Dart Kitten
1930s British ultra-light aircraft
title: "Dart Kitten" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1930s-british-sport-aircraft", "1930s-british-civil-utility-aircraft", "dart-aircraft", "low-wing-aircraft", "single-engined-tractor-aircraft", "aircraft-first-flown-in-1937"] description: "1930s British ultra-light aircraft" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dart_Kitten" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary 1930s British ultra-light aircraft ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox aircraft"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Dart Kitten |
| image | Dart Kitten II Kemble 09.05.09R.jpg |
| caption | The 1937-built Dart Kitten II visiting the Kemble (Glos) air rally in May 2009 |
| aircraft_type | ultra-light aircraft |
| national_origin | United Kingdom |
| manufacturer | Dart Aircraft Ltd |
| designer | A.R. Weyl |
| status | Dart Kitten II airworthy in 2009 |
| primary_user | private owner pilots |
| number_built | 4 |
| first_flight | 15 January 1937 |
| :: |
The Dart Kitten was a British-built ultra-light aircraft of the 1930s. | name = Dart Kitten | logo = | logo_size = | image = Dart Kitten II Kemble 09.05.09R.jpg | alt = | caption = The 1937-built Dart Kitten II visiting the Kemble (Glos) air rally in May 2009 | long_caption = | other_names = | aircraft_type = ultra-light aircraft | aim = | outcome = | related = | national_origin = United Kingdom | manufacturer = Dart Aircraft Ltd | design_group = | designer = A.R. Weyl | builder = | issuer = | status = Dart Kitten II airworthy in 2009 | owners = | primary_user = private owner pilots | more_users = | service = | major_applications = | proposals = | prototypes = | number_built = 4 | construction_number = | civil_registration = | military_serial = | radio_code = | requirement = | aircraft_carried = | flights = | total_hours = | total_distance = | construction_date = | introduction = | retired = | first_flight = 15 January 1937 | initiated = | in_service = | last_flight = | expected = | developed_from = | variants = | developed_into = | preservation = | fate = | predecessors = | successors = | concluded =
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.
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.
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.
A fourth Kitten was home-built at Port Moresby New Guinea in 1960 and registered in Australia as VH-WGL.
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)
|ref=Green, 1965, p. 150 |prime units? = imp
|crew=1 |capacity=1 |length ft=21 |length in=4 |span ft=31 |span in=9 |height ft=7 |height in=11 |wing area sqft=130 |empty weight lb=582 |gross weight lb=860 |eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=Aeronca-J.A.P. J-99 two-cylinder air-cooled |eng1 hp=40 |max speed mph=95 |cruise speed mph=83 |range miles=340 |ceiling ft=19,700
References
;Notes ;Bibliography
References
- Green, 1965, p. 150
- "Breighton Airfield, Yorkshire, June 2023".
- Jackson, 1973, p. 395
- Jackson, 1973, p. 298
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