DeHavilland DH82a Tiger Moth

By Sean James (13 September 2004)

he DeHavilland DH82a was probably the best known military training aircraft of the 1930's. The type proved very popular with the British Air Force and civilian flying schools with total production numbering 10,852 with construction in the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The Tiger Moth, affectionately named after designer Geoffrey de Havilland's fascination with butterflies and moths, served in a variety of roles in addition to that of primary trainer to the Royal Air Force such as submarine patrols, air ambulance and even prisoner evacuation. I stumbled across this great download (CCTIGER4.ZIP) in the FlightSim.Com file library as a relatively small download of 8.23 MB. The package includes three derivatives in three liveries each, including the very rare amphibian examples, as well as some adventures and scenery enhancements. To install simply unzip to the main FS9 directory. The scenery I chose not to install being concerned about conflicts with the Aerowox installations.

Lynn and Bill Lyons have done a great job creating very accurately mapped textures and believable flight dynamics including a superb sound pack. The configuration is set up with the engine turned off, engine cover open and the pilot out of the cockpit. Shift+E will put a pilot in the rear seat and by pressing 2 on the keyboard the engine covers are closed. A full radio stack and GPS is available but obviously not fitted as original equipment.

Like most tail draggers the Tiger Moth is not easy to taxi and the correct combination for throttle and rudder is all you have to line up on the grass strip as she was not fitted with a braking system. A lot of right rudder is required to counter engine torque and stay in the center of the runway, something I was not prepared for on my first flight. The tail will rise from the grass when she is ready to lift off and just the lightest back pressure on the stick is require for the climb out but be sure not to over do it as she will stall on you. The Tiger may be slow but is quite capable of loops and barrel rolls as well as stall turns and spin recovery maneuvers; with the inclusion of a smoke system it is great for aerobatic displays.

Both the 2D and virtual cockpits are well constructed and gauges are easy to read. The makers of the model feel that she is best flown in virtual cockpit with 75% zoom and I agree as this creates the feeling of open air cockpit aviation. From this view even the wind noise is included, the first FS aircraft I have flown with this addition to the sound pack. Yet another fine aircraft for the virtual hangar at South African Virtual Pilot HQ.