In 1937 Andrew Dalrymple and Alexander Ward formed an enterprise to design and build a small single-seat racing aircraft. Their aim was to make a simple, easy to manufacture aircraft that was inexpensive to buy, operate and maintain, yet had the performance to appeal to sports flyers. The result was the Chilton DW 1 – a fully aerobatic single-seater that could reach 112 mph and cruise at 100 mph, all on a 32 hp engine with excellent fuel economy.

Their aim was to make a simple easy to manufacture aircraft that was inexpensive to buy, operate and maintain, yet had the performance to appeal to sports flyers.

The result was the Chilton DW1 a fully aerobatic single seater that could reach 112 miles an hour and cruise at 100 miles an hour, all on a 32 horsepower engine with excellent fuel economy.

The prototype DW1 was registered as G-AESZ in January 1937 and made its maiden flight with Ranald Porteous at the controls in April of that year.

It performed well but modifications to the cowling were found to be necessary to prevent the engine from overheating.

Three Carden-Ford powered DW1s were built. These aircraft became well known and an improved version the DW1a was developed. It was powered by a French four-cylinder in-line air-cooled 44 horsepower Train 4T engine designed by Emile Train and it first flew in July 1939.

It showed great potential but the outbreak of World War II prevented it from being fully explored. In all just four aircraft were completed, the three DW1s and the only DW1a; a fifth airframe was never completed and its components were used for spares.

The pre-war story of Chilton DW1 G-AESZ encapsulates the spirit of the era with its pilots competing in a series of the air races popular at the time and achieving some success as well as experiencing some hair-raising near disasters. But G-AESZ survived and at the outbreak of World War II it was put into storage for the duration.

After the war it returned to the air racing scene but in 1953 it suffered an engine failure near Felixstowe and was severely damaged whilst attempting a forced landing. It lay virtually forgotten for many years but following a full restoration the aircraft flew again in 2001 complete with its original engine.

It’s a tribute to those who returned the aircraft to flying condition that it flew beautifully and demonstrated a performance effectively identical to that claimed in the brochure 50 years earlier.