Country of origin:

Canada

Description:

Two-seat training monoplane

Power Plant:

(T Mk 10)

One 108 kw (145 hp) de Havilland Gipsy Major 10 Mk 2 four-cylinder in-line inverted air-cooled engine

Specifications:

History:

The prototype de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk (CF-DIO-X), which was designed by W J Jakimiuk for de Havilland Canada, was flown for the first time on 22 May 1946. At this time the Royal Air Force was looking for a basic trainer as a replacement for the de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth and Miles Magister. In 1948 the Aeroplane & Armament Experimental Establishment (AA&EE) evaluated two aircraft (G-AJVD and G-AKDN) at Boscombe Down in Wiltshire in the United Kingdom and sought a number of design changes be made to produce what became known as the T Mk 10.

The prototype was a very simple aircraft, having no electrical system, no radio, a vacuum supply provided from two venturi, drum brakes, a de Havilland Gipsy Major IC engine driving a wooden propeller, etc. The British specification required disc brakes with differential braking, a 108 kw (145 hp) Gipsy Major engine with vacuum pump, a generator and a Fairey Reed metal propeller. In addition, the RAF required the type to be fully aerobatic.

In Canada where the DH.82 Tiger Moth had also been produced, many 97 kw (130 hp) de Havilland Gipsy Major I engines were in store and these were fitted with aluminium cylinder heads and an accessory housing to convert them to Gipsy Major IGs but they did not have the splined crankshaft used on engines built in the United Kingdom.

Production got underway and demonstrators were sent to the de Havilland companies in the United Kingdom, Australia, India, New Zealand, South Africa and South America, the first major orders being received from India, Thailand and Egypt. The initial order for the RAF Reserve Command was for 740 aircraft and it was decided they should be built in the UK at Hatfield in Hertfordshire, and later at the Broughton facility near Chester in Cheshire.

Ten were supplied to the Forca Aerea Portuguesa and a licence agreement was entered whereby the Chipmunk T.20 would be built by Oficinas Gerais de Material Aeronautico (OGMA), which company had previously built the Tiger Moth under licence, some 66 Chipmunks being completed. In addition to those aircraft built in Portugal, 218 examples were built in Canada, 111 at Hatfield, and 889 at Chester. One example in Canada in January 1947 was fitted with skis and a 142 kw (190 hp) Lycoming O-435-A engine.

The first Chipmunk imported to Australia was a Canadian-built civil DHC-1A-1 which became VH-BFT (c/n 22) in December 1947 for de Havilland Aircraft (Pty) Ltd. Although it was demonstrated to the RAAF no orders were forthcoming from that service and it later went to the Royal Newcastle Aero Club, becoming VH-RNG in 1955, later VH-BBF, and later again VH-MCC. This was the only Canadian-built example to come to Australia, the remainder coming from the British production line.  Orders later came from a number of aero clubs around Australia, and the fleets of these were placed on the Civil Aircraft Register. Royal Aero Clubs of New South Wales and Victoria were, for a number of years, based largely on the Chipmunk.

All Australian Chipmunks for many years were powered by the 108 kw (145 hp) de Havilland Gipsy Major 10 engine, but a number were re-engined in service with the 97 kw (130 hp) Gipsy Major I engine. This engine was built by General Motors Holden in Australia during the war for the Australian-built DH.82 Tiger Moth and, when installed in the Chipmunk, the all-up weight was reduced by 68 kg (150 lb).

The first Chipmunk to be delivered to New Zealand was ZK-APN (c/n 21) to the Wellington Aero Club but it was destroyed in an accident at Lyall Bay on 2 September 1950. A further Canadian-built DHC-1 became ZK-ARL (c/n 61); and registration ZK-ARM was reserved for c/n 62 but was not taken up and it became AP-ADQ in Pakistan.

In the United Kingdom a number were converted to Mk 23 configuration, being single-seaters, for agricultural work by de Havilland, the prototype (G-APMN) flying for the first time on 21 April 1958.  Further production Mk 23s were built by Farm Aviation at Luton in Bedfordshire.

Over 100 examples of the Chipmunk have been seen in Australia and New Zealand since 1947. In 2000 there were more than 50 examples registered in Australia and about 14 in New Zealand. This number has fluctuated over the years with the import of ex-RAF examples following their retirement from service; and other examples imported from Thailand and India to both Australia and New Zealand for restoration. Although not in the vintage class, the Chipmunk has been a very popular aircraft prized by owners because of its good handling characteristics. Like many aircraft, the Chipmunk has been modified by owners to meet various needs.

In 1965 Sasin Aerostructures converted three aircraft (VH-SJD, VH-BCA and VH-GEB) to the SA.29 Spraymaster configuration for agricultural use. VH-GEB was eventually exported to the United States where it was rebuilt as N7DW in single-seat configuration. The Sasin company also converted VH-RJK and VH-CXZ by the installation of a 134 kw (180 hp) Lycoming O-360 engine, the latter having a bubble canopy and other changes. In this form it was known as the Sundowner. However, it did not meet DCA approval and was exported to the USA.

Others were modified by the installation of Lycoming four-cylinder and six-cylinder Continental engines to increase performance, especially for aerobatics, and these included VH-BVP, VH-RSQ and VH-RVY.

In New Zealand a Mk 22A became ZK-LOM (c/n C1-0192 – ex 5N-AAE, VR-NBI, G-AJOS, WB745). This aircraft was imported to Australia by Bravo Resources of Perth, WA in September 1996. It later was exported to New Zealand to the Lom Syndicate in 2007 and was fitted with a Lom M-332 supercharged engine with a constant-speed propeller becoming ZK-JQN. In Canada an example (C-GVME) has been fitted with an Australian designed and built Rotec radial engine.