a Tiger Moth holds 86L and that is enough for 2.5 hours, or 250 miles. So that is about 13 mpg!
Oh yes, Avgas LL is £1.93 a Litre........
The flight lasted just over 30 mins and was wonderful fun: something I'll remember for a long time!
