flyernzl
May 17, 2010 at 8:59 am

DH60G Moth coupe

I am currently reading the book Skyways of Maoriland by Hugh Gardiner.
The major portion of this book, published in 1934, describes a tour of the North Island of New Zealand carried out by him in 1932.
The aircraft used for this journey was DH60G Moth ZK-AAZ, and this aircraft was fitted from new with a coupe top.

I have never seen a close-up photo of this type of fixture on a DH60 Moth. Many years ago, I flew in a Tiger Moth, ZK-AJP, which had a coupe top. As can be seen on the photographs of this aircraft at the time, this item was hinged on the starboard side and lifted up from the port side of the aircraft for entry and exit.

Was the factory DH60 coupe top identical to this, or was a different system used. The Tiger top had sliding side windows fitted, was this standard?

Any photos/drawings/details on the DH60 coupe top would be of interest.

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By: flyernzl - 19th May 2010 at 07:53

Thanks for those replies, the data I have on NZ DH60 Moth coupes is fairly definite that they came like that from the UK factory. Maybe there was a standard design that evolved a bit over time?

There is a very poor air-to-air shot of ZK-AAZ in the book, I might see if I can scan that.

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By: pogno - 17th May 2010 at 10:05

I am not sure if this is the same thing but a canopy for a Tiger Moth its for sale/donation on AFORS. See
http://www.afors.com/index.php?page=adview&adid=15494&imid=0

Richard

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By: Arabella-Cox - 17th May 2010 at 09:55

I cannot provide a definitive answer on this one but have certainly seen photographs of a number of DH 60s with coupe tops.

Sir Geoffrey’s personal a/c G-AAAA was fitted with a coupe top for a trip he made with his wife to Morocco in March 1929. The aircraft was later sold with an open cockpit.

Not sure if you have access to Stuart McKay’s excellent book on the deH 60. Just had a flick through my copy and have found images of C-PMAB, G-AACL, G-AAHR, G-AAUR, G-AAZR & OH-VKM all with coupe tops. They appear to vary in design suggesting they may have been “one off” conversions.

I do not have the IT skills to be able to make an image appear with this message!! Please contact me if you would like me to e-mail you images direct.

Hope this helps………… Planemike