Eviltwin & The Tiger Moth

In December 1999, a fellow Harley Rider invited the Club to join his Flying Club for a Christmas celebration party day at their local airfield just outside Durban. He (also a pilot), and for the life of me I can not remember his name, was also the proud owner of a very rare De Havilland Tiger Moth, a 1930's biplane used for aerobatics and training.

De Havilland Tiger Moth

Being in a Harley Club does come with some nice perks as we constantly got invitations to various functions and events to join and make it more spectacular. I digress. I am a lifetime fan of flying and aircraft hence I was not going to miss that one. A day at a airfield surrounded by old planes. Heaven.

I did just over a 1000 hours flying in and even flying a range of aircraft while in the South African Air Force doing my National Service back in the day. My travels thru the years also allowed me to fly in various types of jetliners and even smaller aircraft. Separate postings on those.

The day started with the group putting together a nice BBQ while the bikes and planes were on display for all the visitors to photograph and enjoy and around lunchtime the pilot announced that he was going to take his Tiger Moth for a spin and if anyone was keen to go along. Well, there is not a big enough man to have kept me from that invitation and so it came that I totally unexpectedly realised a lifelong dream flying in a "proper" plane from the heydays. A Yellow Tiger Moth.

We taxied down the grass runway (in itself a very different experience), took off, did a few laps flying over the airfield and then I got the full treatment, Loops, rolls and some out of this world flying. Its unlike anything I have ever experienced. The wind in your face, the noise of the engine and the smell of the fuel fumes. Primitive but absolutely exhilarating and a once in a lifetime experience with fond memories. It's the kind of thing you wish will not come to an end but it does.

Sadly, he was killed a few years later flying a restored World War 2 plane in Germany but I have no doubt that is the way he would have preferred to go. Thanks for the memory.

There were no digital cameras so I had to scan the photos.