Page 16 - June2018
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Jackie thought he’d bought a pet! Lucky she is a
good sport and Phil kept the airplane, with which
he and his two sons did some initial flight
training. James arranged to visit Phil and have a
look at KDN, tucked away in a dark corner of a
hangar at Bagby Airfield, Yorkshire. It was
painted in a 1970’s sun burst pattern of white
with yellow and black. A high visibility scheme
good for flying in the busy UK airspace, but
certainly disguised its heritage and beautiful
lines. Learning about our enthusiasm for KDN’s
history and our desire to own and operate it, Phil
decided to part with it.
Back in Saskatoon, we consulted with a local
I was working in my hangar one winter evening, 14 years
Chipmunk expert, Tom Coates, about how to
ago. My friend James Brooke dropped by. I had met James
dismantle and secure a Chipmunk in a shipping
years before when he volunteered to fly one of our fleet of container. Keep in mind I had only had one short
Aircoupes that we were donating flights to the EAA Young
flight in a Chipmunk years before and James and
Eagles program. James was a mathematics Professor at the
Karen had never sat in one. We knew almost
University of Saskatchewan. He had spent time working in nothing about the mechanics and operation of
the UK and had a soft spot for British aircraft. That night he
the type. Tom loaned us some support brackets,
had brought over a list of RAF Bulldog military trainer and with suitcases full of ratchet straps and
aircraft for sale by auction in the UK. As we looked over the
hardware, James, Karen and I boarded a flight to
listings we discovered at the bottom of the page, this one the UK. Phil picked us up at York and drove us to
simple line: “deHavilland Chipmunk no.11 G-AKDN.”
his beautiful country home on a hill overlooking
a small village. We set off next day to arrive at
Wow! Of all the Chipmunks in the world to own this would
Bagby Airfield, a small aerodrome situated on a
be the most special one! James’s love for the Chipmunk
hillside in Yorkshire. It has a small, sloping grass
was equal to mine. I got really excited about the idea of
runway, running between some metal and
bidding on G-AKDN. Then James informed me, “this listing
was over 2 years old!” What! Was I ever disappointed? This wooden hangars. A funky clubhouse and tower
made up the office, pilot lounge and necessary
was the Chipmunk of my dreams. In my mind, it was
kitchen for making tea. It looked nothing like any
another Canadian National Treasure. I wondered where it airport we had seen in Canada. I felt like we were
was now.
on a Hobbit movie set. Lucky for us, Graham Fox
James left and went home to do some investigation. He Aircraft Engineering is based in a hangar complex
soon discovered the airplane had been pulled from the behind the tower. Graham turned out to be a
auction and sold privately to a man named Phil Derry who lifesaver for us. He had experience with
lived in Yorkshire, UK. James just happened to be leaving Chipmunks and KDN in particular. He initially
for the UK for Easter and tracked down Mr. Phil Derry. He kept a low profile. I think he was sizing us up.
asked Phil if he was any relation to the famous deHavilland Who were these Crazy Canucks, dropping out of
test pilot John Derry? Phil answered that he was John’s first the blue, expecting to dismantle KDN, and put it
cousin, once removed. James asked how he came to own in the big brown shipping container that had
KDN. Phil said he had heard over a beer, that John Derry’s arrived a few days before?
airplane was up for auction. So he contacted the seller,
convinced him to pull it from the auction and sell it to him.
Phil didn’t tell his wife Jackie, but later at a party, someone
asked about him buying a Chipmunk.
