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ISSUE
140 - October 2010
Over 9,000 Total Ads Listed
1,000+ NEW Ads Per Week
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Tiger
Boys - The Quintessential Barnstormers! |
By Kevin Moore, Contributing
Editor & Photographer
Roslin, Ontario, Canada |
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This beautifully restored DHC Tiger Moth
has won numerous Oshkosh awards, including 1980 Reserve Grand
Champion, 1981 Contemporary Age Champion, and 1991 Warbird
Champion. |
Well, boys may not be the right word
to describe most of the pilots that fly with the "Tiger
Boys." Experienced. Venerable. Weathered. Welcoming.
Maybe these are, well, more appropriate. |
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DHC Tiger Moth "Miss
Gloria No 1" takes to the air, left.
DHC Tiger Moth flies
past on final, right. |
The "Tiger Boys" are a group
of pilots who have a love for two-winged aviation and, maybe
more apropos, a love of the de Havilland Tiger Moth. An historic
aircraft designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built in the
1930s, the Tiger Moth has become a highly sought after aircraft.
There are groups around the world that seek out these beautiful
old biplanes, lovingly restoring and flying them, hopefully,
for years to come. |
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Unusually painted
Tiger Moth sitting quietly on the grass before the next flight,
left. Shining brightly in the mid-day sun, a passenger enjoys
a ride in one of a few flying DHC Tiger Moths during the Tiger
Boys Fly-in, right. |
De Havilland of Canada built the Canadian
version of the Tiger Moth at their factory in Toronto, Ontario
and though it was the same basic Tiger Moth design from the
original model at de Havilland UK, there were some noticeable
differences. The DHC Tiger Moth has an enclosed canopy, tail-wheel
(instead of a skid), wheel brakes, and a stronger set of
landing gear that was placed slightly forward of the UK built
Tiger Moth gear. With a normal cruise of roughly 90mph, it
isn't the most high performance aircraft but it was an effective
and well liked training aircraft. |
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"Training
aircraft" for
future Tiger Boys, left, these beautiful little pedal powered
machines
were a big hit with some of the younger crowd, right. |
The Tiger Moth flew with the RAF,
RCAF, RAAF, RNAF to name but a few and served as a trainer
for almost 30 years in some cases. After being struck off
strength, they found their way into the hands of flight training
schools, farmers, crop dusters and others. Today, most are
in the hands of those who wish to preserve the history of
the aircraft either as static pieces in museums, or as flying
tributes to the machine and the men, and women, who flew
them so many years ago. |
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Another famous
training aircraft the Fleet Finch taking to the air, left,
and on final, right. |
The Tiger Boys are not a museum, they
are simply a group of pilots, and people, who love aviation
and airplanes. They don't restrict their love of flight to
just the Tiger Moth, their pilots and members also own and
fly several other aircraft including another RCAF training
airplane, the Fleet Finch. The Finch was designed and built
by Fleet Aviation out of Fort Erie, Ontario and was used
as one of several training aircraft during World War II at
BCATP training bases across Canada, training pilots and aircrews
from across the British Commonwealth. |
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Fleet Finch climbing
out after takeoff, left. Fleet Cornell on final, right. |
There were several variants that mostly
differed by the type of engine that was installed on them.
Cruise speed is roughly 85mph with a top speed, depending
on engine, of 104mph to 115mph. The airplane flew with the
RCAF into the mid and late 1940's and was replaced by the
Fleet Cornell, another airplane you may see flying with the
Tiger Boys. |
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The beautiful and
rare Thruxton Jackaroo taxies past, left, and then takes to
the air, right. |
One of the rarest aircraft in the
skies over Guelph and at events across Southern Ontario with
the Tiger Boys is the Thruxton Jackaroo. This airplane started
life with pre-World War II RAF and was in France when the
war started. The airplane was flown back to England before
it could be captured and destroyed by German forces and saw
life throughout the war as a training and liaison aircraft.
Post-war, the airplane was put in storage until the late
1950's when it was purchased by a group at the Thruxton Aerodrome,
where it was converted from the 2-seat Tiger Moth to a 4-seat
aircraft called the "Thruxton Jackaroo." |
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The Jackaroo on
final, left and in a flypast, right. |
Though originally converted to be
used as a crop duster, the airplane was brought to Canada
by then owner Brian Witty who, in turn, sold it to Glenn
Norman and Michelle Goodeve. The airplane was flown from
Ontario to British Columbia to be used in an aviation venture
but a year or so later was sold to an American collector.
Norman & Goodeve understood the airplane was going to
a good home however, that was not the case and they discovered
it was to be sold for parts. By means of a phone call, the
airplane was saved from the scrap heap by their friends Frank
Evans & Tom Dietrich who spent several years restoring
the airplane to the way you see it now. It is thought to
be the only Jackaroo still flying in the world today. |
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The Taylor E-2 Cub
takes to the air, left.
The 5/8 scale Sindlinger Hawker Hurricane
flies overhead, right. |
The Tiger Boys also fly several other
airplanes including a Corbin Baby Ace (Canada's oldest flying
homebuilt aircraft), a Taylor E-2 Cub, and a homebuilt Sindlinger
Hawker Hurricane, 5/8 scale. All their airplanes are beautifully
restored, very well cared for and lovingly flown. |
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Canadian Warplane
Heritage B-25 came by for a short visit, gear down and looking
like she was going to land, only to power up and head off to
parts unknown, left. On final and passing almost overhead,
one of several Tiger Moth's flying during the day, right. |
The Tiger Boys home is the Guelph
Airpark (CNC4) in Guelph, Ontario. The airport hosts two
paved runways with a super grass runway area often used by
these beautiful old airplanes. There is a flying club on
the field and a wonderful little restaurant should you find
yourself hungry and needing a place to fly to for breakfast
or lunch. It is in the heart of Central Ontario, only minutes
from the Kitchener-Waterloo area, and less than an hour from
Toronto or London. |
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The Thruxton Jackaroo
followed by one of the DHC Tiger Moth's, left.
Tiger Moth finishing
a turn to final, right. |
The Tiger Boys are truly aviation
enthusiasts and once a year, in September, they have a weekend
fly-in. It's a great opportunity for you to fly-in to Guelph
Airpark, or drive to the airport for the day. They have a
BBQ with hamburgers, hotdogs and sausages along with chili
pop, hot coffee and more and everyone is welcome. |
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The Jackaroo throttles
up down the runway on takeoff, left.
The Fleet Finch on final,
low over the corn fields on approach, right. |
At Guelph within several hangars,
this small group of folks restore and rebuild aircraft for
the love of the airplane. They care for and learn about the
history of the airplane. They fly airplanes for the pure
joy and love of flying. They are the quintessential modern
day barnstormers. |
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Guelph based Kitfox
on floats flying past on final, left.
Visiting DH Gipsy Moth
taxies out for departure near the end of the day, right. |
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Fleet Finch on
final, left and in an overshoot, right. |
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Two Tiger Moth's
taxiing past other aircraft in front of hangars where many
other pilots and visitors spent time chatting, left. Tiger
Moth on final, flying past some higher ground just offset from
the final approach, right. |
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The cockpit of
the Thruxton Jackaroo, left.
Wheel hubs with the "D H" for
de Havilland on the Tiger Moth's main gear, right. |
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One of the Fleet Finch pilot's was decked
out in all leather flying gear looking as pilots
may have looked
during the 1940's in their training days in this sepia and
aged photo. |
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