Polish born engineer Jackie Jakimiuk had worked in the aircraft industry in his homeland up until the joint German / Soviet invasion of the country in 1939. He managed to escape the occupation and in 1945 led the design of the Chipmunk for the Royal Canadian Air Force, they requiring a primary trainer to replace the Tiger Moth. The DHC.1 was the first indigenous aircraft built by de Havilland Canada, and flew for the first time in 1946. Its simplicity and ease of maintenance made the Chipmunk a very popular aircraft and interest was soon shown in the UK, which ended up producing 1,000 examples under licence. Undoubtedly its greatest attribute was that it was one of the nicest handling aeroplanes ever made - consequently Chipmunks have since been referred to as “the poor man’s Spitfire.”
The Chippie served mostly in the air forces of Canada, Portugal and the United Kingdom. Canada retired theirs in 1972 and the RAF theirs in 1996, but the Portuguese, who produced 66 under licence, were still operating a handful as late as 2018! Many have since found their way into the civil market and several call NZ home. This particular aircraft belongs to Nigel Griffith and is based at Omaka.
About Marlborough Lines Classic Fighters Omaka: The airshow is the main fundraising event for the Omaka Aviation Heritage Museum, located in Blenheim, Marlborough NZ.
