waltz to the left occurs. The tricky part
occurs when the Chipmunk begins to move
forward at taxi speed. To manipulate the
throttle, which is also located on the left-hand side of the cockpit, you have to let go
of the stick with your right hand and place
it on the throttle control while your left
hand pumps the brake handle, raising it up
and down.
Vic Stottlemyer, EAA 301000, of
Waukesha, Wisconsin, took the plunge into
the Chipmunk world more than 25 years
ago. After listening to former military pilots
rave about the airplane, he bought a 1952
model, N894WP.
“More than one RAF veteran pilot has
told me that if they could have only picked
one airplane to fly it would be the
Chipmunk,” Vic said. “Once you fly one you
really see what they are talking about. It is
an easy airplane to fly safely, but a difficult
airplane to fly well. If I haven’t flown my
Chippie for over three weeks, I feel that I
have lost my fine motor skills and end up
hovering above the runway a little bit fur-
ther than I want to. Your speed needs to be
precise coming over the numbers because it
does tend to float a bit.”
Once airborne the Chipmunk is truly in
its natural element—it doesn’t care if it’s
straight and level, on its side, right side up
or wrong side down. Rated at +6g, and -3g
the “Chippie” loves to roll, loop, spin, and
dance in the sky all day long. Stalls become
noticeable in the 40-knot range with tell-
tale buffeting occurring before the
Chipmunk mushes along waiting for some-
one to push the nose forward so it can
resume flying again. When it is time to
reacquaint the Chipmunk with terra firma,
the wide landing gear makes this process a
most pleasant one. Most Chippie pilots like
to wheel land them as the power comes
back and they cross the numbers at less
than 65 knots. Even with the power pulled
back, the Chipmunk likes to float above the
runway like a butterfly in spring. Once the
mains touch and your feet dance ever so
lightly on the rudder bar, the big sail
behind you takes over as the tail wheel
plops on the runway. You have just enough
time to congratulate yourself on another
fine flying day as your hands resume their
throttle/brake juggle routine—it’s a tough
job for a “pretend fighter pilot,” but some-
one has to do it!
Just when the various military operators around the world thought they had gotten
everything out of the Chipmunk, some
ingenious aerobatic performers saw
that there was some untapped
performance to be discovered, and the
Super Chipmunk was born. The wings
were shortened by 20 inches with
18-inch stall strips fitted to the leading
edge for improved snap roll
performance. The gear was made to be
retractable on some models, and the
engine was replaced with a variety of
choices including a souped-up 200-hp
Ranger and a 260-hp Lycoming
GO-435-C2. Both the horizontal and
vertical stabilizers were reinforced and
strengthened, and the control stick
was lengthened by more than 3 inches.
This gave the pilot much more aileron
control during a routine.
Once you fly one you really see what
they are talking about.
SUPER CHIPMUNK
One of the most famous aerobatic
pilots to perform with the Chipmunk
was Art Scholl. From his colorful nose
art of a Chipmunk with a cape, to his
Pennzoil sponsor logo on the fuselage,
all the way to the striped tail, Art
dazzled the air show crowds all over
North America with his Chipmunks.
Twisting and turning or snap rolling
and tumbling, Art was a master of them
all, and he flew most of his routines
with his dog Aileron as “copilot.”
Carol de Solla Atkin is part of a Chipmunk partnership, and loves the aircraft's aerobatic qualities.
Unfortunately, Art perished in a Pitts
S-2A while filming a segment for the
movie Top Gun in September of 1985.
Two of Art’s remaining Super Chipmunks
were donated to museums. Chipmunk
N13Y was sent to the National Air and
Space Museum in Washington, D.C., and
Chipmunk N1114V was given to the EAA
AirVenture Museum, where it proudly
hangs upside down performing a
ribbon-cutting maneuver as a tribute to
both the aircraft and the legendary
pilot who flew it.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM BUSHA
