It is not overstating the case to say that the Moth revolutionised aviation and was a direct result of the worldwide surge of enthusiasm for private flying. Although the Humming Bird offered a measure of realistic sport flying, it was too basic to meet the requirement, and yet the D.H.51 was too large. The answer was somewhere between the two and the D.H.60 appeared in 1925 as a scaled-down D.H.51 with an 89.4kW engine cut in half, reworked and completed as a 44.7kW ADC Cirrus.

First flown on 22 February 1925, the Moth exceeded expectations and a long series of tests proved that it was eminently suited for school, flying club and private use: it was selected by all the British Flying Clubs formed under the Air Ministry scheme. In addition to the home markets, many civil examples were exported and military models delivered to air forces as tandem two-seat trainers, including those of the UK, Australia, Irish Free State, Sweden, Finland, Japan and Canada. By the close of production nearly 500 Moths had been built, excluding those licence-built in Australia, Finland and elsewhere. Other engines fitted included the 63.3kW Cirrus II, 67kW Cirrus III (as installed in the D.H.60X) and 56kW Armstrong Siddeley Genet (as the Genet Moth).

The first Moth was flown by Alan Cobham from London to Zurich and back in a single day on 29 May 1925; and in 1927 Moths accomplished the London-Cape Town return flight and won the first prize for aerobatics at the Copenhagen International aeroplane meeting. However in 1928 de Havilland produced their own engine for the Moth, the Gipsy, and so the Gipsy Moth was created.

3-View

A three-view drawing (800 x 695)