Dieter Hugo Thomas

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Dieter Hugo Thomas (2009)

Dieter Hugo Thomas (born February 23, 1937 in Pirmasens ; † April 13, 2013 in Fürstenfeldbruck ) was a German test pilot , aviation expert, event / flight program manager of the International Aviation Exhibition Hannover / Berlin as well as author and publishing manager.

Childhood and youth

After the early death of his parents (mother died in 1939, father died in the war in 1942), Dieter Thomas grew up with relatives in Pirmasens. There he attended elementary school, passed the secondary school leaving certificate in 1953 and completed an apprenticeship as a locksmith in the machine factory J. Sandt AG as well as the skilled worker examination.

Aviation career

Dieter Thomas started his flying career as a glider pilot in the Aero Club Pirmasens. His first winch flight was on August 31, 1952 when he was 15 years old. In 1954 Dieter Thomas had already acquired all the glider licenses available at that time. From 1955 he completed a motor flight training in the first air force training regiment of the Bundeswehr , he became a jet pilot, flight instructor and maintenance test pilot .

From 1964 to 1967 he studied aircraft construction at the HTL Bohne in Munich . At the same time he was a research test pilot at the DVL (later DFVLR or DLR ) in Oberpfaffenhofen until 1973 . From there, Dieter Thomas was initially assigned to the Dornier company as an escort pilot as part of the testing of the vertical take- off aircraft Do 31 . Dieter Thomas worked for DVL and Dornier in parallel for four years and from 1969 to 1970 was sent to the test pilot school EPNER (École du personnel navigant d'essais et de réception) in Istres / France by both employers with joint funding to acquire the test authorization class 1 .

From 1973 to 1980 he was a Dornier project pilot for the Franco-German military trainer Alpha Jet , and from 1980 to 1989 he was responsible as chief test pilot a. a. for testing the 19-seat Do 228 commuter aircraft and the modernized three-engine Do 24 ATT flying boat .

During this time, the first flight of 6 prototypes took place as a pilot in command ( Pöschel P300 , Do-TST, Do-TNT, Do 228, Do 24 ATT, Weigel-Fink) and two first flights as copilot ( Do 28 D5-X , Do 28 D6-X).

Aviation expert

Since 1989 he has been a freelance test pilot and aviation expert.

As event and flight program manager he was responsible for the flying program of the International Aviation Exhibition (ILA) in 1990 in Hanover and from 1992 to 2006 in Berlin.

For the Oskar-Ursinus-Vereinigung (OUV), the German association for the construction of aircrafts, Dieter Thomas supervised a large number of self-construction projects (HB-207, Zodiac, RV etc.) for individual approval by the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA). From 1995–1996 head of the OUV office.

Dieter Thomas was also responsible for the individual approval of various historical aircraft / restoration projects by the LBA (including Fokker Dr.I , Jak-3 / 7 / 9 / 11 , P-51 , Me 163 as a glider, demilitarized Alpha Jets as staff Jet etc.).

On behalf of the newly founded Dornier Museum in Friedrichshafen, Dieter Thomas was responsible for the procurement and musealization of various exhibits (Do 228 Polar 2 and 4 , Do 31 E-1, Do 29 V1) as well as for the organization of the flying part of the opening event on 23 July 2009.

Aviation publisher

In the TFT-Verlag, founded in 1995, Dieter Thomas published numerous of his own books and writings as well as specialist books by other flight test specialists.

Miscellaneous

In addition to his aviation career, Dieter Thomas was also involved in local politics. In 1965 he was a co-founder of the Brucker Bürgerervereinigung (BBV), Fürstenfeldbruck and was elected to the city council as the first BBV member in 1966. He was married and had two children.

Records / awards

“Diplôme de Record” of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI): On the occasion of the Aérosalon Le Bourget , the team Drury Wood (pilot in command) and Dieter Thomas (copilot) set five world records on May 27, 1969 with the Do 31

On September 29, 2007 he was made a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP).

Memberships

Lectures / publications

Media coverage / web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ flyer magazine. Retrieved May 14, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Dieter Thomas' handwritten curriculum vitae from 1955
  3. ↑ Club history. Retrieved May 14, 2020 .
  4. ^ Karl Kössler: The program. In: http://www.do31.de . Retrieved April 14, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Steep ascent, hard landing - VDI news. March 2, 2017, accessed May 14, 2020 .
  6. ^ Karl Kössler: Those involved (The makers). In: Do31. Karl Kössler / Rita Winkle, accessed on April 13, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Dornier aircraft, airworthy. Retrieved May 14, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Wolfgang Späte: Test pilots . Aviatic Verlag, Planegg 1993, ISBN 3-925505-23-7 , p. 120-123 .
  9. ↑ Ludwig Bölkow: A century of aircraft: History and technology of flying . Springer-Verlag, 2013, ISBN 978-3-642-95775-8 ( google.de [accessed on May 14, 2020]).
  10. ↑ Helmut Schmidt: The sky over Schönefeld - the pilot ensures order. DIE WELT, June 9, 2000, accessed on May 14, 2020 .
  11. ↑ Ben Dunnell: Dieter Thomas - The career of Germany's leading airshow man - from demo pilot to Berlin organizer. In: Aircraft Illustrated. Ian Allen Publishing, June 2008, accessed April 13, 2020 .
  12. ↑ Oscar-Ursinus-Vereinigung: OUV Yearbook 2017/2018 . Ed .: Oscar-Ursinus-Vereinigung. January 2019.
  13. ^ TFT publishing house. Retrieved April 14, 2020 .
  14. ↑ Verena Usleber: 50 years of BBV: Vom Bramerl in the town hall. In: Merkur.de. Münchner Merkur, October 7, 2015, accessed on April 13, 2020 .
  15. ^ Dornier GmbH Friedrichshafen / Munich (ed.): A documentation on the history of the Dornier company . Friedrichshafen 1983, p. 208 .
  16. ^ Brucker pilot in line with Armstrong. In: Merkur.de. May 10, 2009, accessed April 13, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Thomas, Dieter Hugo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Thomas, Dieter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German test pilot
DATE OF BIRTH February 23, 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH Pirmasens
DATE OF DEATH April 13, 2013
Place of death Fürstenfeldbruck