Aircraft model
DEHAVILLAND TIGER MOTH DH 82A
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The de Havilland Tiger Moth is the British equivalent of the Stearman: an open-cockpit biplane with tandem seats and a swept upper wing, used to train the entire wartime Royal Air Force and Commonwealth air forces. It has an inverted inline four-cylinder Gipsy Major rather than a radial, which gives it a very different sound and a slimmer nose.
It is slower and gentler than a Stearman at 67 knots and 130 hp, and it is generally regarded as the more demanding of the two to fly accurately — it has no flaps, a lot of adverse yaw and rewards precise rudder work. Ownership means a fabric-covered wooden-and-steel structure needing hangarage and periodic recovering, and a Gipsy Major supported by a small but well-organised British and Commonwealth specialist network. Most in the United States are imports with paperwork worth checking.
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- DEHAVILLAND TIGER MOTH DH 82A
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | de Havilland Gipsy Major 1C |
| Horsepower | 130 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1932 |
| Production end | 1945 |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 67 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 260 nm |
| Service ceiling | 13,600 ft |
| Climb rate | 635 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 38 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 710 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 596 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,825 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,115 lb |
| Usable fuel | 19 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 7.3 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $66,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $121,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,500 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $35,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $62,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 101 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 52 |
| Median year built | 1942.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 3 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 57.69 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 57.69 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 10 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 19.23 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 0 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 52 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 52 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 52 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 1.3 of 103 |
| Support | 4 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 4.3 of 105 |
- Accident record: class median 25 · 181 models in class.
- Severity: class median 5.
- Access: class median 987.
- Support: class median 72.
- Liquidity: class median 20.59.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories.