de Havilland Gipsy Major Engine

Country of origin: UK
Built: Leavesden, Herts, England, c. 1958
Manufacturer: de Havilland Engine Company
Engine: 200 hp (149 kW) four-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted inline engine.

Type: Piston engine

Note: Used in Tiger Moth biplanes and Saunders-Roe Skeeter helicopters.

Details: The de Havilland Gipsy Major is a four-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted inline engine used in a variety of light aircraft including the famous Tiger Moth biplane. First built in 1932 and developed until the 1960s, the total production of all Gipsy Major versions was 14,615 units. Many Gipsy Major engines still power vintage aircraft types worldwide today.

The Gipsy Major powered the Skeeter two-seat light helicopter. The prototype Skeeters built by the Cierva Autogiro Company first flew in 1948 and were powered by the 145hp Gipsy Major 10. The project was taken over by Saunders-Roe and, following lengthy development and competition from the jet-tip propelled Fairey Ultra-Light, the British Army in 1956 ordered Skeeters with the the 200 hp (149 kW) Gipsy Major 200 series engine for the Army's Aerial Observation Post (AOP) role.

A Skeeter helicopter built in 1958 and flown with the 215hp De Havilland Gipsy Major 215 engine is displayed here in The Helicopter Museum