Mark Meredith's de Havilland DHC-1

Super Chipmunk

Elegant, Graceful Aerobatics from Yesteryear

EAA Lindbergh Champion

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Video courtesy of Julie Artz - YouTube: HorseMoney

Mark's Blog

Waldo Pepper Outside Loop Schenigans

Chippy and I had some fun. Some new stuff in the sequence for 2023.  More slo-mo tumbles, and maybe some Waldo Pepper shenanigans. Thanks to all the great Chipmunk airshow…

Fun Flight!

My sister Vickie Meredith Lord had a great time flying in Chippy’s front seat.  We flew my entire airshow sequence and then some and she loved it!

Beautiful Super Chippy Art Quilt!

My talented sister Vickie Meredith Lord created this terrific hanging art quilt inspired by Chippy, and in the spirit of classic airshows past and present. I love it! Thank you…

Meeting the Kids at Leesburg Airshow

One of my favorite parts of any airshow is talking with the kids and their parents after an airshow!  We are all out there to inspire the next generation. https://www.facebook.com/maura.lankenau/posts/10159879373869235

A Tail of 3 Chipmunks!

Thanks to David Eckert for shooting these awesome photos! And to Nathan K. Hammond and Ross Harwell for bringing their Chips. special thanks to Richard, Sandy and Dan Landis for…

Chippy Can Now Fly in the Clouds!

Yes, friends, Chippy is now an IFR capable airplane. Not many open cockpit airshow airplanes that can (legally!) fly in the clouds! The photos in the scuzzy weather are past…

Fun with 360 Video Editing

Here’s a little video I put together using a wingtip mounted GoPro Max 360 camera plus some video shot from the ground. Edited using Wondershare Filmora.  Hope you enjoy!

Pocono Raceway Airshow

Chippy and I flew in The Great Pocono Raceway Airshow last Saturday, 21 August 2021.  It was a terrific event with tens of thousands of airshow fans in the stands! …

Video Intro to Mark and Chippy

Rebuilding and flying airshows in this classic aircraft has been an adventure! I’m happy to share it with people at shows, media flights, or just to introduce kids and adults…

The Pilot

Meet Mark Meredith, Captain, US Navy (Retired)

Mark didn’t learn to fly as a pilot until he was age 47. He began his career at the US Naval Academy then progressed to flying as a Bombardier/Navigator in the A-6E Intruder attack jet aboard aircraft carriers. Mark later transitioned to aircraft maintenance and logistics, deploying aboard many carriers, keeping the jets flying at sea. Today Mark continues as a full-time airplane guy flying airshows and training new pilots at Navy Annapolis Flight Center in MD. All of his students get the opportunity to fly inverted in his Super Chipmunk!

Mark, like many aviators, dreamed of building or restoring his own airplane. “Chippy” started life in 1951 in the Royal Air Force as a British-built de Havilland Chipmunk. It later became a world traveler, working various jobs as a military trainer in Tasmania, as a crop sprayer in Australia, then in 1972 arrived in Texas for conversion into a fire breathing airshow plane, commencing a long career flying shows around the US.
By 2009 Chippy was old and tired, so Mark rebuilt it over 5 years and 5,000 hours, culminating in the retro hot-rod with wings you see today! They won the coveted Experimental Aircraft Association’s Lindbergh Award as the Champion Custom Classic Aircraft.
While Mark rebuilt Chippy with the spirit and tools of modern innovation and technology, he flies his airshow as a tribute to the Golden Age pioneers who knew how to design beautiful, art-deco styled airplanes using paper and slide rules, then fly them with heart-pounding excitement and graceful elegance. Mark and Chippy fly a Classic Airshow! Mark would love to answer your questions about becoming a pilot, about building and flying your own airplane, or even becoming an airshow pilot!

Dream it, Do it.

The Airplane

Basic Specs
Make: de Havilland
Model: DHC-1 Super Chipmunk
Type: British and Canadian Air Force Trainer, Now highly modified Aerobatic Performer
Year: 1951
Powerplant: 280 HP AEIO-540 EXP Lycoming Thunderbolt
Length: 25 ft 5 in
Wingspan: 31 ft
Height: 7 ft 6 in

The Show

The airshow experience delivered by Mark and “Chippy” is refreshingly old-school, a flowing display of energy management and aerobatic elegance.  Chippy is open cockpit with classic lines and livery that harken back to Golden Age racers and a salient period of American aerobatics. While Mark rebuilt Chippy over 5 years using the spirit and tools of modern innovation, he flies his airshow as a tribute to these pioneers who knew how to design beautiful, art-deco styled airplanes then fly them with heart-pounding excitement and grace.  Mark would love to answer your questions about becoming a pilot, about building and flying your own airplane, or even becoming an airshow pilot! 

© JohnTabor.Photography

History

Chippy has had a long life as a hard workin’ airplane! Chippy has followed torturous path that took it to half the globe, spanning 3 continents – Britain, Australia and the United States.

Chippy has served in the Royal Air Force in the 1950s, in the Tasmanian Aero Club, as an Aussie crop duster and glider tug in the 1960s, and as an Airshow Performer since the early 1970s.

Chippy has had at least 12 owners and five engines, from the original 145 HP Gypsy Major to the current 300 HP Lycoming Thunderbolt which gives this sweet aerobatic flyer newfound – and breathtaking – performance.

In the News

Chippy and Mark have been featured in several leading aviation publications as well as  in an AOPA video.

 

Sport Aerobatics | AOPA Pilot | Vintage Airplane | Sport Aerobatics | Flyer

Awards

Chipmunk N7DW was awarded a Bronze Lindy as the EAA Vintage Aircraft “Custom Classic” Champion during AirVenture Oshkosh 2015! This was a huge honor. It recognized the workmanship of the rebuild but also, I believe, its historical significance and classic look “Golden Age” beauty of this unique Super Chipmunk.

It occurs to me this award may look curious to people not familiar with Oshkosh. It’s called a “Lindy” named for Charles Lindbergh, with an image of him in his Spirit of St Louis flying garb.