Like a tired Ardices glatignyi caterpillar who heads to ground shrouded in a cocoon for a period of restorative work, this Tiger Moth plane, named after it, also took full glorious flight with its new wings after its transformation was complete.
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The de Havilland aircraft is housed in a hangar at Shepparton Airport in Kialla, but Gawne Aviation co-owner Chris Gregory said it was fully restored about five years ago in Luskintyre, near Maitland in NSW’s Hunter Valley.
The 1930s biplane was designed by English aviation pioneer and aerospace engineer Geoffrey de Havilland, who named it for his interest in moths and butterflies.
Though English-designed, the aircraft hangared at Kialla was built in Australia by De Havilland Aircraft Co at Mascot, near Sydney.
When World War II was imminent, an air-training scheme was launched across the Commonwealth to train thousands of pilots in readiness.
Tiger Moths were built under licence in seven countries as training planes and based at Elementary Flying Training Schools scattered around them.
In Australia, one of those flight schools existed just a stone’s throw away, at the gateway to Victoria’s High Country, where this particular beauty spent much of her former life.
“I think the unique thing about this one is that it’s from Benalla, No. 11 EFDS,” Mr Gregory said.
De Havilland manufactured 8811 DH-82 Tiger Moths worldwide between 1931 and 1945.
The Australian licensee manufactured 1070 during World War II.
Of those, 732 went to the RAAF; the remainder were exported to overseas training schools.
It might have been built pre-war, but Mr Gregory said this particular Tiger Moth was now like a brand-new aircraft.
And, like the caterpillar-cum-moth, it has lived many lives in its 80-odd years.
The vintage single-engine biplane has an open tandem cockpit, entered via the wing. Mr Gregory said it would typically have had an instructor in the front and a learner in the back or, when it was used for joy flights and commercial activities, a pilot in the front and a passenger in the back.
Its fuselage is constructed from steel tubing and covered in fabric and thin plywood.
The wings — which span almost 9m — and tailplane are made of timber and covered with fabric.
It’s just over 7m long and 2.68m tall, except when flying. You’ll find it at heights up to 13,600 feet.
It has a range of about 486km, a maximum speed of 176 km/h (95 knots) and weighs 506kg basic (803kg maximum).
The idea behind the single bay design was to aid pilot vision, make entering the cockpit easy and reduce the aerodynamic interference between the wings.
The appeal of the plane for Mr Gregory, aside from its aesthetic beauty, is its old-school operation.
Along with fellow aviation enthusiast Chris Kinnane, the pilot of more than 50 years said the pair had decided to buy the Tiger Moth to return to their flying roots.
“There are less buttons,” Mr Gregory said.
“It has to be hand-started; there’s no electric start.”
Its engine, which in true vintage style still needs crank-starting, was built by General Motors-Holden at Fishermans Bend in Melbourne.
“Many Tiger Moths don’t have brakes or a tail wheel, but this one does,” Mr Gregory said.
The plane’s livery is a traditional RAAF colour scheme.
Mr Gregory said the Tiger Moth had also been used for aerial agriculture in its time, in addition to military training, thrilling tourists and transporting passengers.
“It was even a crop duster,” he said.
Eventually, Mr Gregory and Mr Kinnane plan to make the Tiger Moth available for training out of Shepparton Airport on the GV Hwy, but they will first brush up on their old-school aviation skills.
“We have to teach ourselves how to fly it first,” Mr Gregory said, with a laugh.
Senior journalist