The de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk The Poor Man's Spitfire by SHIELDS, Hugh, BROWN, Rod, GONCALVES, Jose and BLIEVERS, Rod - 2009

Ontario: SBGB Publishing, 2009. Large quarto, hardcover, 440 pp., illustrated throughout in colour and black & white, with charts and technical diagrams. One corner of the front board is modestly bumped, otherwise an excellent copy with the dust-jacket. Designed by de Havilland Canada at the end of WWII to replace the DH82 Tiger Moth, the DHC-1 Chipmunk had a modest start. First flown on May 22, 1946 it was hoped that this new trainer would be adopted by military and civil training schools throughout the British Commonwealth. Faced with strong headwinds, including post war foreign currency restrictions, a massive supply of surplus wartime trainers and an undeserved reputation regarding spinning, this sprightly trainer 'based on full flight characteristics' had a slow birth, but over the fullness of time has grown to become an iconic aviation legend affectionately known as the 'Chippie' or 'Poor Man's Spitfire', due to its superb handling. From the collection of aviation enthusiast John Fisher, who restored a a single-engine de Havilland Tiger Moth and flew her from England to Australia in 1996.