Held in great affection by many, from the RAF, Royal Navy and Army Air Corps, pilots who trained on them, to the many of Air Cadets who had their first flying experience in one, the Chipmunk is still a valuable training aeroplane into the 21st Century. Teams such as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, Aircraft Restoration Company and Historic Aircraft Collection use the aeroplane for pilot training for a range of World War II fighters including the Spitfire and Hurricane.

The “Chippie” has also been voted as “the greatest light aeroplane ever flown” and
is renowned for its excellent training qualities. May 2006 is the 60th
anniversary the first flight of this classic de Havilland aeroplane.

Formed during 2005 the Chipmunk Formation Team
was set up to demonstrate formation flying in the spirit
of the 1930s and 40s. The team started out as a
three ship in 2004 and developed as the full
four-ship team in 2005 which rapidly became
nicknamed The Red Sparrows.

The 2007 Red Sparrows air show schedule will be published here when it becomes available.