Joe Deaton's 1952 de Havilland Chipmunk!

Have you ever wanted to own a WWII fighter? Me too!

Has your budget kept you from owning a WWII fighter? Well, unfortunately, me too!

The next best option for those of us who want the thrill of flying a WWII era airplane on a budget are trainers. Yeah, they aren’t as fast or agile as a fighter but, they’re almost as much fun to fly!

The de Havilland Chipmunk was introduced in 1946 to replace the aging biplanes in the British training fleet. The airplane resembles typical fighter aircraft of the time but is much smaller and has considerably less horsepower. While a typical WWII fighter might have 1200HP, the Chipmunk flies behind the 145HP Gipsy Major (Affectionately called the Dripsy Major because they leak oil….a lot of oil!) inline 4 cylinder engine. The engine is canted 4 degrees to the right to mimic the high HP fighters on takeoff. You need to use generous amounts of left rudder when taking off in a Chipmunk. Wait, did I say LEFT rudder?? Yep, the engine turns the opposite direction of most airplanes, so left rudder is required when taking off.

The Chipmunk is a fun airplane. Sitting in the very “cozy” cockpit, it feels very fighter like. Even though it’s rather snug, all of the controls are easily managed.

Designed for +9 and -6 G’s, aerobatics are a delight! Rolls and loops are fun and easy to perform.

Landing the Chipmunk will spoil any tailwheel pilot. At 55kts over the fence with wide, soft landing gear and a very effective rudder, landing this taildragger is a pleasant experience.

If you would like to know more about this airplane, please ask! I am always ready for a little hangar talk!