De Havilland Chipmunk

De Havilland Chipmunk (DHC1)
Description
Role	Basic trainer
Crew	1 or 2 (Instructor and student)
First Flight	May 22, 1946
Entered Service
Manufacturer	De Havilland
Dimensions
Length	25 ft 5 in	7.75 m
Wingspan	34 ft 4 in	10.47 m
Height	7 ft	2.1 m
Wing area	ft²	15.98 m²
Weights
Empty	1517 lbs	646 kg
Loaded	2014 lbs	953 kg
Maximum takeoff	2200 lbs	kg
Powerplant
Engines	1 x de Havilland Gipsy Major 8
Power	145 hp	108 kW
Performance
Maximum speed	138 mph	222 km/h
Range	280 miles	445 km
Service ceiling	ft	5200 m
Rate of climb	900 ft/min	274 m/min
Wing loading	lb/ft²	kg/m²
Power/Mass	hp/lb	kW/kg

The de Havilland Chipmunk is a tandem two seat single engined training aircraft, and was the standard primary trainer for the British military though most of the post-war years.

Designed to succeed the de Havilland Tiger Moth biplane trainer, the Chipmunk flew for the first time at Downsview, Toronto on 22 May 1946. It was the first indigenous design of de Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd, the main designer was a Pole Wsiewolod Jakimiuk. The prototype was powered by a 108 kW (145hp) de Havilland Gipsy Major 1C

Two were evaluated by the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment at Boscombe Down. As a result, the fully-aerobatic Chipmunk was ordered as an ab initio trainer for the Royal Air Force. Prince Philip took his first flying lesson in one in 1952. The Royal Canadian Air Force also adopted the Chipmunk as their primary trainer. British Chipmunks are notably different from Canadian ones; the latter have a bubble canopy, while British examples have the flat-panelled sliding canopy.

The RAF received 735 Chipmunks manufactured in the UK. They initially served with University Air Squadrons. A few Chipmunks were pressed into service in Cyprus on internal security flights during the troubles of 1958, and some were used for covert reconnaissance operating out of Berlin. They were still in service for ATC Air Experience Flights until 1996 when they were replaced by the Grob Tutor. The last two Chipmunks in military service are operated by the RAF Battle Of Britain Memorial Flight, to keep its pilots current on tailwheel aircraft.

Downsview built 218 Chipmunks, the last in 1951. 1014 were built in Britain. 60 Chipmunks were licence-manufactured from 1955 in Portugal for the Portuguese air force. Other users included Burma, Ceylon, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Egypt, Eire, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaya, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Thailand and Uruguay.

From the 1950s onward, the Chipmunk became a popular civilian aircraft, being used for training, aerobatics and crop spraying. Most civilian aircraft were ex-military.

Units Using the Chipmunk

Royal Air Force

• No. 31 Squadron
• No. 114 Squadron
• No. 275 Squadron
• No. 8 Squadron RAF
• Station flight, RAF Gatow (Berlin)
• The UASs (University Air Squadrons)
• The AEFs (Air Experience Flights) (Air Training Corps)

External links

• RAF Museum (http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/de-havilland-chipmunk.htm)
• Delta Aviation (http://www.deltaaviation.co.uk/html/aircraft_chipmunk.html)
• Royal Canadian Air Force Museum (http://www.rcafmuseum.on.ca/ac_chipmunk.htm)