“Why do people get all misty-eyed about an old oily piston single with only two seats?” But this isn’t any old piston single, this is the de Havilland Chipmunk!
Yes, on this week’s show we talk to Ben Griffiths, journalist, pilot and author of a book celebrating 80 years since the Chippie’s first flight. All sorts of fascinating facts and awesome stories are revealed… the Chipmunk Cold War Spy Plane, for one!
News
There’s news about the reopening of Old Sarum Airfield to visiting aircraft, the record number of gyrocopters turning up at Old Warden Airfield, and tickets on sale for the Aviator’s Ball.
What Caught My Eye
- Annabel is thrilled by the appearance of a North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco at the RAF Cosford Air Show – and it will be sticking around for some more air shows this summer.
- Dave spots the first signs of this year’s EAA AirVenture Oshkosh with the start of SimVenture, a virtual fly-in based on Oshkosh. Fly the iconic Fisk Approach.
- Ed remembers the unusual McDonnell 220, a four-engine business jet that sadly failed to find a market leaving the one and only 220 ever built languishing at El Paso Airport. Now there’s a campaign to save the survivor.
Plus
- SkyDemon tip of the week
- Simon Keeling’s weekend weather forecast
- FLYER Club latest
- Events for the busiest weekend of the year
Links
- Aviator’s Ball tickets https://www.aerobility.com/aviators-ball-2026
- SimVenture https://pilotedge.net/pages/simventure
- Pre-order Chipmunk at 80 book https://chipmunkat80.carrd.co/
Timeline
0:00 Intro
1:00 Start
1:29 SkyDemon tip
3:33 Weekend weather
6:26 News
11:36 Club News
13:04 Main story – 80 years of the Chipmunk
34:34 What Caught My Eye
41:22 Events
#GeneralAviation #aviationnews #pilots #airfield #aviationhistory #chipmunk
