Ask any British military pilot of a certain age in which aircraft they gained their ‘wings’ and a great many will answer “the Chipmunk”. With 1,283 built and many still flying today, it was the first indigenous aircraft design to be produced by de Havilland Canada, hence its designation DHC-1. The prototype, CF-DIO-X, first flew on May 22, 1946 from Downsview, Toronto, piloted by Pat Fillingham, a test pilot seconded from the parent de Havilland company.
As a tandem, two-seat, single engined primary trainer, it was developed shortly after World War Two and had prolific sales throughout the immediate post-war years, being typically employed as a replacement for the de Havilland Tiger Moth.
The design team was led by Wsiewołod Jakimiuk, a Polish pre-war engineer, originally chief engineer at Warsaw’s National Aircraft Factory, who joined DHC in the summer of 1940.
The Chipmunk’s fuselage was of an all-metal, stressed skin construction, as were the fin and tail plane. Two prototypes were built at Downsview, the main features including an enclosed cockpit with rear-sliding canopy, as well as various aerodynamic features assisting the aircraft's flight performance. Like the Tiger Moth, strakes were fitted…
