De Havilland Chipmunk RAF trainer pilot walk around

Our Chipmunk WK551 / ZK-SAX is just back from maintenance so I couldn’t resist booking a flying slot. The weather, however, is resisting ME. 51 is owned by a syndicate at NZ Warbirds Association, Ardmore. It’s the first tailwheel aircraft I ever flew and 140 hours in I am almost at the point of not being totally confused. The Chipmunk was designed in Canada after WW2 as a replacement for the Tiger Moth (it uses a very similar engine and some other parts). 1283 were built and 300+ are still flying today. The Chipmunk is a dream to fly, really well balanced on the controls and great for basic aerobatics. This one, like most, was built by De Havilland in the UK and is number 566. Most Chipmunks were sold off by the RAF from the 1970s to the 1990s, but they still operate two machines to train pilots to fly the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’s Hurricane and Spitfires. Fittingly, a common nickname for the Chipmunk is “the poor man’s Spitfire.” #airplane #aircraft #warbirds #RAF #dehavilland #chipmunk #aviation #walkround #engineering