Dart Kitten

The Dart Kitten was a British-built ultra-light aircraft of the 1930s.

Dart Kitten
The 1937-built Dart Kitten II visiting the Kemble (Glos) air rally in May 2009
Role	ultra-light aircraft
National origin	United Kingdom
Manufacturer	Dart Aircraft Ltd
Designer	A.R. Weyl
First flight	15 January 1937
Status	Dart Kitten II airworthy in 2009
Primary user	private owner pilots
Number built	4

Design and development

The Dart Kitten was designed by A.R. Weyl in 1936 and built by Dart Aircraft Ltd at Dunstable, Bedfordshire. It is an ultra-light single-seat low-wing aircraft with a fixed tailskid undercarriage. The four examples built were powered by a variety of engines of between 27 h.p. and 40 h.p.^[1]

Operational history

The Dart Kitten I G-AERP first flew in January 1937 and was sold to a private owner at Tollerton airport near Nottingham. It was stored during the Second World War. It was re-engined with a 40 h.p. J.A.P. J-99 postwar and flew with a private owner at Broxbourne airfield Hertfordshire before crashing there in November 1952.

The Dart Kitten II G-AEXT received its authorisation to fly on 30 April 1937 and had a series of owners before being badly damaged in a crash at Willingale, Essex in November 1964. It was subsequently rebuilt and in 2009 was airworthy with a private owner near Aylesbury Buckinghamshire. As of 2023 it is based with the Real Aeroplane Company at Breighton near Selby in North Yorkshire.^[2]

The Dart Kitten III G-AMJP was built by Dart Aircraft in January 1952 and was flown by owners in Buckinghamshire, Wiltshire and Lincolnshire before being lost in a crash near Kings Lynn in June 1966.^[3]

A fourth Kitten was home-built at Port Moresby New Guinea in 1960 and registered in Australia as VH-WGL.^[4]

Variants

Kitten I

27 h.p. Ava 4A-00 flat four engine;

Kitten II

36 h.p. Aeronca-J.A.P. J-99 engine, revised rear decking and simplified undercarriage;

Kitten III

as Kitten II but with wheel brakes.

Specifications (Kitten III)

Data from Green, 1965, p. 150

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Capacity: 1
• Length: 21 ft 4 in (6.50 m)
• Wingspan: 31 ft 9 in (9.68 m)
• Height: 7 ft 11 in (2.41 m)
• Wing area: 130 sq ft (12 m²)
• Empty weight: 582 lb (264 kg)
• Gross weight: 860 lb (390 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Aeronca-J.A.P. J-99 two-cylinder air-cooled , 40 hp (30 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 95 mph (153 km/h, 83 kn)
• Cruise speed: 83 mph (134 km/h, 72 kn)
• Range: 340 mi (550 km, 300 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 19,700 ft (6,000 m)

References

Notes

1. Green, 1965, p. 150
2. "Breighton Airfield, Yorkshire, June 2023". RodBearden.com. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
3. Jackson, 1973, p. 395
4. Jackson, 1973, p. 298

Bibliography

• Green, William (1965). The Aircraft of the World. Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd.
• Jackson, A.J. (1973). British Civil Aircraft since 1919 - Volume 2. Putnam & Company Limited. ISBN 0-370-10010-7.
• Riley, Gordon (December 1985). "Preservation Project: Last Kitten flies!". FlyPast. No. 53. p. 56. ISSN 0262-6950.