Re: Chipmunk's 60th
My first Chippy flight was at 12 RFS Filton in 1952. After some months of flying Tigers off the grass area at the north side of the field I had to face landing on the runway that was built for the Brabazon - about three times wider than I was used to at Staverton and I had awful problems with the perspective. I can still remember my instructor irately saying "Only fools and blockheads make the same mistake twice. Payne, you have done that. What are you?" We lost one Chippy when two qualified pilots went off on some mutual IF. The system in use involved the use of amber screens and blue goggles. The pilot doing the IF got fed up after a while and took his goggles off, handing them to the pilot in the back seat, where the stowage was. The back seat pilot said "I have it", meaning the goggles. The front seat pilot relaxed and admired the scenery confident in the ability of the other pilot, while the rear seat occupant did the same. The aircraft entered a slow descending spiral until it hit the ground. Both pilots survived, but injured.