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Longtime Bücker Jungmann owner and pilot, Ernest “Ernie” R. Striefthau, aged 73, passed away peacefully on January 5th, 2025, from complications due to mesothelioma.  His Christian faith served him well during his life and the 14 months of health challenges he endured.  

He is survived by his wife, Holly, daughter Allison Dymacek, (Scott), and grandson Gideon, as well as an older brother, Gary and sisters Cheryl and Rebecca. 

Ernie learned to fly as a teenager, and continued as a professional corporate and airline pilot, retiring from Airborne Express.  He was also a U.S. Air Force Air Guard pilot.
 
He and his father and brother, owned, restored and flew a variety of light airplanes, and Ernie built and flew a Baby Great Lakes biplane.  He purchased his Jungmann, N289BU, (E3B-348), in 1984, and flew it almost 40 years.  He hangared it and a Chipmunk project at Hook Field, Middletown, OH. 
 
In the 90’s, he and his Jungmann were the color cover photo for an issue Trade-A-Plane.  
 
In one of those amazing aviation coincidences, Ernie had looked at buying a Swiss Jungmann in 1980…which turned out to be the very same airplane that I bought in 2007.  When I showed him the disassembled Bücker in my hangar at Hook Filed, he mentioned that he has seen it in a chicken coop in Rolla, Missouri almost thirty years prior!  
 
Ernie was an expert on the Tigre engine and keeping his Jungmann flying. He was always willing to help me with my Tigre.  He had me practice pattern work in his Jungmann, prior to the test flight of my own. A kind and generous man.
 
I’ll miss him and am thankful for our friendship.
~John LaBarre
   

By Brian Karli

I know social media has its good and bad traits, but sometimes the good benefits those of us who passionately love Bückers.  There was a post the other day which made me say, “I never knew that”.
 
I have always been fascinated by famed Bücker pilot Prince Constantin Catancuzino. He is famously known for his spectacular Jungmeister aerobatic routine that left the audience spellbound. Low level snap rolls gave predictions of an early demise. 
 
You can see his routine here: Jungeister in the Bull Ring

Anyway, back to social media.  This popped up on Facebook.  



So I clicked on the link:



It was so sad seeing the Jungmeister smoldering in the field.  
 
Since Cantacuzino’s name came up again, I started searching for information about him.  Yes, he was Romania’s most successful WWII fighter pilot with 48 confirmed (and 11 unconfirmed) victories.  But did you know he fought WITH the Germans and then AGAINST the Germans?



In 1944, when Romania quit the Axis, they switched to the Allied side and Cantucuzino went from protecting Heinkel 111’s to shooting them down. One time, when his ME-109 was damaged, Cantacuzino hopped in a P-51 and on his first flight proceeded to dazzled everyone with his aerobatics.
 
Wow.
 
Before the war, Cantacuzino married Anca Diamande and they had a daughter who became who became a famous Romanian writer.  She wrote with a pen name of Oana Orlea, but her real name was Iona Cantacuzino.
 
More things under the category of “I didn’t know that”.
 
At age 16, Iona was jailed for distributing anti communist manifestos.  She was given a four year prison sentence.  After she was released from her labor camp, she was forbidden to continue her studies and forced to earn her living as a welder and supplemented her income by washing hair at a salon.  Under constant surveillance, she was finally able to flee to France where she wrote several books about the Romanian Gulags.


After the war, the Communists took over Romania and imprisoned the old elite (Cantacuzino was a Prince, remember) and confiscated all personal property.  So much for being a famous war ace.  Cantacuzino’s lost all his family land and his wife left him.
 
Not all was lost.  In 1946, he met and married a Romanian film star named Nadia Kujnar. They were able to escape to Italy and settled in Spain where he was helped by the Romanian community to buy an airplane (Spanish Jungmeister) and make his living in the airshow business.



They were married until his death in 1956.
 
Bucker history is very fascinating.  I have only scratched the surface of Prince Cantacuzino’s history. In the meantime, here are a few pictures of the famous Prince:






This is a great eyewitness account of his Jungmeister flying in 1952. The author is unknown but the item is from a report on the King's Cup air race of that year.

The crowd were to enjoy another aerobatic display that was even more appreciated by the watching pilots who understood what was being done and how difficult it was.  The aeroplane was a Bücker Jungmeister – the Pitts Special of its day – and the pilot was a Prince Constantin Cantacuzeno.

{He was a member of the Cantacuzeno dynasty which had ruled Romania for centuries.  In the thirties he flew as Chief Pilot of LARES, the Romanian Air Transport Company.  He was also a keen aerobatic pilot and became National Champion in 1939, flying his Jungmeister.  On the outbreak of war, he joined the Air Force and flew in a squadron equipped with Mk I Hurricanes.  Romania had been ‘absorbed’ by Hitler so their troops went to war against the Russians.
 
By 1943, Cantacuzeno was commander of a squadron equipped with Me 109s and building a tidy score of victories, enough to be awarded the Iron Cross, First Class.  He became ill and spent some months in hospital returning in time to meet the USAAF raids against the oilfields around Ploesti in which he shot down a B-24 Liberator. 
 
In August 1944 Romania decided to stop fighting with the Germans and they opted for an Axis-Exit.  The affronted Germans still had some airfields in Romania and began bombing Bucharest.  Cantacuzeno added three He 111s and an Fw 190 to his score (he ended with 43 confirmed victories, Romania’s highest).
 
With the Russians in control life was becoming difficult.  There were many US airmen PoWs, technically freed but unable to get back to Allied controlled territory i.e. Italy.  Without any authorisation Cantacuzeno secretly had an Me 109G prepared with an extra fuel tank and the radio removed from its compartment in the fuselage behind the wing root.  Into this he squeezed Lt Col. James Gunn who had briefed him on the landing procedures at Foggia.  When they arrived there Cantacuzeno put on his lights and lowered the undercarriage, rocking his wings.  They landed without being fired on.  Cantacuzeno borrowed a screwdriver, opened the little 18” square hatch and produced Gunn.
 
Subsequently, Cantacuzeno was briefed on flying a Mustang and he led a formation of P-51s back to his airfield in Romania. (He couldn’t resist a burst of Mustang aerobatics before landing). They were followed by groups of B-17s, stripped of interior fittings, each of which could cram in 20 ex-PoWs.  700 Americans were rescued that day and the ferrying went on until 1,161 had been evacuated.
 
Cantacuzeno himself stayed in Romania but he was steadily stripped of all his possessions and status.  In 1947 he managed to get away, eventually to Spain where he took a job crop dusting.  After a short spell of bankruptcy he was able to raise enough money to buy one of his beloved Jungmeisters and make a living from display flying, which is how he managed to be in Newcastle in 1952.  It didn’t last long.  Surgery for an ulcer went wrong and he died in 1958, aged just 53}.

.  

The Jungmeister first flew in 1935 and was designed specifically for aerobatics.  With a wingspan of 21 ft 8 ins and a 160 hp engine it displayed ‘astonishing agility’.  The combination of such a  powerful engine in a tiny airframe was unusual for its day and the pilot could make full use of gyroscopic effects to produce manoeuvres that seemed impossible.



(In 1952, colour film was expensive and more expense was added if you wanted an enlargement.  So this is a cheat.  You could buy little tubes of transparent oil paint and delicate stroking with a cotton bud and other little tricks produced this effect).
Cantacuzeno added his own modifications to his Jungmeister.  The rudder was extended to allow him to do his signature manoeuvre.  Note also that much smaller wheels had been fitted.  The usual larger and heavier wheels must have had some adverse effect in one of the manoeuvres. 

The display itself was quite dazzling and the little machine twirled about.  The loops were tight and the ‘slow’ rolls not slow.  The only bit of straight and level flight was a long sideslip with the wings rolled 90° and the nose held up with that enlarged rudder.
 
Finally he approached to land just in front of the crowd, the engine now quietly muttering.  At the last second when no more than 10 feet above the ground, the engine roared, the plane climbed to 50 feet and flick rolled.  Cantacuzeno closed the throttle and gently landed.

 

Fortunately, I’d been warned about this and was able to capture it with my little camera.

Brian Karli. Jan 2025




Bücker/CASA Jungmann 2000

TIGRE G-IV-B, ENHA prop. Upgraded undercarriage including disc brakes. Imperial instrumentation. Trig 8.33 radio and transponder. EGLM/White Waltham based. Extensive spares package including spare engine, prop, fuel tank and workshop equipment. Offers in region £ 85,000.00 for further info contact Pete Cunniff (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)


Dear customers of our Bückershop!

The year is coming to an end and you are probably already waiting for a new calendar for 2025. We have put in a lot of effort again and designed a new calendar. Wonderful photos on 13 pages in landscape format A3 will accompany you through the year.

The printer will deliver the calendar to us by December 18th. Orders can be placed in the Bückershop immediately. This would make it possible to ship before Christmas and the calendar will arrive in time for the holidays.

You can go directly to the 2024 calendar via this link:

https://www.bueckershop.com/index.php/mobil-kategorien/product/view/16/97

If you have any difficulty ordering or paying for the calendar, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will do our best to help.

Our support association would like to thank the photographers who contributed their pictures to this calendar for their support. This was kindly done free of charge and the proceeds from this calendar will therefore go 100% to our museum.

We hope you enjoy the new calendar and have a wonderful Christmas,

with kind regards from Rangsdorf
the Bückershop team of the Bücker-Museum Rangsdorf e.V. support association.


Over the years, I have always admired the red and white CASA 1.131 pitot covers.  I had seen them in several vintage CASA Jungmann photos, but when John LaBarre sent me a color picture of a pitot cover hanging off the strut of a Jungmann in a Spanish Air Force hangar, I said to myself, “I gotta have one of those”.



Here you can see another one:



Well, my lovely wife got tired of hearing me lament about not being able to find an original one, so she offered to fire up her sewing machine and make one.



Since we didn’t have an original to copy, we guessed at the dimensions.  I think we got pretty close.  She said, “Since I have to make you one, maybe I should make more for other Bucker people”.

And so she did.



Here you go everyone - reproduction CASA 1.131 Pitot Tube Covers.  If you want one, send me an email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.    

Since she has a lot of time and material invested, I’m suggesting giving her $85 plus shipping costs.

Happy Bucker flying

Brian

Once again, just when I thought I knew all about something, it turns out there was more to learn.

Scott Hess obtained an LOM 332 engine which came with this hub. It is of a design I have not seen before. It uses an SAE bolt pattern and threads so appears to be intended for an American standard prop. hub - Interesting.



Scott emailed the LOM factory and the next day received a detailed response, along with a number of engineering drawings. Their responsiveness is remarkable these days. (It comes and goes :) ) It included:

"The pictures probably show the propeller flange p/n V231-010 of LOM.
This flange was made specially for a company of Joe Krybus (USA) or for Moravia Co. (Canada)."

So now we know how this unusual flange came about.

The reply went on to describe in great detail how to mount the hub and what parts are required to support it.



This is a "standard" LOM hub. It is intended for use with LOM metal props as well as a number of others that conform to the European bolt hole pattern (Same as a Tigre)



This is an LOM wood prop hub. I has a larger flange and a central support for a spinner



And it is also possible to use a Walter Minor hub on an LOM engine. The nose fairing requires modification but it results in an overall shorter engine installation.


October 5th was the Ranger Texas flyin. Simon Diver took his Jungmann to David Martin's place and then did a 3 ship of Buckers to the event. Simon was honored to fly U85 to the show and back, his buddy Tom Womack flew Simon's Jungmann with Andrew Diver, and David flew the German Meister. It was a pretty awesome event!



 

Thomas Holz is a member of a group operating a CASA Jungmann, an original Hirth powered Jungmann and a Klemm 35D. The Klemm is being offered for sale as below. It is a spectacular looking aircraft with perhaps the cleanest engine I have ever seen in a flying aircraft :) The Klemm is based at Siegerland EDGS in Germany.

Contact Thomas Holz at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. +49 174 399 5699



The Klemm 35 D with the serial number 1983 was built in 1941 by „Leichtflugzeugbau Klemm GmbH“. This type with the special undercarriage is one of three still flying. 
The aircraft can be easily converted into the single seat version.
The Hirth HM 504 A2 engine was overhauled in 2023 by LTB Bende (best Hirth expert in Europe) and has been running only a few hours since.
Bosch Magnetos and SUM carburetor.
One spare Hirth HM 504 A2 engine would also be available (not included in price).
The propeller MT is from December 2022


Yesterday (October 12th) out local IAC chapter wrapped up it fall aerobatic contest and as has become something of a habit, Larry Ernewein took first place in the Sportsman category. The contest was held at the Bellefontaine, Ohio airport. Jungmann N131HT and N28Bu were able to fly over and cheer Larry on. The weather was near perfect, there was an interesting variety of aircraft to see and lunch was provided. A good day indeed. - Congratulations Larry!

Dave Trost spotted this unusual landing gear configuration during a recent visit to Prague.




It would be interesting to learn more about it. Anyone have any ideas?

It begins, rain or no rain :)







Unfortunately the weather this weekend does not look so good. The fly-in may turn out to be more social than flying, but still a good number of people have confirmed that they are attending. Weather or not, it will be worth the trip!

Everything you need to know is now on a new website page which you can access here or by clicking the link in the menu at the left of the page. - Hope to see you soon.

 

Brian Karli
William Cox

Stories of Frank's Great Lakes trainer are legion: Instructing without the benefit of any instruments, Shipping it to then Czechoslovakia for the World Aerobatic Championships, showering the host parade with the contents of his toolkit, learning the Loncevak and founding the American Tiger Club. - The list goes on. Ever wonder where that aircraft it now?

Turns out it is in a private hangar at the Antique Aeroplane Association field in Iowa.



There are many articles about Frank on this website, my favorite is this one written by Rob Dorsey after Frank's passing;

As part of the process of becoming more proficient at 3D modeling I have experimented with the instrument panel mounts used on Bücker aircraft. Mine have become old and the panel is sagging. Printed in PLA they turned out quite well and have definitely improved the security of the panel. If you need some, let me know and I can print some for you or send you the STL file. If you have a (free) account at OnShape, you can find the design file here: Bûcker Instrument Panel Mount



It might be fun to create a library of useful Bücker CAD design files some time.

John Christian kindly provided a copy of the maintenance information that accompanied his TP-131 OE-APY. There is quite a lot of interesting information to learn from. Download a copy from HERE or from the Downloads menu (left) then "Miscellaneous".

Thanks John.

There are some remarkable people in this group of Bücker enthusiasts. It is often the case that we don't realize how remarkable until finally meeting a person and talking with them face to face after years of "knowing" the person only by email or telephone. That was how I felt when I had the privilege of spending time with George André recently.

George has had an extraordinary career in aviation spanning both the military and civilian worlds He had a very close association with the F104 Starfighter, the SR71 Blackbird and many, many other aircraft but for me it was the people he knew and worked with that were particularly fascinating to hear about.

George has written a book, "Wingspan - From J-3 to Mach 3" in which he describes the aircraft and the people he encountered during his career. It is a remarkable book comparable in many ways to Eric "Winkle" Brown's well known autobiography.  From Roscoe Turner, through the legends of the early jet days and right up to the astronauts you will come across many of the great names of American aviation. It doesn't hurt that after a lifetime flying about every aircraft you can imagine, George referes to the Bücker as: "the best flying plane there is, bar none."

Goerge has kindly offered to make copies of his book available to Bücker people for a modest $20.00, substantially less that the Amazon price. Please email him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - You may be lucky enough to get a signed copy if you ask nicely :)

Brian Krli would like to find the rear constrol stick cover as shown in this assembly diagram (part 45). The rear cover has a hole in it to accommodate the elevator pushrod.   Contact Brian at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 



and I am hoping to find a set of CASA cowling struts like these. Please let me know if you have a pair you would be willing to part with. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

After a six month rebuild that took four years (Isn't it always the way?) Jason Seavolt's N131HT just took to the air on a warm summer evening in Ohio. All went well. The aircraft flew nicely and sounded even better. Congratulations Jason :)

'HT is a CASA 1.131 originaly restored by Talmadge Scot. It has Charlie Miller landing gear, an LOM 332AK engine and a Performance Propeller. A very happy combination.



Zak Clement found this nice video of David Martin in Jungmeister U-85 performing at the Brekenridge Airshow. The video is unusual in that you can clearly hear the lovely purr of the radial engine.

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