{"product_id":"az-model-plastic-model-kit-de-havilland-dh-82b-queen-bee-1-72","title":"AZ Model Plastic Model kit de Havilland DH.82B Queen Bee — 1:72","description":"\u003cp\u003eManufacturer\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAZ Model is a Czech specialist model manufacturer particularly well known for short-run aircraft kits and unusual variants that receive relatively little attention from the larger manufacturers. AZ7497 is part of the company's family of de Havilland Tiger Moth derivatives, alongside several DH.82A and DH.82 variants.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Queen Bee is an especially unusual subject because, although it was derived from the famous Tiger Moth, it was designed primarily as a pilotless radio-controlled target aircraft rather than as a conventional trainer.\n\u003cbr\u003eKit contents\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAZ7497 is a 1:72 injection-moulded plastic kit representing the DH.82B Queen Bee.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe kit provides the components needed to construct the characteristic biplane, including:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Injection-moulded plastic fuselage\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Upper and lower wings\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Wing struts and cabane structure\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Tailplane and rudder\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Engine and cowling\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Propeller\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Fixed undercarriage\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Cockpit\/aircraft interior components appropriate to the Queen Bee\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Small external details\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Clear components where applicable\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Decals\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Assembly instructions\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe contemporary AZ7497 listing confirms the 1:72 scale and identifies the subject specifically as the DH-82B Queen Bee.\n\u003cbr\u003eHistory of the full-size aircraft\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe de Havilland DH.82B Queen Bee was developed from the enormously successful DH.82 Tiger Moth trainer. The Tiger Moth itself was one of the most important British training aircraft of the 1930s and Second World War.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Queen Bee was developed to provide the British armed forces with an inexpensive and reusable radio-controlled target aircraft. The idea was to give anti-aircraft gunners and fighter pilots a realistic moving target without placing a human pilot in danger.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe project was developed by de Havilland during the 1930s, with the Queen Bee entering service before the Second World War.\n\u003cbr\u003eDesign\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eExternally, the Queen Bee retained much of the Tiger Moth's familiar biplane appearance. It used the same general arrangement of:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Two staggered wings\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Open cockpit-style fuselage\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Fixed undercarriage\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Conventional tail\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Radial engine installation\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe crucial difference was that the aircraft could be operated without a pilot.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Queen Bee therefore combined the relatively inexpensive and well-understood Tiger Moth airframe with radio-control equipment. This allowed large numbers of existing training-aircraft manufacturing techniques and components to be used for target-aircraft production.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe aircraft was generally powered by a de Havilland Gipsy Major engine, although details varied among production aircraft and related target-aircraft configurations.\n\u003cbr\u003eRadio-controlled target aircraft\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Queen Bee is historically significant because it was one of the early successful examples of a practical radio-controlled unmanned aircraft.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDuring the 1930s, radio-control technology was still developing. The Queen Bee demonstrated that an aircraft could be flown remotely with sufficient reliability to serve as a genuine military training target.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe aircraft could be flown on predetermined courses or manoeuvred remotely, allowing anti-aircraft crews to practise against an actual airborne target.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIts use also helped establish concepts that would become increasingly important during the Second World War: remotely controlled aircraft, unmanned targets and eventually guided weapons.\n\u003cbr\u003eName and naval connection\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe name “Queen Bee” is often associated with the Royal Navy's development and use of remotely controlled target aircraft. The aircraft was used extensively for anti-aircraft gunnery training, particularly to train crews against targets that behaved more realistically than conventional sleeves or towed targets.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Queen Bee could operate repeatedly, making it a practical training system rather than a disposable target.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt was also used by the Royal Air Force, giving both services experience in operating and training against remotely controlled aircraft.\n\u003cbr\u003eRelationship with the Tiger Moth\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAlthough the Queen Bee looked very similar to the Tiger Moth, it should not simply be considered a standard Tiger Moth without a pilot.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe DH.82B incorporated modifications necessary for remote operation, including the equipment required to control the aircraft from the ground. The aircraft therefore occupies an interesting place in aviation history between conventional piloted aircraft and later purpose-built unmanned aerial vehicles.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe underlying Tiger Moth design was particularly well suited to this role because it was:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Simple\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Relatively inexpensive\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Stable\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Easy to maintain\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Available in large numbers\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Capable of carrying the additional radio-control equipment\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSecond World War service\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhen the Second World War began in 1939, the Queen Bee's target role became increasingly important. Britain's rapidly expanding anti-aircraft defences needed extensive training, and realistic airborne targets were essential.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe aircraft was used to train anti-aircraft gunners and fighter crews, helping them practise tracking and engaging moving aircraft without risking operational pilots.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Queen Bee therefore contributed to Britain's wider air-defence training system even though it was not a combat aircraft.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIts importance is easy to overlook because no Queen Bee squadron participated in conventional air combat, but the aircraft represented an important step in the development of unmanned aviation.\n\u003cbr\u003eHistorical importance\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe DH.82B Queen Bee is particularly noteworthy as one of the earliest aircraft to demonstrate that radio-controlled flight could be practical on an operational scale.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eModern UAVs are vastly more sophisticated, but the basic concept—an aircraft operating without a pilot aboard and controlled remotely—was already being demonstrated by aircraft such as the Queen Bee during the 1930s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor a model collection, it consequently represents both the Tiger Moth family and an early chapter in the history of unmanned aviation.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"AZ Model","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57504170115452,"sku":"AZ7497","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/sussex-model-centre.co.uk\/products\/az-model-plastic-model-kit-de-havilland-dh-82b-queen-bee-1-72","provider":"Sussex Model Centre","version":"1.0","type":"link"}