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Thread: Chipmunk's 60th
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Old 18th Jan 2006, 14:17
  #39 (permalink)  
pulse1
 
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: uk
Posts: 1,783
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I have two memories of the Chipmunk.

The first was my first ever flight, as an ATC cadet in the mid 50's at camp in Hawarden. I was bundled out to the aircraft to find that the cadet in front of me had been sick in his oxygen mask. When I eventually got in, the cockpit and mask was swimming in disinfectant. I managed to be sick in the bag.

Second memory was, as an ATC gliding instructor at Old Sarum, we had just launched a glider. An AEF Chipmunk took off and, for some reason, turned hard left, flew into the launch cable and spun into the far hedge. The young RAF pilot who had just got his wings was very badly hurt. Fortunately the cadet was only slightly hurt.

The RAF BoI blamed everybody except the Chipmunk pilot. In my book he was the only one to blame. If he had done what everyone I know was taught and climbed straight ahead until he was at 400', he would have missed the cable.
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