10 DREAM*;;AIRPLANES;;for;RENT
De Havilland
DH82a Tiger Moth
Tiger Club,
Headcorn
Aerodrome,
Headcorn, Ashford,
Kent, United
Kingdom
REQUIREMENTS: Valid pilot’s
license, tailwheel endorsement, and checkout. “;ere’s
nothing prescribed,” Richards
says, “It’s very hard to lay
down hard and fast rules. I
guess about 10 hours [for a
checkout] for most people.”
PHOTO BY RICHARD FOORD AVIATION PHOTOGRAPHY
9
FOUNDED MORE THAN ;;
YEARS AGO, the United
Kingdom’s Tiger Club has
several tailwheel and aerobatic aircraft, but none more
alluring than the flagship of
the fleet, Tiger Moth serial
number 3, built more than
75 years ago. Designed by
Geo;rey de Havilland, the
120-hp biplane was the
Royal Air Force’s primary
trainer (and its first
swept-wing aircraft!) from
the 1930s through World
War II. Transport yourself
back to that era while flying
over the pastoral landscape
around Headcorn
Aerodrome, an easygoing but
bustling grass field, an hour
by train southeast of
London. International visitors can join the club, get
checked out, and take o;
solo into yesteryear. Be prepared for a workout. “;e
handling? I suppose interesting is the right word,” says
club president Glyn
Richards, noting that the
Tiger Moth has “only two
ailerons, not on the top
wing, and no brakes. It
makes crosswind operations
quite interesting.”
COST: Tiger Moth £160 per
hour ($267), dual or solo
(“a highly subsidized rate,”
Richards says); club member-
ship: international members
£ 100 ($167), local members
£150 ($250). www.Tiger
Club.co.uk and www.
HeadcornAerodrome.co.uk
