Chippie and cub comparisons..........
 

Hi ppruners,

What are the comparsions, if any between the supercub and the Chipmunk?

In terms of flying, if you already have TW differences done and a few hours on the Supercub how would you find the Chippie? Is it a more difficult aircraft to fly?

Welcome MR172,

I wish I had had the Chipmunk experience, but sadly they are not commonly available in Canada. For the many people I have know with Chipmunk time, they speak very highly of them. Certainly go fly one if its available to you.

You will find that generally, Pipers and Cessnas are okay to fly, but they make up for in quantity, what they lack in charm to fly. That said, fly as many types as your are able to get your hands on...

Difficult? Not in the slightest, if you can fly one, you can fly the other, no gotchas to speak of.

Sounds good!

Pretty different aircraft. No slow and noisy and slow. The other noisy not so fast and with a control harmony that is exquisite. One pretty good standard in terms of systems and engine, the other antique and quite different.

Flying a Chipmunk properly needs a certain amount of understanding of the antique engine and its handling, also it brakes and mag switches - other than that it is close to poetry.

The brakes do seem interesting, I just had a quick look there online and the Chippe community would appear to be quite divided on landing with or without brakes on.

Time to get reading up!

Both thoroughly enjoyable aeroplanes.

I think that if you have only flown the supercub of aircraft in that class, you probably do want an hour or two in the Chippie with somebody who knows the type well. The Gypsy Major is a different engine that needs a few points of understanding different to the Lycoming in the Cub.

Handling wise, both are good easy to fly, thoroughly enjoyable aeroplanes with adequate, if not sparkling, performance.

The view forward from the Chippie is more restrictive than the Cub, and certainly the view of pitch attitudes will be different also. Again a good reason to do an hour or two with somebody who knows the type well in the other seat.

But none of this should massively challenge a competent PPL.

G

I’ll “chip” in. ;)

I have lots of hours in Chipmunks (admittedly many years ago), a few hours on a wheeled Super Cub, but many hours on Citabrias/Scouts, which are essentially the same, from a handling point of view.

As has been mentioned, the forward view is more restricted in a Chipmunk, but the big difference is the castoring tailwheel, combined with the braking setup. However, as has been mentioned, it’s not difficult. In my UAS, ab-initio students were sent solo in about ten hours. You just need a good instructor.

A word of warning though. Once you’ve flown a Chipmunk, you may be hooked!

It is a long time since I have flown a Chipmunk but I have heard people say (who have had experience of both) that the Chipmunk's handling is as good as a Spitfires'. It may lack the performance but its handling is excellent.

I think the Chipmunk has a number of advantages:

(a) Low wings
(b) Better handliing
(c) Fuel in the wings
(d) Good in Aerobatics
(e) Can be upgraded to the Supermunk with a Lycoming
(f) Thesedays mostly have a starter motor as opposed to starter cartrige
(g) It is a more modern aircraft and in service with the RAF/RN/Army until the late eighties and nineties

C and F also apply to the SuperCub.

Neither is even faintly modern. I used to fly a 1947 Stinson with a much more modern cockpit than either.

G

My Supercub was the gliding club tow plane for many years. When at last it had to be sold, the club invested in a Chipmunk with a 180 hp Lycoming. Flying a glider on tow behind the Chipmunk, the performance is much better than the 150 Cub. Our tuggies are very pleased.

Great responses folks. Thanks.

Really looking forward to it now.

The Supermunk with a 180hp Lycoming has a better view over the nose than the standard Chippie with the Dripsy Major. The downside is that most if not all of the UK Supermunks are non-aerobatic, as the engine mounts have never been cleared for aeros (when converted,they were intended as crop sprayers and glider tugs). Obviously Stateside Supermunks are a very different matter.

In the meantime, your Supercub is still going strong, and still has a metal plate with your name and address in the cockpit. I flew it last week.

G

Very pleased to hear that! It was only ten years old when I arranged to buy it at Georgetown Texas....in 1987! It had flown very few hours in those ten years, being kept in a hangar in Arizona...which you might supposed was a good thing, but it wasn't! because it needed a rebuild when we got it to High Wycombe (in a box on a boat, of course) .(.flying a Cub across an ocean would not be sensible.) Also leaving it without much exercise in a hangar for ten years isn't sensible either. Since the rebuild at Booker, they wanted a tug with a bigger engine to haul up the heavier gliders, so we found a new home at a club near Banbury. Colin Hales looked after it for me there.

I flew it to Alicante and back, that first year, in February. Took seven days each way, very dodgy weather in February. Only got lost once.

I have over 400 hours in the Chipmunk, and own a Super Cub. Sorry, they are like chalk and cheese. As stated the Chipmunk is a delight to fly, but like all trainers, easy to fly, difficult to fly well. I displayed mine and energy conversion is what it is all about. I always landed mines with a notch of brake, (original Cleveland with a bit of wear). However, lots of Chippy pilots will say no brake. Horses for courses. Look to the original pilots notes. Your instructor will start you with a notch or two for landing, less when you master the technique. All to do with rudder travel. The Super Cub on the other hand is IMO not as harmonised, nor as smooth as the Chipmunk. The flap application in the Cub produces a more pronounced pitch up, with a lot of forward trim. The Chipmunk not so. There are too many nuances to go thru here, suffice to say you are experiencing two of the most delightful tail wheel aircraft around. Enjoy!