TEXT AND IMAGES - RAY WATTS
CHIPMUNK 75TH
ANNIVERSARY DHC-1 Chipmunks were basic trainers for the SAAF and ZS-COX's colours were the forerunner of the Harvard.
THE MUCH LOVED DE HAVILLAND Chipmunk celebrated its 75th anniversary with a splendidly nostalgic gathering of De Havillands at Springs airfield on 22 May 2021. The DHC-1 Chipmunk was designed by De Havilland Canada as a replacement for the DH82A Tiger Moth, which was still in use as a basic trainer after World War 2. The ‘Chippie’ as she was affectionately known, was designed by Wsiewołod Jakimiuk, a Polish engineer. Jakimiuk served as the principal designer in the development of the new aircraft, which became known as the Chipmunk. He designed a cantilever monoplane that incorporated numerous advances over the typical trainer aircraft then in widespread service. These included: an enclosed cockpit complete with a rear-sliding canopy, as well as various
aerodynamic features to manage the aircraft’s flight performance. Strakes were fitted to deter spin conditions and stall breaker strips were added along the inboard leading edges of the wing to ensured that a stall would originate in this position as opposed to the outboard section. The Chipmunk was the first indigenous aircraft design to be produced by de Havilland Canada.
T h e ‘ Ch i p p i e ’ was designed b y a Po l i s h engineer
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The Chipmunk prototype, CF-DIO-X, first flew on 22 May 1946 at Downsview, Toronto, piloted by Pat Fillingham, a test pilot who had been seconded from the parent de Havilland company. The prototype was powered by a 145 hp (108 kW) de Havilland Gipsy Major 1C air-cooled reciprocating engine, this was replaced on the production version of the Chipmunk by a 145 hp (108 kW) inline de Havilland Gipsy Major 8 engine.
