A new participant in the Festival Aéreo Internacional de Motril has been announced; the De Havilland Chipmunk!

Anybody who was taken up in one as an ‘air-experience’ flight whilst in the ranks of the Air Training Corps will have fond memories of it. Normally you were given two options at Hurn Airport back in the 70s, which were a leisurely tour of the surrounding area… or aerobatics.

The more courageous than resilient opted for the latter and risked vomiting on the pilots neck – not recommended. The pilots deserve it, however, because they invariably informed you that your reserve chute, if the main one didn’t deploy, had a descent speed of 40mph and guaranteed you a broken leg.

Anyway, enough of this nostalgia (for the moment)!

Pilot Carlos Bravo, who belongs to the Asociación de Aviones Históricos A3H, will be throwing the undaunted Chipmunk around the sky over Playa Granada this June.

The first man to pilot the ‘new’ De Havilland Chipmunk in 1946 was a Canadian from Downsview (Toronto). The RAF quickly decided that the old Tiger Moths could do with replacing and snapped up a good handful for flight training at the 17 University Air Squadrons and the RAF Reserve Flying Schools… oh, and for the keen ATC, also known within the RAF as “Space Cadets,” I was crestfallen to learn when I joined the RAF.

They’re still used in some flying clubs in the UK as tugs for gliders. Anyway, that will be one aircraft that I will be keeping an eye out for during this year’s Motril Air Display.

One last point, anybody who grew up with Airfix kits hanging from the ceilings will see the similarity between the rudder of the De Havilland’s Chipmunk, Tiger Moth, Mosquito and Dragon Rapide

(News/Noticias: Motril, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)