DeHavilland DHC-1 Chipmunk

Aircraft Information
> Aircraft Make: DeHavilland Model: DHC-1 (T MK 2) Nickname: Chipmunk
> Aircraft Mil Civ Description: Airplane SE Piston
> FAA Category and Class: Airplane Single Engine Land
> Engine Description: single piston

Aircraft Experience
> As of: 11/6/2024
> Number of Hours Flown: 6
> Number of Times Flown: 5
> Other Aircraft Models Associated: none

First Flown Information
> Sequence First Flown: 65
> Date First Flown: 11/15/1989
> Location First Flown: Unknown
> Who and/or What Organization First Flown With: Qual Eval associate with USNTPS

Recollections: My Navy logbook from 1989’s first flight in a Chipmunk is scare with information.  Based on the timing, it’s likely that I conducted a Qualitative Evaluation (QE) of the design during a field trip but my records are poor.

The 2nd time I flew a “Chippie” was in 2002, while attending “FAA flight test initial training” at National Test Pilot School in Mojave, CA.  I flew then with Ron Bradley, on a “Spin Demo”.  This flight (which I repeated several times during my FAA career) involves conducting approximately 6 spins, applying various input and recovery techniques and analyzing altitude loss, spin attitude and rate, etc.  Priceless training for anyone involved in testing a new design’s spin characteristics.

The most recent time I flew was as an instructor, teaching formation flying to a Chipmunk owner.  The design is classic, well balanced on the controls and a challenging tail dragger to land.