This series is spoilt for choice as we continue to take a closer look at some of the classic aircraft available to flight simulation pilots. We have explored aircraft first flown in the early part of the 20th century right through to those that are the epitome of 21st century digital design. This issue, we fly one that has happily transcended both centuries and still manages to turn heads – the de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk.
Until the end of World War Two, most military pilots were trained on the de Havilland Tiger Moth biplane (which we flew in Issue 132). While it served its purpose very well by seeing thousands of pilots earn their wings, the immediate post-war era saw many aviation companies struggle as demand for their aircraft waned. De Havilland Canada (DHC) however took the approach that it presented opportunities to develop new aircraft that better suited operators’ needs and that could utilise the sea of spare parts left over from the war effort. It was during this period, for example, that DHC designed and built the magnificent Beaver.
DHC engineers were also tasked with producing a new military trainer that, like the Beaver, was to use more modern construction techniques and materials. The end design was the …
