HOF-Plauen domestic airport provided a near perfect location for the very first air show to be organized by the newly formed ABACUS Airshow Ltd. ABACUS has the aim of providing high quality air shows of a professional standard throughout all of Germany. While many owners of small airports and aero-clubs have previously attempted this, with varying degrees of success only a very few can be called true air shows, with even fewer achieving the legendary status of shows such as  Hahnweide, Oppenheim or Tannheim. To be in the same league as these shows is precisely the aim of ABACUS Airshow Ltd and for this purpose a panel of well known aviation experts was put together to achieve this goal. The aeronautical aspects of the show were in the skilled hands of former test pilot and flight director of ILA-Berlin, Dieter Thomas and his company Thomas Flight Test, while HOF-airport director Bendix Wejwer ensured that the show ran perfectly. The flight and ground safety lay in the capable hands of Rudi Kubat, who was also the ILA`s former safety chief. Narrations were assigned to another well known ILA associate, former Army helicopter pilot (Sikorsky CH-53) Guenter Grabowski. Guenter, with his charming manner and great sense of humor very competently kept the visiting public fully informed through the whole weekend

Many highlights graced the flying program, commencing with a replica of the famous World War I Fokker Dr.1 Triplane and ending with the high-tech aerobatic aircraft of Ali Oeztuerk. Apart from well known performers, such as the North American B-25 J Mitchell from the Flying-Bull, sponsored by the energy drink manufacturer Red Bull, one could also see very rare aircraft, such as the Zlin Z 526 AFS Acrobat, which was flown by the former East German aerobatic champion, Dr. Kurt Beierlein and his colleague Dieter Geipel both of Aero-Club Gera. Sky divers, aerobatic gliders and huge model aircraft took turns with older biplanes from the 30’s and 40’s, and provided a wonderful assortment of aircraft and performers which compared very favorably to other international events. Indeed there were also some cancellations (as with every event), such as the sky diver ‘Mad Mike’ Kueng due to an injury. Either way it can be said that the HOF-Airshow 2007 was a very successful event which left nothing to be desired.

Over the past three years there is one performer who has become greatly appreciated by all in the form of Turkish aerobatic champion Ali Ismet Oeztuerk. Ali drove almost 2,500 km, along with his wife and two crewmembers, to attend the show with his aircraft a highly modified Pitts S-2B Special in tow. The Pitt`s Lycoming SAEIO-540 flat-six engine delivers some 400 HP which provides a top speed of 220 MPH. But it is not only the speed or the incredible agility of the Purple Violet, as Ali´s aircraft is known, but also his trademark use of huge amounts of smoke, stunning particularly against a perfect blue sky and a real pleasure to see. It’s unimaginable that Ali Oeztuerk is not a permanent part of the European air show scene, however if one visits his website (www.acromach.com) you can see that Ali is fully booked up providing stunning displays at some of the larger aviation events.

Another spectacular performance was provided by Team LEKI with their speciality combination of an Extra 300L and a 1:2.5 scale remote controlled model of the same aircraft, both performing aerobatics side by side. The Extra 300L is piloted by Klaus Lenhart, owner of ski equipment manufacturer LEKI and also German champion within the Unlimited Class. The scale model was flown by its builder, Albert Winter of Regensburg Bavaria. The idea to form a team incorporating a full size aerobatic aircraft together with a flying scale model was just pure luck. During the Hahnweide Air show in 2003 there was no time left for the scale model aircraft to perform, so Klaus Lenhart offered a very dejected looking Winter the opportunity to fly together with him, as such something that started off as a just a joke eventually becoming a real showstopper. At a distance it’s not easy for a spectator to tell which aircraft is the model and which is the real thing. Both aircraft are flying completely simultaneously and while the thrust to weight ratio and roll rate of the scale craft is superior, the real Extra is of course much faster.

Another well-known aerobatic team comes from Neustadt-Glewe Mecklenburg, which is located in the far North-East of Germany. Of course we are talking about the Blackbirds with their Zlin 42/43 Primary Trainer aircraft. These two-seat, single engine aircraft (Zlin 43 is a four-seat variant) are of composite construction, being built in the 70’s as an Primary Trainer and liaison aircraft for the former Eastern-Block air forces. The aerobatic formation received its name as a result of a readers vote held by their former sponsor, aviation magazine “FLIEGER REVUE”. Meanwhile the same magazine is sponsoring another team, this time comprising of four Yak-52 painted in very similar colours to that of the Blackbirds however under the name of the Black Jacks. While for the general public, it’s not that easy to see a difference, the Blackbirds display was nevertheless stunning with precision formation flying involving some very nice choreography indeed.

One reason why this show was so popular with admirers of classic aircraft was the attendance of the Flying-Bull fleet, coming from their home base at Salzburg Austria. As with almost every air show there were some cancellations (for example the much anticipated Yak-3/11 from Meier Motors Freiburg, which didn’t appear as scheduled), even so at Hof one was very satisfied with the wide range of aircraft in attendance. As previously mentioned, the energy drink company Red Bull owned by Dietrich Mateschitz, owns a considerable fleet of vintage aircraft which are present at numerous air shows Europe-wide. The latest addition to their collection, a Lockheed P-38L Lightning will hopefully make an appearance very soon. Apart from the well-known North American B-25J Mitchell and North American T-28B Trojan it was definitely the AH-1F Huey Cobra which attracted the most interest from the spectators. It’s is not a common sight to see the “father of all attack helicopters” with its all black finish flying in public.

A very important aspect to every air show is the possibility of a pleasure flight. Scenic flights were on offer at Hof, including the opportunity to fly in the famous Junkers Ju-52/3m of Deutsche Lufthansa Berlin-Stiftung providing a special thrill for everybody who of course had to pay for the pleasure. Unfortunately the “Old Aunt Ju” arrived late on Saturday evening, so there was only one day available for these flights. For those who may have been a little bored by “just” flying in the old “grand dame”, other flights were on offer in the form of aerobatic flights. These thrilling flights were offered by Dr. Kurt Beierlein in his two-seater Zlin Z 226 “Trener” aerobatic/trainer aircraft. Loops, rolls, and other “stunts” were all included in the program. The Zlin Z 226 is a basic version of the previously mentioned Z 526 Akrobat.

We have already mentioned the Fokker Dr.1 Triplane. No other aircraft epitomises aerial warfare over the trenches of the First World War better than the bright red coloured aircraft flown by Manfred Freiherr Von Richthofen, otherwise know as “The Red Baron”. Von Richthofen actually flew a number of different aircraft types, downing a total of 80 aircraft, 19 of these while flying the famous (or infamous) Fokker Triplane. This tiny aircraft was, when compared to allied aircraft, extremely agile and possessed a superb climb rate. In the hands of a good pilot such as Von Richthofen, the Fokker Dr.1 Triplane was a deadly weapon indeed. The Dr.1 Triplane entered service in 1917 and was in use until the end of the First World War in late 1918. The Fokker on display in HOF is owned by the “Fliegendes Museum Koch” collection and is an authentic replica (apart from the engine) of the original Dr.1. This particular replica was built in 1988. Luckly for the pilots and the public this Fokker was not using the original rotary Oberursel U.1 engine, which required Rizinus oil for lubrication. Rizinus oil created an awful smell when burned, so everybody was extremely happy that this Triplane is equipped with a Siemens Halske SH 14A4 radial engine.

Another regular star at numerous air shows is wing-walker Peggy Krainz with her Boeing-Stearman PT-17. This aircraft is based on a 1934 design by Lloyd Stearman which was named the Model X70. After merging with the Boeing Corporation the biplane was designated the Boeing-Stearman Model 75 Kaydet., also known under the more common designation of the Stearman 75. Hundreds of thousands of pilots learned to fly in this small, rugged aircraft with some 8,500 of the type being built. The original trainer versions were equipped with different engines: PT-13 utilised a Lycoming R -680 (215 HP), PT-17 was equipped with a 220 HP Continental R-670 and the PT-18 was powered by a Jacobs R-755 engine rated at 225 HP. After the war several Stearman were upgraded with a 450 HP 9-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-985 Radial engines. The example owned by Peggy Krainz is the later, equipped with the more powerful engine, which provides an extra margin of safety while performing her stunts on and between the wings of her Boeing. Peggy first stood on the wings of a Stearman in 1998, however wing walking has since become her passion and her job.

To say the PZL-106 “Kruk” (Crow) is a beauty is basically a lie. Nevertheless this agricultural aircraft is really quite an interesting machine. The very last flyable aircraft of the type is owned by Dieter Gehling, who`s company (www.gehling-flugtechnik.de) specialises in the maintenance, repair and conversion of classic aircraft. Additionally Dieter Gehling is also a popular guest at European air shows. His Kruk, which is painted in the bright yellow colours of the “Landwirtschaftlichen Produktionsgenossenschaften” (LPG -agricultural community) of the former GDR. In total some 250 aircraft were produced by PZL or Państwowe Zakłlady Lotnicze (Governmental Aircraft Factory) "Warszawa-Okęcie", which is located close to the Polish capital city of Warsaw. After successful privatisation this traditionally Polish company now belongs to the EADS-Casa consortium (with a 76% shareholding). The successor of the Kruk, the PZL-106 BT 601 Turbo “Kruk” is powered by a Walter M601D propeller turbine and rated at 750 SHP and is still in production.

Usually we only report about “real” aircraft in our online magazine, i.e. scale models are not generally part of our editorial. Nevertheless, remote controlled aircraft are now often part of an air show, mostly as a time filler or during the lunch break. However the Hof Air show was an exception. Two large, high quality flying scale models were also part of the regular flying program and attracted interest not only from the general public. The size of at least one of these models is so big that you have to look very closely to believe it was a model. One representing an Airbus A380 while the other fine model was of the Concorde, both powered by scaled down jet engines. The Concorde is equipped with two engines each producing 9 Kp of power. The A380 is in 1:15 scale and weights over 140 pounds being scratch-built by its owner Peter Michel. This bird is so big that it requires official registration with the Federal Aviation Authority. These models are definitely not cheap. The kit of the Concorde, for example, cost some € 22,000 .00 - not a bad price for a big kid’s toy!

Apart from the previously mentioned aircraft, Hof had on offer some other fine highlights, such as the Messerschmitt Bf-108 of the Deutsche Lufthansa Berlin-Stiftung (German Lufthansa Berlin-Foundation), which was wonderfully presented by the foundations chairman, Flight Capt. Uwe-Karsten Badow. This particular Bf-108 was baptised with the name Elly Beinhorn, in honour of the legendary Aviatrix of the 1930’s, who made this tiny machine world famous. Elly Beinhorn, who later married the famous racing car driver Bernd Rosemeyer and now lives in a nursing home close to Munich had celebrated her 100th birthday just two week before the Hof air show – we wish her our sincere congratulations!
The ABACUS air show team headed by Uli Menzel did a fantastic job at the Hof airshow 2007. We’re looking forward to their next event which will probably be held in 2008. If you would like to stay informed, further information is available from their website: www.abacus-airshow.de

Robert Kysela / CHK6

Release 4.0/2008

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