Airco DH.6

The Airco DH.6 was a British military trainer biplane used by the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War, known by nicknames including the Clutching Hand and the Skyhook. Geoffrey de Havilland designed it specifically as a trainer, at a time when obsolete service types were usually used for the role, with two aims: that it be inexpensive and easy to build, and above all simple to repair after the mishaps common in training units. The top and bottom wings were square-cut and interchangeable, heavily cambered and braced with cables, and the fuselage was a straight box. The result had very gentle flying characteristics and could sustain flight at speeds as low as 30 miles per hour. At least 2,282 were built in the United Kingdom during the war by Airco and a number of other firms, and many survived to serve as civil light aircraft after the war.