G-AAMY - 1929 Gipsy Moth made under licence in USA

[brockenspectre]

Hiya - just wanted to share these couple pics taken today at Headcorn. I got there to score aero comp but ... the stinkers had changed the date to next Sun (today too many pilots were displaying at LCY) and had forgotten to tell me ... serves me right for not getting down there often enough!

ANYWAY.. it was a fairly busy day and among the a/c coming through was this 1929 Gipsy Moth made under licence in the USA. It is actually owned and flown by a Dutchman who with a pal in a Slingsby had flown in from Seppe in the Netherlands ..
v sweet a/c. Particuarly notable was its lack of noise - the engine (compared with G-ACDC the Tiger Club's elder stateswoman) is upside down, and the exhaust runs virtually the length of the fuselage .. sounded no louder than a lawnmower which (a) is good if you live in a noise abatement area but (b) makes it not sound right!! :)

http://members.aol.com/karma21094/GAAMY1.jpg
View from back showing reg which is closest to that of Amelia Earhart

http://members.aol.com/karma21094/GAAMY2.jpg
side view showing exhaust and makers sign

I believe that this aircraft was originally built in 1929 but as I didn't get to speak to the pilot personally (others went to help with refuelling) I don't know whether this is a replica or the "original" - you know what I mean by that!

Either way, it was an interesting arrival!

:)

[vintage ATCO]

It's an original DH60GMW, c/n 86, built by the Moth Aircraft Corporation circa 1929. I believe it was the first American Moth to be imported into the UK and flew for a time on its US registration N585M before it was registered as G-AAMY in May 1980. The original G-AAMY, a DH60X Moth, was never built.

The current G-AAMY is a regular at the Woburn Moth Rally.


VA

[Zlin526]

Hi J..

I should have stayed instead of clearing off to LCY. G-AAMY used to be based at Headcorn, when owned by Roger Fiennes. It was used in the film 'Out of Africa'.

PS if you look closely, you can see my car in the background..

[david viewing]

Can anyone comment on the roll authority given by those single ailerons from the handling point of view?

(Obviously as a spam can driver I'd never be let within 100yds of one of these glorious aircraft). But I do have a 1/5 scale model of a Cirrus Moth which has flown 100's of leisurely hours and waddles around the turns displaying exciting adverse yaw and the need for rudder co-ordination.

The lawn mower like single cylinder engine has about the same number of firings per sec and yes, sounds just like the real thing!