Chipmunk 'Warbird'

Spitfire – rare? Next you’ll be telling me were down to our last P51. 😀

Lost me there ! – cant see that anything that flew in 1946 and isnt in widespread service any more can be regarded as being “too new”!

A lot of people on this forum think anything later than 1945 is about as interestesting as a new Focus. 🙂

Most of my personal favorites are from the post ’45 period. I’m just saying what I percieve the general concensus to be.
Thankfully the Chimpmunk isn’t that rare so somebody putting in a modern engine in one isn’t too sacreligious…the way it would be with a rare historic warbird…Spitfire, Hurricane,etc.

I quite like that… 🙂 Does WP964 still exist?

Errrrrrr…yes…apparently so…:rolleyes: 😉

. 🙂

Lets face it, with a few notable exceptions, the crews that served in the Cold War will be unsung heros. Don’t get me wrong, I love de havilland aircraft, but the Chipmunk is too new, and too common, to be REALLY historic.

Lost me there ! – cant see that anything that flew in 1946 and isnt in widespread service any more can be regarded as being “too new”!

Re Spitmunk v Chipfire, I think that was an unofficial AAC coined name.

I guess the guys who fought in Malaya,Aden,Falklands Islands and the Gulf War are considered to be legends by some . The vast majority of both ex and serving aircrew in the U.K armed forces have flown a Chipmunk at some stage.

Point well taken and I considered that when I wrote my reply.
But I don’t expect there will ever be a big budget film made about the daring RAF chaps that won the Battle of Aden. 🙂

Lets face it, with a few notable exceptions, the crews that served in the Cold War will be unsung heros. Don’t get me wrong, I love de havilland aircraft, but the Chipmunk is too new, and too common, to be REALLY historic.

Who says it is a Spitmunk? I think it may be a Chipfire.

I guess the guys who fought in Malaya,Aden,Falklands Islands and the Gulf War are considered to be legends by some . The vast majority of both ex and serving aircrew in the U.K armed forces have flown a Chipmunk at some stage.

[QUOTE=kodak]

😀 Chippies are hardly rare and not particularly historic,
QUOTE]

Not historic!? Chippy first flew in December 1946, thats like saying the DC6, Bell X1, Westland Wyvern etc are’nt “historic” -they all flew in 1946!

I meant historic in as much they didn’t train the boys who fought in “the big one.” No associated glory like the Tiger Moth or Stearman. Postwar trainers are nice, don’t get me wrong, but hardly the stuff of legends. Witness the Provost, Mentor, Bulldog…etc.

Aah, the Spitmunk – WP964, at Greenham Common 1976. An underexposed original, of a dark subject on an overcast day! – tried to tart it up a bit, any suggestions?

I quite like that… 🙂 Does WP964 still exist?

When I look at WP964, I think it’s a shame that people can mess up a nice chipmunk like that. Can’t they buy some cheap silly modern kitt and built some new plane. :rolleyes:

So you might guess that I don’t like this modification. 😉

J.V.

Those “people” were the Army Air Corps who used this one off chippy to train IIRC forward air controllers and needed a more combat – looking machine rather than a bright red and white trainer. Much rather have this official scheme than the Red Bull sea vixen

[QUOTE=J Boyle]

😀 Chippies are hardly rare and not particularly historic,
QUOTE]

Not historic!? Chippy first flew in December 1946, thats like saying the DC6, Bell X1, Westland Wyvern etc are’nt “historic” -they all flew in 1946!

Hey, nice to read of the esteem in which our good ol’ homegrown Chipmunk is held! One sees quite a few of them up here; nearly all of them sooner or later take on some variation of 50s-60s RCAF yellow training livery, and I’ve only seen one or two in Canadian registry with non-DH power. Hadn’t seen this “AVG” spin on the Chip before…it’s certainly striking. I have seen re-engined Chips at shows Stateside wearing equally warlike tongue-in-cheek liveries…one was pretending to be a Spitfire 24, the other a Sea Fury! Would post pix if I had the means to.

S.

Steve, if you want to e-mail them to me, I’ll stick them up for you.

Yeah, these Yanks and sticking the wrong engine on things… shouldn’t be allowed.

Chipmunks had quite an aerobatics history in the states when equipped with a larger engine. Art Scholl’s “Super Chipmunk” is even in the Smithsonian.

Don’t be such a snob. 😀 Chippies are hardly rare and not particularly historic, so anything that keeps one in the air is okay by me.
This conversion is on par with what has been done to Stearmans in the UK (Utterly Butterly & Crunchie airshow teams), with bigger engines and different paint.
Andfrom an operational standpoint, orignial engines are hardly thick on the ground in the USA.

When I look at WP964, I think it’s a shame that people can mess up a nice chipmunk like that. Can’t they buy some cheap silly modern kitt and built some new plane. :rolleyes:

So you might guess that I don’t like this modification. 😉

J.V.

Spose the other Chippy warbird could be the “spitmunk” – a standard T10 in AAC camo that the BFWF had in the mid 70s -early 80s.

Aah, the Spitmunk – WP964, at Greenham Common 1976. An underexposed original, of a dark subject on an overcast day! – tried to tart it up a bit, any suggestions?

Thought this thread might have been about the two Chipmunks at Gatow, Berlin in the 60s. 😉

,70s & 80s. One now with the bbmf

Spose the other Chippy warbird could be the “spitmunk” – a standard T10 in AAC camo that the BFWF had in the mid 70s -early 80s.

Hmm… not entirely my cup of tea, but I wouldn’t kick it out of the hangar… 😉

Hey, nice to read of the esteem in which our good ol’ homegrown Chipmunk is held! One sees quite a few of them up here; nearly all of them sooner or later take on some variation of 50s-60s RCAF yellow training livery, and I’ve only seen one or two in Canadian registry with non-DH power. Hadn’t seen this “AVG” spin on the Chip before…it’s certainly striking. I have seen re-engined Chips at shows Stateside wearing equally warlike tongue-in-cheek liveries…one was pretending to be a Spitfire 24, the other a Sea Fury! Would post pix if I had the means to.

S.

Somehow once you start messing about with Chipmunk’s they lose there appeal with me. It’s not something I mind on aircraft like the Sea Fury but with the Chippy it kind of spoils the whole package. Just my opinon, ment in light hearted banter. 🙂

DGH- The RAF scrapped a number of Chipmunks over the years for various reasons. Whilst it’s not everyones cup of tea it’s still airworthy and appreciated. The future for Chipmunks is the LOM engine – it hardly spoils the
lines of the machine and is available brand new.