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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.

Many people reading this website will be familiar with Eric Brown's excellent autobiography, particularly Navy people. It is one of the most well regarded books in the aviation library. In case you have not read it, here is a quote you will enjoy:

“Udet seemed impressed by my youthful enthusiasm for aviation and offered to take me for a flight at Halle, south of Berlin. There we drove up to a Bücker Jungmann two-seat trainer, where he put me in the front cockpit and took particular care to see I was securely strapped in-the reason for this solicitude becoming obvious to me later. It was a glorious day and Udet proceeded to put this jaunty little trainer through its aerobatic paces, and at the same time checking in his broken English that my stomach and nerves were still in good shape. After about half an hour we rejoined the airfield circuit, and on the final approach he suddenly rolled the Jungmann on to its back and we glided inverted to within what I estimated was my approaching demise-but was actually some 50ft up-when he rolled it right way up and then held off to land. I was speechless but he roared with laughter, hit me smartly between the shoulder blades with a great yell of ‘Hals und Beinbruch’, the German fighter-pilots’ greeting. From that moment I was unswervingly dedicated to achieving that goal.”

— Wings on My Sleeve: The World's Greatest Test Pilot tells his story (Phoenix Press) by Eric Brown

Towards the end of WW2 Ernst Udet was reported to have been killed as a result of an aircraft accident in which he ran into compressibility issues while testing a new aircraft. In fact he had shot himself in the head. When this fact leaked out the demoralization it caused in the Luftwaffe was wide spread and there are historians who say that was the triggering event for the decline and fall of the organization. When Udet's autobiography was published (posthumously), it was clear that the final chapter was not by his hand, but had been addedn by those who had encouraged him to take his own life. A tragic end to one of history's great aviators.

Ranger Airfield, listed as the oldest grass airport in Texas, will be holding their their annual airshow and fly-in October 4th -> 6th. This year it is going to feature Bücker aircraft. David Martin will be performing and so far seven other Bücker owners are planning to attend with their aircraft.

Full details can be found on the Ranger AIrfield website: https://www.rangerairfield.org/events

TP131 Jungmann OE-APY/N131BJ took to the skies with its happy owner John Christian at the controls this weekend. John is an accomplished aviator with a logbook full of FA-18 and B787 time but only a little piston/prop time. He took to the Jungmann like a duck to water, however, and is enjoying this beautiful aircraft which is based at the historic Creve Coeur airport near St. Louis.



More remarkable still, John and wife Paola's beautiful three year old daughter Isabella soloed her Jungmann on the same day at the same airport. She has more to learn, but her taxiing was excellent :)



Congratulations John and Isabella.

There was great support for Buckers at Oshkosh spearheaded by Gail Schipper’s 90 Years of Bucker Aircraft presentation at the IAC building.



Gail did a great job with the presentation.  Her lecture was the gathering point for all the “Bucker people” who came to Oshkosh.



Gail flew her Jungmann from Colorado to Wisconsin for the event.



It was a good year for Jungmann attendance.  Ben Britton flew his ex-Mira Slovak Jungmann to the show as well.

Thanks to Gail for all her hard work preparing the presentation.  We really enjoyed it !!
 
Brian Karli

There was an event on Saturday 20.July 2024 with several oldtimers flying around the top of the Stanserhorn mountain near Luzern, Switzerland. The participting Bücker Jungmann were HB-UUV/ A-81 Pilot Daniel Ernst, HB-UUA / A-1 Piolt Daniel Knutti and the Jungmeister HB-MIZ Pilot Paul Zeltner. The departure aerodrome was Langenthal-Bleienbach LSPL 



Mario Richard

I'm sorry to share the news that long time Bücker owner & pilot Alan Abell of Elgin, Illinois, has passed away. Alan was a long time Bücker owner and was a good and always helpful friend to many in the community. You will find many items on this website that he contributed. Alan had stuggled with cancer for the last few years.


Rest in peace.

A number of people kindly wrote with suggestions and advice but the consensus among the Bücker cognoscenti was that the Spanish fuel selector is almost impossible repair reliably. Ten years ago I made a modification to the  fuel system of N28Bu and it seems to have worked out well so it seemed best to do the same thing for this aircraft.

In the USA we are free to make this type of modification with only a log book entry and suitable testing. Things may be different where you live so please check before trying anything like this.

The basic premise is that the Spanish selector/gascolator is removed along with all of the levers, linkage and mounting hardware. A new, more modern gascolator is mounted low on the engine side of the firewall and a brass three-way selector valve is mounted approximately in the location where the original push-rod passed through the firewall. This avoids having to run fuel lines all the way to the rear cockpit and back. The finished installation looks something like this:



There are two important things to note here: Both the valve and the gascolator are mounted to the steel fuselage structure, not just to the firewall. This is necessary to ensure there is no relative movement and that metal fuel lines are safe. Your installation may be different depending on where you choose to route the fuel lines through the firewall.



Next, and this is the key to the whole scheme, the original push-pull fuel control rod is modified by removing the screw that prevents its rotation (hidden behind the rear cockpit throttle quadrant) and adding two 10mm universal joints  using roll-pins (or other hardware) to prevent slipping.



Now "Gravity" or "Flop tube" operation is selected not by pushing/pulling the control but by rotating it through 90 or 180 degrees.
 
This schematic should make it clear. Contact me if you need more details or part numbers.



--oOo--

Almost all CASA/ENMA fuel selectors seems to leak a little but this one leaks more than most and is obviously not safe to use. Does anyone have a manual, diagram or some advice on servicing these valves?

Thanks - Steve
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Martin Nevopim has these two Bücker aircraft for sale:


Bucker 131 Jungmeister S/N 003 reg. N133BJ
TTSN 2205h, ET 9h SOH

and

Bucker 131 / Aero C104 S/N 214 reg. N111A
TTSN 890h, ET 38h
 
Both planes have new condition inspection and they were flown last time about two weeks ago.
 
The owner asks 260k for N133BJ and 160k for N111A.
 
Both planes are located in the Czech republic.

Contact:

Martin Nepovim
Flying Bulls Aerobatic Team
Airtrade - aircraft sales
 
+420 602 503 886

Long time Jungmann owner Gail Schipper will give a presentation on Bücker aircraft at AirVenture Oshkosh this year and from what Gail has shared of her research it is going to be fascinating. As well as the history of the aircraft and its flight characteristics Gail will talk about the way in which women featured in the development and operation of Bücker aircraft. Beate Köslin, later Beate Uhse shown in the picture below was certainly one of the most colorful of the women pilots working for Bücker and you may learn a lot more about her and her colleagues during the program.

Be sure to mark Tuesday July 23rd at 1 pm on your calendar. The presentation will take place in the IAC building.


Image courtesy The Bücker Museum, Teufen CH



Moved from it previous date later in the year in the hopes of better weather, it was not to be. The Saturday of the flyin was not bad, but the previous day and the following day were both rainy and gray, preventing many people from flying in. It has been a year of record rain in Europe. Credit must go to Horkan Wijkander who flew his magnificent Siemens Jungmeister SE-AJA all the way from Stockholm, and to Benoit Dierickx who arrived from Namur in Belgium.

Weather not withstanding, it was a good flyin. Benoit put on an aerobatic display in the LOM Jungmeister, those brave enough to fly in showed off their aircraft (the CASA Jungmeister from Stockholm was a particular favorite), friendships were renewed and the meeting finished with a wonderful dinner and video presentation in the airfield restaurant.

In the days that followed, many people visited the Bücker museum in Switzerland where Albert and Elisabeth Zeller were as always, the most gracious and patient of hosts. 


With just three days to go until the Degerfeld Bücker meeting, here is an update from Hermann Diebold.

Dear Bücker enthusiasts,

This is information for those who come with their planes. If gliders are active and the winch is out please do not cross the field from the runway to the tower because we use rubber tow cables for the winch. Alsways use the full runway 09 for taxiing or for backtrack if you land 27. Or the taxiway north of the runway and taxi all the way east before turning towards the tower. Airfield information will assist you and advise by radio on 125.835. More information on the airfield can be found here: https://lsv-degerfeld.de/der-flugplatz 

Liebe Bücker-Gäste,

diese Information ist für diejenigen, die mit ihren Flugzeugen kommen. Wenn Segelflug aktiv ist und die Winde draußen steht , überqueren Sie bitte nicht das Feld von der Landebahn zum Turm, da wir die Winde mit Kunststoff Seilen betreiben. Diese dürfen nicht überrollt werden um Gefahren oder Schäden zu vermeiden. Benutzen Sie immer die Landebahn für den Backtrack 27 wenn möglich und die gesamte Landebahn 09 zum Rollen oder den Rollweg direkt nördlich der Landebahn und rollen Sie ganz nach Osten, bevor Sie Richtung Turm die Bahn verlassen. Die Flugleitung wird mithelfen und Sie jeweils informieren.

And here is a Google Maps link to the event: https://maps.app.goo.gl/hTKdi7AaggaY4Ews8

ENMA Tigre 125 HP

Disassembled ENMA Tigre 125 HP engine for sale. The major parts all seem to be in fine fettle, and I think everything is present. No obvious corrosion anywhere. I acquired the engine as part of an estate sale, and it is surplus to requirements. Location is Varde Airfield EKVA, Denmark. 

Available for pick-up or can be shipped worldwide at cost. 

Sensible offers invited.

Contact:

Bent Esbensen

PH +45 5099 7007

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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