Chipmunk

[mutleyfour]

I thought it a damn shame that the Badger thread dissapeared and hence thought of another means to discuss a tri service subject.

All three of us had the Chippie in service at some point or another and I also understand it (the animal) to be as much of a nuisance in the states as the Badger is becoming here!

Discuss......

[Zoom]

My sister lives in Canada (close enoiugh?) and has a chipmunk living under her house. However, I didn't see it on my recent visit.


Well, that's it. That's my sum total of chipmunk experience, although I do have a couple of hundred hours of Chipmunk experience.

[mutleyfour]

I have just over 40 hours on Chipmunk with 13 hours solo.

I have only ever seen the furry chipmunk on telly or at the zoo.

I have only ever seen badgers either on telly or flattened on the road.

I have over a thousand hours on Beavers however :ok:

[parabellum]

On the 28th of January, 1965 I did my First Solo in Chipmunk WK613, I eventually did 65 hours in the Chipmunk T10.

I have never seen the hairy version of a Chipmunk. Beavers? well a few, for sure.:E

[rab-k]

Ah yes, the 'umble 'Chippy'... fond memories of wearing that 'chute and feeling like someone had placed one's knackers in a bulldog clip, whilst having to walk like Quasimodo all the way to the aeroplane and back, the smell of dried vomit and nomex, the noise etc. Oh yes, halcyon days indeed...

[FormerFlake]

My first ever flight in an RAF aircraft was in a Chipmunk. The Portuguese Air Force still have around 20 of them in service as basic trainers.

Not sure who was the best out of Alvin, Simon and Theodore though.

[effortless]

I soloed in a Chippie, it is without doubt the happiest kite I have ever flown. I preffered Pinky and Perkie's singing though.

[mutleyfour]

I soloed in a Chippie, it is without doubt the happiest kite I have ever flown. I preffered Pinky and Perkie's singing though.


Ahh, that first solo, I whistled and spent the whole circuit talking to myself. Downwind leg checks were (from memory):

Mixture rich
carb air to hot
Fuel (enough, you'd hope so)
Flaps
Harness
Hood
& Brakes

or in laymens terms: My Cool Friend Fred Has Hairy Bollards!!!!

[FJJP]

...or My Cr*p Friend Freddie Has Hairy B*lls!

[KENNYR]

What a coincidence parabellum, I FHT'D in WK613 on 14 June 1978 and did my IF check in her on 08 June 1978. A venerable old girl indeed. I wonder where she is now ??

[Guern]

Middle Wallop last I heard.

[6Z3]

Breech Inserted, Cowling Secure, Clear to Start....... etc etc etc

[hobie]

My Cool Friend Fred Has Hairy Bollards

Saints on High .....

can always have ....

tea or alcohol ....

It must be a good concept because I never forgot the above .... :)

[JackOzziJ]

Hey - have any of you Chipmunk people seen this NON-commercial Forum with 103 Chipmunk Pilots, Enthusiasts, Engineers talking about Chipmunks!
Why not join and pass on your Chipmunk Knowledge & Experiences!
http://www.caledonianchipmunks.co.uk/forum/

[Hueymeister]

anyone know of any up for sale? A member of the Meister family would love to buy a share in one, and then let someone (possibly me - 600hrs on the type) teach him to fly it.

[RileyDove]

There is a share available at Top Farm near Gransden in WG407 . Is that too far from you?

[GlosMikeP]

My first flight in an RAF aircraft was in Chipmunk WG480 on 1 Dec 1973, in my first year at university at RAF Woodvale while with Manchester and Salford UAS.

As a new form of shut-down, one of our number decided not to use the conventional cut-off but instead to hit the Kaufmann starter again. Big bang, plumes of black smoke. Instructor dived out of rear cockpit heading for the fire bottles. Prop stopped. Ground crew helpless with laughter!:D

As for the little furry bu&&ers, don't try and catch one bare handed. They'll bite your fingers through to the bone. Teeth like scalpels.:{

[hobie]

did you ever wonder where they all are today? .... :confused:


Courtesy of DGH of caledonian chipmunks

http://www.caledonianchipmunks.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=245&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0&sid=4ecc3185fc83010bbc46a51cac1fb754

[Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!]

I have over a thousand hours on Beavers however are they all solo?

[mutleyfour]

Oh yes, not into that wingman malarky that you Air Force chaps have a fetish for.

[hobie]

Would you believe over 1,000 Chipmunks were built (1,075) .... :eek:

[helidriver]

Ah, the memory.......

"Fuel on, Brakes on, Throttle Closed, Switches Off".........Phut, Bang...Prop Spins.....

Those were the days.:)

[rab-k]

Managed to track down pics of a few of one's former chariots c/o http://www.airliners.net :

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f105/rab-knight/WK585.jpg

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f105/rab-knight/WD373taxi.jpg

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f105/rab-knight/WP92911JUL82Shawbury25min.jpg

Happy days... http://www.bf2combat.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif

[hobie]

rab-k ..... is that BEagle in the back? .... :)

or were the Chipmunks after his time .... :confused:


ps. BEagle ..... I didn't mean the second part .... honest !!!! :p

[soddim]

Can anybody boast more than 50 continuous loops in a Chippie?

[Studefather]

O.K, at risk of thread drift, but Hueymeister, or anyone elsefor that matter, interested in my 1/4 share of WG407, PM for full details.

[27mm]

Halcyon days... 69-71 on ULAS at White Waltham on the venerable Chipmunk. 145bhp, if I recall, which was the same as a Vauxhall Cresta. Fri nite in the mess, Sat morning hungover, strap in, pull the chain, face full of cartridge fumes, taxy out, launch off to overhead the White Horse on Lambourn Downs, aerobat oneself silly, trundle back to White Waltham, attempt a three-pointer (and bounce), repeat same after lunch, then back to the mess for afternoon tea and toast, while waiting for the bar to open. Repeat same on Sunday. And get paid for it!

[idle stop]

27 mm: you omitted the bit about back to Messrs Brown and Booth for a black coffee and LOUD music to help with the problem of the bar only closing at 0200 or so......

That was the start of my Chipmunk days. Sadly, my most recent flight was just before my terminal leave in 1990, when I ferried WP900 from Brawdy to Shawbury. I'm working on getting back in one....

If you're going to the ULAS 'oldies' bash this Saturday evening at 128 Piccadily, see you there.

[Proletarian]

Chipmunk's also had an important intelligence gathering role over the Berlin Zone.

For further details see: www.spyflight.co.uk/chipmunk.htm

Proletarian

[effortless]

When did they go red? I am sure that the ones I flew were grey. Mind you, everything was in black and white back then.:}

[idle stop]

They were still Silver Grey when I left ULAS in 1971. By the time I went through BFTS in 1975, the Bulldogs, JP etc were all in the red livery.
No doubt somebody can be more precise.

[hobie]

The value of "Dyno tape" ...... :)

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1121094/M/ (http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1121094/M/)

[BEagle]

idlestop - regards to all the ULAS chaps tomorrow who were at WeissWaltham AB between 1969 and when it sadly closed.....

Brown and Booth - what a great pair of chaps to introduce one to the joys of the Thundermunk! Particularly when moderated by the great Andy Whittaker!

[India Four Two]

Hobie,

Nice picture, which brings back some happy memories of flying CF-BXI in the 70s. The bubble canopy was so much nicer than the T10 greenhouse. The picture also shows one of the many differences between the Canadian version and the T10, which I had completely forgotten about. Note the rear cockpit mag switches, which are mounted Tiger Moth style, between the two cockpits.

I42

[gravity victim]

Can someone confirm whether the mil Chipmunks had a rather nasty spin if left to wind up? The civilian mods for a C of A included so-called 'anti-spin strakes' on the rear fuselage, presumably for this reason. I was told that in extremis it was discovered the spin could be stopped by pulling the yellow knob, jettisoning the canopy, unstrapping and standing up! - something to do with changing airflow over the tail I was told.

[GlosMikeP]

Long time since I flew one so not sure, but I do recall someone having trouble getting it out of a flat spin.

[idle stop]

AFAIK, all UK Chipmunks civ and mil had the strakes fitted as a Mod, and the Mod also increased the chord length of the rudder.
The aircraft is cleared for up to 8 turns of an erect spin. As the spin develops, it becomes flatter, and recovery eventually very difficult.
There was a lot of folklore about Chipmunk spins. Do it by the book and at a safe recovery height and be prepared for the recovery delay to increase with the number of turns completed.
Anyway, who would want to spend all day getting to sufficient altitude to begin an 8 turner? 250 ft per turn and 1500 ft for recovery and, as per then RAF rules, recovered by TL plus height of ground.....

[False Capture]

India Four Two,
Not to mention, the more sensible RPM gauge with a single needle instead of the two needles found in RAF Chipmunks.

[oldpax]

A photo on FB this morning of a Chipmunk that had landed in a field with Fiddlers ferry power station in the background.Supposedly from AEF ,RAF Shawbury.I didn't know Chipmunks were still used !

[spectre150]

Could be privately owned but still in the old red and white paint scheme. I am sure someone on here will tell us when AEFs stopped flying Chippies.

[Martin the Martian]

Did somebody call?:8

1996, with No.10 AEF at Woodvale having the honour of being the last.

[Linedog]

BBMF still have two working examples, but they are black and white.

[45-25-25]

MtheM I stand to be corrected, but I believe I flew the last Chipmunk AEF Sortie in
WP 970 at No 5 AEF Cambridge on 31st March 1996 with CWO Dockery (an apprentice at Marshalls). I was then the Commandant of Air Cadets with full responsibility for AEFs and Gliding - happy days!

[Basil]

45-25-25, Used to fly for 5 AEF when on a ground tour at Wyton. Should have kept it going when I left but wife, kids, house, civ flying etc got in the way - bl**dy inconsiderate of them! ;)

[oldpax]

This one was RAF silver with roundels!Could not see the serial number Looked like it landed in a field of winter wheat and the front eng cowling was covered in mud.Pitot tube cover was in place!

[KPax]

The Chipmunk that tows the gliders from Sleap WP788 is flown by guys who often land in fields in the Shawbury area. This aircraft is silver with roundels.

[45-25-25]

Of course after the AEFs converted to the Bulldog 2 Chipmunks WP 833 and WP 962 continued in RAF service and flew around the world. They were piloted by Ced Hughes OC 5 AEF, Bill Purchase OC 7 AEF and Tony Cowan a No 5 AEF pilot. Two books were published about this adventure "Around the World at 90 knots" by Bill Purchase and "Chipmunks Around the World" by Tony Cowan. Both are now out of print, but if you can track them down on eBay or on Amazon they are well worth a read and cover one or 2 'interesting' moments!

[Dave Clarke Fife]

Of course after the AEFs converted to the Bulldog 2 Chipmunks WP 833 and WP 962 continued in RAF service and flew around the world. They were piloted by Ced Hughes OC 5 AEF, Bill Purchase OC 7 AEF and Tony Cowan a No 5 AEF pilot. Two books were published about this adventure "Around the World at 90 knots" by Bill Purchase and "Chipmunks Around the World" by Tony Cowan. Both are now out of print, but if you can track them down on eBay or on Amazon they are well worth a read and cover one or 2 'interesting' moments!

Couple of interesting links to the RTW flight:

https://www.pprune.org/aviation-history-nostalgia/595854-around-world-90-kts.html?highlight=Ced+Hughes

https://www.pprune.org/aviation-history-nostalgia/596175-around-world-90-kts-part-2-a.html?highlight=Ced+Hughes

[MAD Boom]

‘Jump Jump John!’

‘Jump Jump Sir!’

Happy memories

[aw ditor]

452525 re 31/3/96

I trust you bought a round (or two) at the Ancient Shepherds'.

AD'

[BossEyed]

BBMF still have two working examples, but they are black and white.


Not any more. One (WK518) is silver with dayglo nose, rear fuselage and wingtips (as worn at Hull UAS in 1961).

WG486 is to reappear imminently in a scheme representing Bristol UAS.

[Basil]

‘Jump Jump John!’

‘Jump Jump Sir!’

Happy memories
OK, in the JP but:
QFI: "The executive command to eject is 'Jump, jump!'. If you ever hear me say that, the second time's an echo!"

p.s. MAD Boom, was that an actual disembarking?

[ValMORNA]

From Aviation Services Net:


Date:24-FEB-2018
Time:Typee Havilland DHC-1 Chipmunk T.10
Owner/operator:Private
Registration: G-BTWF (WK549)
C/n / msn: C1/0564
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 /
Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:0
Airplane damage: Minor
Location:Goole, East Yorkshire - https://cdn.aviation-safety.net/database/country/flags_15/G.gif United Kingdom (https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/dblist.php?Country=G)
Phase: En route
Nature:Private
Departure airport
Destination airport:Breighton Airfield
Narrative:
On the way back from an air show, the pilot struggling to find his landing strip then land his plane in a muddy field near Goole.
The plane's propeller hit the ground. No one was in injured.

[Lima Juliet]

BBMF still have two working examples, but they are black and white.

Not any more. They are both in legacy UAS colours these days. WK518 is now painted in the colours it actually wore when it served with Hull UAS in 1961. WG486 is now painted in Bristol UAS colours from 1972.:ok:

https://www.raf.mod.uk/bbmf/rafcms/mediafiles/86F0F087_5056_A318_A8F46E1F0EF24310.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4702/39507429475_20d8891f16_b.jpg

Pictures point to links on the internet.

[MAD Boom]

Clearly you were never a cadet in the ATC Basil!

Simply a quote from the pre-flight safety briefing video we were all treated to whilst waiting in the hangar at 8 AEF all those years ago. The first time I saw it I didn’t realise it was a safety brief, but a demonstration of what I was expected to do on my flight. Spent the next couple of hours bricking it as I thought I was going to be jumping out over Shropshire.....

[Dave Clarke Fife]

Clearly you were never a cadet in the ATC Basil!

Simply a quote from the pre-flight safety briefing video we were all treated to whilst waiting in the hangar at 8 AEF all those years ago. The first time I saw it I didn’t realise it was a safety brief, but a demonstration of what I was expected to do on my flight. Spent the next couple of hours bricking it as I thought I was going to be jumping out over Shropshire.....


For those who were never CCF/ATC or for those that have forgotten the finer points of the briefing film, I invite you to indulge ......


https://youtu.be/quAzZbNEX98

[Herod]

Thanks Dave. Worth it for the footage of the Chippie. I flew for two AEFs, once as a regular officer and once as a VRT. How to have fun at the same time as doing something rewarding. Wonderful old aeroplane.

[kenparry]

WG486:

https://www.pprune.org/members/66630-kenparry-albums-kp-pics-picture942-044buas-nov71.jpg


Taken at Filton, then the home of BUAS, in 1971. Looks like BBMF got it right! (though the prop then looks to be black with yellow tips)

[Haraka]

WK 518 was on U.L.A.S, 71/72 with yes, black prop with (eroded) yellow tips.......

[Dora-9]

Looks like BBMF got it right! (though the prop then looks to be black with yellow tips)

Mostly. Since the black/white banded prop blades didn't appear until 1978, there's clearly an error here. WK518 perpetuates this mistake. But otherwise, well done.

[Dora-9]

WK 518 was on U.L.A.S, 71/72 with yes, black prop with (eroded) yellow tips....... Haraka - the 1971 issue of the Painting Guide calls for red/white/red bands (all measuring at 2", except the outboard red which was 2.5") on the face, and 6.5" yellow tips on the rear - but some examples still had yellow tips on both sides years later!

[Haraka]

Well it had the black prop and yellow tips when I used to fly it IIRC .

[Basil]

#18:
"I have control."
"You have control, sir."

The solidly built 16yo I took flying at Cambridge had clearly missed that bit.
I had to raise my voice and include one or two seagoing engineer adjectives to regain control after we entered a spiral dive overhead Marshalls.

[papa_sierra]

Might be of interest for the Chipmunk drivers/enthusiasts on here. I think it is a compilation as I do not recognise most of the background. (Chipmunk fixer at 4 AEF late 80's).
https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-chipmunk-aerobatics-1950-online

[DaveUnwin]

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1254x840/img_5005_03680769db357cf9ffcfe2e116d256103dc5ef45.jpg
Just started towing with this Mk23 Chipmunk for the Buckminster GC at Saltby. Fab tug! Not quite as strong as a Pawnee but the handling........

[papa_sierra]

Hi Dave, is that Tango Fox? I thought that it had been converted back to a 'normal' Chippy some time ago.

[Rocket2]

The infamous Bumblemunk, many happy hours flying TF but one alarming descent when the canopy came off the rails, I held onto it all the way down!

[DaveUnwin]

It is indeed Papa Sierra! Makes a nice change from the EuroFox and DR400 that we usually tow with at Saltby, I really like it.

[DaveUnwin]

Hi All, I'm writing an article about flying Tango Fox/Bumblemunk and would welcome any info on it. Does anyone know why it was only in the RAF for a few years? Also, what happened to the other Mk23s? Cheers, Dave

[NutLoose]

Haraka - the 1971 issue of the Painting Guide calls for red/white/red bands (all measuring at 2", except the outboard red which was 2.5") on the face, and 6.5" yellow tips on the rear - but some examples still had yellow tips on both sides years later!


Changes were if I remember correctly to make the prop strobe so you could see it when running, that black and white odd banded striped one shows it above in post 52..also at about the same time the red cross to show the location of the first aid kit was changed to green as it was against the Geneva Convention to fire on aircraft carrying the red cross, and as it was a military aircraft it was seen as not playing fair.

[Innominate]

DaveUnwin: It seems that WB563 left the RAF in 1956 to become G-AOTF. I believe there was a cull of the Chipmunk fleet around that time when the RAF closed the Reserve Flying Schools - the last RFS closed in July 1954.

[Dora-9]

Innominate - actually the cull was a little earlier; a great number of Chipmunks were placed in storage in 1953. Subsequently they were declared Non Effective Stock with the sales occurring in 1956.

[DaveUnwin]

Thanks for the intel Dora and Innominate, any idea why the cull occurred? End of Korean War? Pre-Sandys thinking re manned aircraft?

[Innominate]

Trying to summarise Jeff Jefford's paper on pages 91 to 94 of https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/documents/research/RAF-Historical-Society-Journals/Journal-29A-Seminar-Reserve-Auxiliary-Forces.pdf - There was a review of aircrew requirements in 1953 which decided that aircrew reinforcements in time of war, would be provided from the reserves, but they needed "realistic, that is to say operational, refresher training at a level of sophistication far beyond that which could be provided by Chipmunks and Ansons at an RFS... In fact, because of the already reduced size of the VR, the Air Council had decided to start running down the RFSs, even before Baker-Carr presented his findings. In a statement to the House in December 1952 the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, George Ward, pointed out the increasing irrelevance of continuing to fly RFS Chipmunks and Ansons off grass strips in the jet age at a cost of some £2.5M per year and he announced that seven of these units were to be closed."

This evidently led to the cull in 1953 mentioned by Dora; it's not so much pre-Sandys in terms of unmanned aircraft but certainly part of some serious thinking about how the RAF and its reserves would be shaped ready for the next war. Incidentally, Sandys was appointed Minister of Defence in January 1957 and the infamous White Paper was published in April, so Sandys would have had little input. He may have wielded the axe, but it was sharpened by Macmillan (Chancellor before becoming PM in 1957) and the Treasury.

[Dora-9]

Innominate - thanks for posting that.