Aviation72 AV7221002

Aviation72 AV7221002 replicates in 1/72 scale diecast the DH 82A Tiger Moth serial number K4288/D of the No.18 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School (No.18 ERFTS), Fairoaks, Surrey, England, 1937.

No.18 ERFTS

The Elementary and Reserve Flying Training Schools (ERFTS) were civilian-based organisations under contract with the Air Ministry and provided
an environment mirrored service attitude. Operated by Universal Flying Services, No.18 ERFTS was formed in October 1937, disbanded in September 1939, and replaced by No. 18 Elementary Flying Training School.

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De Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth

The DH 82 was a British single-engined two-seat, biplane primary trainer, a D.H.60 Moth with the top wing moved forward and swept back to improve the front pilot’s emergency escape. It first flew in October 1931 and entered service in February 1932 with the RAF Central Flying School. The Tiger Moth was the foremost primary trainer in the British Commonwealth during World War II. Production ended in 1944 with 8,868 airframes built in the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Portugal and Norway. The RAF withdrew the Tiger Moth from service in 1952 and the Royal Navy in early 1970. Postwar, it was popular with private owners, with many converted for agricultural work.

The airframe’s construction is of welded metal tube, wood and fabric. The first model, the DH 82, used a Gipsy II engine; the DH 82A used the Gipsy Major, and de Havilland Aircraft of Canada manufactured a winterised version, the DH 82C.

The DH.82A uses a single de Havilland 145 hp Gipsy Major or Gipsy IIIA, inverted, four-cylinder, air-cooled, inline engine, driving a two-bladed propeller.