If ever there was a survivor story in the world of vintage aviation, it would have to be the Chilton DW 1.
Dreamt up by a couple of young students at the de Havilland Technical School, Reggie Ward and Andrew Dalrymple, it might have gone nowhere had these students not had access to family wealth, even extending to a workshop on the Ward family estate (after which the aircraft was named). This did not mean the design was all indulgence and no innovation. Its streamlined design was created to be not just attractive but extremely efficient, the goal being to achieve a 100 mph cruise speed on the power of a small 40 hp Ford car engine. Amazingly they succeeded and at a very low full burn, the performance helped by those very stylish 'pantaloons' covering the undercarriage.
First flown in 1937 the Chilton attracted immediate attention and warranted the construction of further examples, however with war-clouds looming over Europe, only four examples were produced before the Air Ministry annexed the construction facilities to manufacture parts for military aircraft. You could be forgiven for wondering how many, if any, of those four Chiltons might have survived the conflict. Well today there are 10 Chiltons flying in various parts of the world! Not a bad survival rate! In fact all four of the originals have endured, largely due to the efforts of Mr Roy Nerou who took it upon himself to round up the originals, some of them damaged, and also to pursue drawings and technical data from the family, to allow latter day enthusiasts to build their versions of the pretty little retro-sports plane.
The lovely example on show at CF25 was built by John Gray of Rangiora and was first registered in late 2019. Now owned by Jeff Brooks and based here at Omaka, the aircraft is powered by a VW engine and according to Jeff is an absolute delight to fly!
About Marlborough Lines Classic Fighters Omaka: The airshow is the main fundraising event for the Omaka Aviation Heritage Museum, located in Blenheim, Marlborough NZ.
