Chipmunk retractable undercarriage
 

As a lover of all things De haviland I want to ask you experts out there; is it possible for a Chippie to have a retractable undercart? I know we have to consider where the wheels would go and perhaps even any extra weight penalty but I was thinking along the lines of the legs folding back turning through ninety degrees to leave the wheels and legs lying flat against the underside of the wings(in a recess if possible) similar to the way a Grumman Hellcat's would. I think a Chippie would look great in this configuration, what do you guys think?:ok:

Weight and space make this a total non-starter. The only benefit would be aesthetic, not performance and even then as a DHC-1 pilot I'd argue that aesthetically it would look like a dog turd on a hot summer's day. And there would be maintenance issues - the thing is expensive enough to maintain without spoiling it in this way

The only tangible benefit might be for ditching - the FRC's suggest 'abandon' rather than 'ditch' for obvious reasons.

Ps my son is also a Chipmunk pilot - has just told me that he thinks Art Scholl might have done such a conversion. Ugh:yuk:

totally nuts a chipmunk does not deserve this

Famous display pilot Art Scholl (killed filming aerial sequences for the film Top Gun in 1985) did it with his highly modified Super Chipmunk N13Y. It is now displayed in the Washington National Air and Space Museum. See link below for pics.

Air-Britain : N13Y


Regards,

Jucky

Yeah, and maybe a turbine and de-ice boots and and and...

It is what it is.

and It's name begins with a lower case 'd' :ok:

Yes G-ATTS the Turbo Chipmunk. So that's the turbine taken care of;

Art Scholl with the retract gear with the Super Chipmunk;

So why not add a twist and combine the two?!

Super Turbo Chipmunk my a**e!

India Mike, good point, well made!

KR

FOK

Super Chipmunk?. You don't mess with the fin and then lay claim to any DH lineage. Horrible-looking adaptation in my opinion.

It's like filling Felicity Kendall full of Botox and silicon.

To be fair, the Super Chipmunk was built at the same stage in the Chipmunk's career as a bit of Botox and silicon might have livened up Felicity Kendall's career.

Utterly pointless. You would be far better starting with a clean sheet of paper and designing a brand new aeroplane. Poor old Chippie would never get off the ground with the extra weight and complexity. Just think how much fun you would have redesigning that brake system!

If you want a two seat, retractable, aerobatic, basic training aircraft you would do well to look at the alternatives that have already been built.

In that case, can we convert ours to a 52TD? Go on, you know it makes sense.:}

Don't know how much the game has changed, but a/c designer Dad told me that the weight of retract gear was about 25% of empty weight. That's gonna make your Chippie good fun. In a dive.

Just gettin me spanners HF.... I'm sure nobody will notice... :E

Continuing the Felicity Kendal analogy, converting a Yak-52 to a 52TD is a bit like taking a Terry's Chocolate Orange away from Dawn French; she's still a big lass, but now she's pissed off, prone to random acts of revenge and likely to be even more high-maintenance as a result.

Nosewheel For Sale
 

"Hot of the press!"
YAK 52 nosewheel for sale! A bargain at £3000!!! PM me for details. :E

Thanks for all the replies guys. I'm terribly sorry if you thought the idea was stupid. As it happens, I love the Chipmunk as it is too, it is to me a classic. I'm only sorry that I wasn't born with your perfect wit and wisdom. Lighten up guys:rolleyes:

Not retractable, but highly modified nevertheless

SUPER CHIPMUNK

260Hp engine and fuel tank in the front cockpit if I recall. I remember the late Nigel Brendish demonstrating breathtaking aerobatics in it at Southend in the 80's.

Hi cjboy, I learned to fly in,"Alvin" back in 1977 when she was with the Sherwood Flying Club at Tollerton. A couple of years ago I got a letter from a Dutch gentleman called, (wait for it)......... Frank de Munck.A smashing bloke, he told me how he had purchased the Chipmunk(WP843) at Booker in the ,"early nineties". He said that the Chippie was involved in a ground incident when she ran into a barn causing shock loading to the engine and heavy damage to the wing. He sold,"Alvin" on and the last I heard he owned another Chippie(WP925) (g-bxha). "Alvin" or WP843 is now in S Africa. Last picture I saw, she was awaiting an engine( Google demobbed aircraft)

Retractable Chipmunk
 

Anythings doable - how much money and time have you got to produce such an unsaleable runt?

As anybody who knows whats involved in a minor mod application to the CAA, a major mod of this nature would slay a rain forest.

You can do anything on the N Experimental but thats where the deviants remain.

Chipmunk? Sweeeeeeet-handling, big AD issues, crap range, no luggage capacity whatsoever. Why make it into something even worse?

If you like the idea of a gear-less Chipmunk, go and buy an old Zlin. It will cost you less than the conversion.

JB

Jackboot

Agreed - and smelly too!

I remember taking my wife, on one rare occasion, flying in the Chipmunk and she took a book to read during the flight and a hair brush! - along with the chocks they filled the luggage space!

KR

FOK :)