There is a wonderful feeling about taking to the skies. It’s about going somewhere. You’re going to a destination for work or leisure but whatever the reason, it’s somewhere.
How about taking to the skies where the experience is what’s important?
How about taking to the skies in an aircraft that is small but strong and filled with more history than a set of Encyclopedia Britannica.
If you were looking up the De Havilland Tiger Moth in an encyclopedia, it might say that it first flew in the 1930s and was the primary trainer for the RAF and Commonwealth air forces around the world as part of the Empire Training Scheme during World War II, including in regional communities across WA.
Have you ever noticed the little yellow bi-plane aircraft flying above Perth, often journeying down a flightpath along the Swan River and beaches?
It’s a 1941 Tiger Moth that is woken up from its hanger each morning by the doting members of the Royal Aero Club of WA (established in 1929). Every early morning she is ready for you to get airborne and experience open cockpit, biplane flight and feel the world in a very different way.
Taking off from Jandakot airport requires joining the busy queue of light aircraft.
Taxing itself is a lot of fun but it’s not what you’ve come to experience. With an acceleration that doesn’t push you back into your seat but with a noise that reminds you that in front of you is a four-cylinder 120ish hp engine that roars to life.
There’s an irrepressible nature to the way a Tiger Moth flies. The noise of the engine and putting your hands on the vibrating frame are not concerning, they’re tangible and beautiful characteristics.
With your leather helmet and goggles you look over the side of the cockpit and as your pilot tips the aircraft on its wing, maybe over Cottesloe beach, you wonder at the ability of the aircraft to be so manoeuvrable in the air after 80 years.
It’s a joy flight for many reasons. It is an opportunity to see Perth from a very different perspective, including swimmers at Swanbourne beach. It is an opportunity to think about the confidence this little aircraft gave to thousands of pilots who went on to fly fighter and bomber aircraft.
Joy flights make wonderful gifts and wonderful opportunities to see the world, in this case your own backyard, from a different perspective. There is the joy of flight in an historic aircraft that feels like you’ve stepped back in time and there is the curiosity of making out your house or a part of the river you don’t recognise or just the breath-taking beauty of a continent that ends with a bright strip of white as far as the eye can see.
Fact Box
• Tiger Moth joy flights are available for 30, 45 or 60 minute duration and include a safety briefing and certificate presentation.
• Access to the Tiger Moth aircraft is easy, using a set of wheeled stairs with a safety rail.
• Contact the Royal Aero Club on www.royalaeroclubwa.com.au or (08) 9417 0000. Don’t ask to speak to Biggles, they have heard that one a million times. Call or visit the club where any of the friendly team will gladly help you arrange this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
