Wasserkuppe Airfield
| Wasserkuppe Airfield | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
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| Characteristics | |||
| ICAO code | EDER | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Height above MSL | 902 m (2959 ft ) | ||
| Transport links | |||
| Distance from the city center | 5 km northeast of Gersfeld | ||
| Basic data | |||
| opening | 1924 | ||
| operator | Society for the promotion of gliding on the Wasserkuppe / Rhön e. V. | ||
| Flight movements |
18,000 | ||
| Employees | 4th | ||
| Runways | |||
| 06/24 | 593 m × 15 m asphalt | ||
| 06/24 | 743 m × 30 m grass | ||
| 15/33 | 600 m × 40 m grass | ||
| 08/26 world sailor | 500 m × 30 m grass | ||
| 03 gold hole | 500 m × 70 m grass | ||
The Wasserkuppe special landing site is located in the Hessian Rhön in the Fulda district .
geography
The airfield is located on the northern slope of the Wasserkuppe, 950.2 meters above sea level, about five kilometers north of Gersfeld . Poppenhausen is about five kilometers west-southwest and Wüstensachsen (capital of the municipality of Ehrenberg ) about five kilometers east. The airfield itself is at 902 m above sea level. NN and is the highest of the approximately 400 airfields in Germany. It is classified as a special landing site and with up to 18,000 aircraft movements annually, it is one of the most frequented special landing sites in Germany.
history
The Wasserkuppe has been used as a flying area since 1911 , when Darmstadt students first carried out experiments with self-made gliders. 1922 founded Arthur Martens , the Martens flying school . During this time, all flying activities took place near the summit of the Wasserkuppe. After the seizure of power of the Nazis , the German took over Air Force flying school and built large buildings for the accommodation and training of student pilots. But no paved runway was built.
The aisle for the runway was cut in the forest in the winter of 1958/59. After leveling and fortification work, the track was completed in 1962. The earthworks with heavy equipment were carried out by the 14th American tank regiment from Fulda and a Bundeswehr battalion from Hammelburg . In 1981 the track was paved over a length of 400 meters. In 1997 it was renovated and extended in order to meet the requirements for the aviation permits. By laying drains in 2005, wet spots in the area of the airfield were removed. In 2006 the spectator area was paved and the taxiway to the petrol station improved.
In 2012 a new airfield building was built with training rooms and offices for the flying school, hangars for the powered aircraft and a new tower. For visitors it offers a viewing platform and a bistro.
description
The Wasserkuppe special landing site is approved for powered aircraft up to a maximum take-off weight of 2000 kilograms, powered gliders , gliders and for microlight aircraft . The airfield is used by the Wasserkuppe Flying School , founded in 1924 , the oldest gliding school in Germany. In addition, the aviation clubs based on the Wasserkuppe, the so-called Rhön flight groups, use the space. About 50 gliders and 15 motorized machines are stationed on the Wasserkuppe. Connected to the airfield is a petrol station for motorized aircraft. At the airfield there is a building with offices, training rooms, a viewing terrace, a bistro and a hangar for powered aircraft from 2013. The airfield has a permit from 2005 for around 18,000 take-offs and landings per year.
Runways
The runway of the eastern airfield has an asphalt length of 593 and a width of 15 meters. With the usable grass area, the length is 743 and the width 30 meters. The marking of the railway is 06/24. Motorized aircraft not stationed on the Wasserkuppe may only land on this runway and only in direction 24. The railway has a steep gradient of 901 to 872 meters above sea level. For this reason, take-offs and landings are mainly carried out in the opposite direction (direction 06 (downhill) is used for take-off and the opposite direction 24 (uphill) for landing). It is only deviated from in strong winds. A grass runway for gliders to land runs parallel to the south. This grass runway is occasionally used for winch starts.
Another grass runway called 15/33 crosses the two. It is preferably used for landing motor planes and gliders. In extreme southerly winds you can also take off in direction 15.
The western part above the road, in front of the hangar of the Wasserkuppe flying school, has a grass runway called 08/26 Weltensegler . This runway also has a steep gradient to the east. On this part of the airfield the gliders take off with a winch.
Another runway is available for gliders southwest of the radome above Lake Guckai at 820 meters above sea level. It has the designation 03 gold hole . Here too, gliders sometimes take off with a winch when there is a correspondingly strong east / northeast wind.
Incidents
- On October 10, 2005, a small plane hit hard on its approach, rolled over and was totally damaged.
- On August 3, 2011, a Schleicher ASK 23 glider collided with a parked aircraft while towing . The glider was seriously damaged and its pilot was fatally injured.
- On August 17, 2014, a Robin DR 400/180 crashed on the Wasserkuppe without personal injury.
- In 2016, 2017 and 2018 there were repeated accidents with several injuries of varying severity while paragliding .
- On 14 October 2018 captured light aircraft of the type Cessna 172 in a failed landing and attempting durchzustarten three pedestrians. A woman and her two children were killed in the process. The four inmates were slightly injured. One eyewitness was in shock .
See also
literature
- Deutsche Flugsicherung (Ed.): AIP VFR Luftfahrthandbuch. Frankfurt 2008.
- Joachim Jenrich: The Wasserkuppe - a mountain with history . Verlag Parzeller GmbH & Co. KG, Fulda 2007, ISBN 978-3-7900-0389-5 .
Web links
- Wasserkuppe airfield at Airports.de
- Wasserkuppe with 950 meters, the highest mountain in Hesse and the Rhön
- Wasserkuppe (EDER)
- Aviation on the Wasserkuppe
- Wasserkuppe flying school
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hans-Hubertus Braune: Topping-out ceremony for Glider Pilot Center - visitor deck as a highlight in: Osthessen-News (accessed on January 22, 2016)
- ↑ OLI: Topping-out ceremony on the Wasserkuppe in Main-Post (accessed on January 22, 2016)
- ↑ Aviation accident in 2005
- ↑ BFU Bulletin August 2011, Accident Report BFU 3X121-11 (.pdf)
- ↑ BFU Bulletin August 2014
- ↑ Osthessennews press report on the 2016 paragliding accident
- ↑ Osthessennews press report on the 2017 paragliding accident
- ↑ Press report Fuldaer Zeitung on the paragliding accident 2018
- ↑ BFU-Bulletin October 2018, interim report page 21 ff.
- ^ Press report Die Zeit from October 14, 2018
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