Chipfest Duxford 1st – 4th August 2013
Chipfest is the annual gathering in the U.K. for owners of Chipmunk and Bulldog aircraft. The primary aim is to practice various manoeuvres and to promote formation flying in both types and Rod Brown who has some 10 500 flying hours is one of three organisers in the U.K. This year there have been two extra events Goodwood in June and at Duxford in August. The main meeting is due to be held at Sywell on 19th – 22nd September.
In the past Chipfest has been held Sywell in 2008 Cambridge in 2009 and 2010 then Wickenby in 2011 & 2012.
Rod Brown who is the owner of Chipmunk T.10 G-ATHD / WP971 gave a few details about himself and the origins of the Chipfest.
“I learnt to fly in the RAF at Central Flying School Little Rissington on a Tiger Moth whilst there as a ground engineer for three years......I continued flying when I left the service in 1959 and purchased my own aircraft in 1979 in order to build hours to become a flying instructor .....this I did in 1985 and then worked full time to become a Senior Instructor and then Chief Flying Instructor with Cabair Flying Schools ....I worked for that company until it closed in September 2011 and ran schools at Cranfield Elstree and Denham as well being their flight test pilot for over ten years keeping some 100 aircraft airworthy with Cabair Engineering at Elstree”.
“I am one of three organisers here in the UK dealing with the airfield and flying side general organisation except hotels and food which is taken on by Janice Doyle and Ken Kelso runs the Chipfest website”.
de Havilland Canada Chipmunk
“We have regular owners that attend plus we welcome qualified pilots with either Bulldog or Chipmunk aircraft.Everyone has to be formation current and up to the standard required as set by our CFI Robert Miller ...we have SOP's (Standard Operating Procedures) available on our website and all of our instructors are ex RAF and selected by Robert”.
“I don't have too much detail on the instructors but Robert has over 4000 hours on the Chipmunk and has only recently retired as a civilian instructor working under contract at RAF Cranwell having spent his entire career in the RAF”.
“Chipfest is an extension of Chipmeet which was first started in France in 1998 then moved to Belgium and thence to Abbeville in France in 2012 .....Chipmeet is usually held in May and Chipfest first started in September 2008 at Sywell in order to promote formation training and flying skills for Chipmunk owners here in the UK”.
de Havilland Canada Chipmunk photos
Report by Kieron