Frankfurt Aviation Association
| Frankfurt Aviation Association from 1908 e. V. (ATCO) |
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| purpose | Promotion of practicing flight technique in Germany |
| Chair: | Alexander Schneider |
| Executive Director: | Matthias Schulte |
| Establishment date: | 1908 |
| Number of members: | about 500 |
| Seat : | Egelsbach |
| Website: | www.fvl-online.de |
The Frankfurt Aviation Association e. V. (short: ATCO ; full name: Frankfurter Verein für Luftfahrt from 1908 ) is a non-profit association based in Egelsbach that focuses on aviation training . It has around 500 members and is one of the oldest air sports clubs in Germany.
The association was registered at the Frankfurt am Main district court under VR 4032 of the registry court until 2016; in 2016, the legal seat was moved to the Offenbach register of associations and entered under VR 5725 at the request of the Federal Aviation Office .
Field of activity
The association has two locations:
- The powered flight group at Frankfurt-Egelsbach airfield
- The model flying group in Diedenbergen
A glider training facility at the Gelnhausen airfield was given up in the 1970s, as was a parachute jump group, which appeared on flight days from 1928 to 1933.
The association gives courses for the acquisition of a private pilot license , for the radiotelephone certificate , night flight and alpine instructions , as well as pinch hitter courses. Since 2016, it has also been increasingly conducting flight safety training courses for pilots who already have a license, and organizing flight camps.
In 1958 the association initiated the friendship flight “Around Egelsbach” for the first time, in which since then many pilots from flight schools and clubs have demonstrated their flying knowledge every year. The ATCO is a club member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association , and the German Aero Club.
The association is financed by membership fees and private donations. It is recognized as a non-profit because it promotes air sports and member flying.
The ATCO fleet includes several aircraft , from simple training aircraft such as the Cessna 150 or Diamond DA20 to aircraft certified according to instrument flight rules such as the Piper PA-28 . The club also has an extensive fleet of model aircraft . As of April 2020, the association's fleet consists of the following aircraft:
| Aircraft type | Aircraft registration | Admission | equipment | Transponder |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diamond DA20 | D-EDAM | CVFR | Garmin GNS430 | Standard Mark XII (Mode S) |
| Diamond DA20 | D-EXDA | CVFR | Garmin GNS430 | Standard Mark XII (Mode S) |
| Cessna 150 | D-EEDP | CVFR | Garmin aera 660 | Standard Mark XII (Mode S) |
| Cessna 150 | D-EEVZ | CVFR | Garmin Aera 796.2x Garmin G5 | Standard Mark XII (Mode S) |
| Cessna 150 | D-EBGT | CVFR | Garmin Aera 660 | Automatic Dependent Surveillance (ADS-B IN & OUT) |
| Cessna 172 | D-EAEU | CVFR | Garmin GTN650Xi, 2x Garmin G5, BendixKing autopilot | Automatic Dependent Surveillance (ADS-B IN & OUT) |
| Cessna 172 | D-EENR | CVFR | Garmin GNS430 | Standard Mark XII (Mode S) |
| Cessna 172 | D-EDRP | CVFR | Garmin GNS430 | Standard Mark XII (Mode S) |
| Piper PA-28 | D-EFVC | CVFR | Garmin 430W | Standard Mark XII (Mode S) |
| Piper PA-28 | D-ERWA | IFR | Garmin GTN650Xi, Garmin G5 + Autopilot GFC500 | Automatic Dependent Surveillance (ADS-B IN & OUT) |
| Piper PA-28 | D-ELZC | IFR | Garmin 430W + STec autopilot | Automatic Dependent Surveillance (ADS-B OUT) |
history
precursor
In 1824, scientists and their sponsors founded the Physikalische Verein in Frankfurt am Main , which, among other things, still has a meteorological department to research weather phenomena. Two of its members emerged in 1908 as the founders and directors of the "Frankfurter Verein für Luftschiffahrt" - or for "Aviation", as it soon called itself: Franz Linke and Richard Wachsmuth . In the beginning, the Physikalische Verein used foreign balloonists to carry out meteorological studies with their balloons, which included in particular the systematic exploration of the upper air layers. In 1906, the Physikalische Verein acquired its first balloon through the foundation of the Heinrich Kleyer Chamber of Commerce . Three years later the club was already working with twelve balloons, with which numerous ascents were undertaken. Julius Ziegler, after whom the first balloon of the Luftschifffahrtverein was named, was particularly involved.
In 1906, the Physikalischer Verein included aeronautics in its scientific program. He organized the first balloon ascent on December 30, 1906 under the leadership of Alfred Wegener with the balloon "Coblenz" of the Middle Rhine Association. The next trip, like the forty or so following, took place in our own balloon, the “Ziegler”. The ascents also attracted attention from those interested in sports.
founding
At the endeavor of Franz Linke , the aeronautical activities were to be outsourced to an association. The members of the Meteorological Committee of the Physikalischer Verein and also Frankfurt's Lord Mayor Franz Adickes tried to organize and finance the event.
The official founding took place on August 22, 1908 and the first ordinary general meeting took place on October 27, 1908. The annual fee was set at 25 marks. The Frankfurt Aviation Association (at that time still spelled with only two "f") was founded and entered on November 14, 1908 in the register of associations of the Royal District Court.
The “Illustrierte Aeronautischen Mitteilungen” (Illustrated Aeronautical Messages) from 1908 wrote about the founding of the association: “Gradually, however, the fact that purely sporting activity does not fit into the framework of the physical association was established, and the intention was to establish an association since the beginning of this year for aviation. "
The association applied for membership in the German Airship Association, while the Physical Association left the same. The latter, however, wanted to continue to organize scientific trips on the international dates. Therefore, the Frankfurt Aviation Association always provided him with a balloon for research.
Balloon rides and lectures at the Physikalischer Verein
The “Ziegler” balloon became the property of the new club, which also wanted to procure a second, smaller balloon. With the courtesy of the chemical factory Griesheim-Elektron a favorable opportunity arose for hydrogen filling, as the factory wanted to set up a hydrogen gasometer with a capacity of 1,500 cubic meters . In addition, lighting gas could also be produced in Griesheim , which was also suitable for balloon flights.
In addition, the lecturer Linke of the Physikalischer Verein held a colloquium on the theory of balloon control in the winter semester of 1908/1909.
On March 4, 1909, Carl Oskar Ursinus and Georg von Tschudi decided to set up the "Frankfurter Flugtechnischen Verein" in the Salzhaus in Frankfurt am Main, the founding meeting of which took place on May 27, 1909.
On December 10, 1912, the Frankfurt Aviation Association agreed at its general meeting to merge with the Frankfurt Aviation Technology Association and to include all members in it. At the same time he changed his name to "Frankfurter Verein für Luftfahrt".
The Frankfurt Aviation Association emerged from the harmonious cooperation of the two groups. The board consisted of men with a high academic or business reputation. The club and its members practiced the balloon sport they had taken over with great enthusiasm, but also increasingly the new powered flight.
Time after the First World War
During the First World War , the activities of the Frankfurt Aviation Association ceased completely.
At the meeting of November 26, 1919, Karl Kotzenberg became chairman of the association. In addition to the group of legal members, the board also included: the meteorologist Franz Linke , Carl Oskar Ursinus , the senior boss of the Adler-Werke Heinrich Kleyer and August Ladenburg.
The Lord Mayor of Frankfurt, Ludwig Landmann, and his municipal building officer, Hermann Uhlfelder, became members of the association and support its efforts to restore the Frankfurt-Rebstock airfield . Strong financial help came from Frankfurt banks and industrialists, at their head banker Max E. Ladenburg with his bank, the Ladenburg bank , which is also a member of the Frankfurt Aviation Association.
The club's balloonist department, which was soon the strongest in Germany and achieved sporting success, also took off. Important men in aviation history, old eagles from the time before World War I, aviation pioneers, men in the aviation industry and air traffic, parachutists and masters of gliding were members of the association.
International Airship Exhibition Frankfurt 1909
Effective supported by the influential board members of the newly founded association, who were enthusiastic about aviation, Lord Mayor Adickes took up the plan at the end of 1908 to hold the first International Aviation Exhibition in Frankfurt , soon to be called the ILA.
The opening ceremony of the ILA took place on July 10, 1909, with the strong participation of the citizens of Frankfurt, important men from the aviation and science sectors and foreign guests.
The board of directors of the Frankfurt Airship Association enriched the festival program of the ILA with a lucky idea by organizing an “Aviation Week” on the exhibition grounds. It became the first international flight competition in Germany.
During the ILA days in Frankfurt, the foundation of the first German aviation company, DELAG, took place at the endeavors of association members .
Frankfurt-Rebstock airfield
In 1911 the Frankfurt-Rebstock airfield was acquired by the Frankfurt Aviation Association . The ATCO became the operator of the first Frankfurt airport, even if only balloons and airships landed here at first.
At the place where the police helicopters of the Hessian police stand today, a hangar for gliders was built.
On September 9, 1928, the Frankfurt Aviation Association organized a major flight day at Frankfurt Rebstock Airport. The highlight of the flight day was an aerobatic competition with prize money of 6000 Reichsmark between Ernst Udet and Gerhard Fieseler . Both were among the best stunt pilots in the world at that time. Under the direction of Gerhard Felmy (Lufthansa flight manager), Robert Schonger (Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule) and Robert Ritter von Greim , both candidates had to complete two compulsory flights on their own and on the opponent's aircraft and a course flight. The compulsory flights consisted of: 3 x looping, 3 x roll left, inverted flight of at least 15 seconds, 2 x turn left, 2 x turn right, 2 x slip left, 2 x slip right and a target landing with a stationary propeller. During the course flights, the participants performed a sequence of maneuvers of their own choosing on their own aircraft. This had to be submitted to the arbitration tribunal beforehand. The participants had twelve minutes to evaluate the accuracy and beauty of interlocking aerobatic maneuvers. In addition to aerobatics, balloon rams were also carried out, with balloons being let rise from the ground at the same time as the pilot took off, the fastest destruction of the flying balloon in the air led to victory. In addition, parachute jumps with target landings were carried out by Hanna Reitsch , Schumacher, Wintermeyer and Erkrath.
On September 30, 1929, Fritz von Opel demonstrated the world's first independent rocket flight at Rebstock airfield. Initiated and organized by the Frankfurt Aviation Association, the German giant flying boat Do X landed on the Main west of Frankfurt in the same year .
Third Reich
To the Nazi Gleichschaltung forestall the members of the ATCO on June 27, 1933 decided to dissolve the association. The association's assets were transferred to the state successor organization Flugsportverein Hessen-Nassau . All documents relating to the association's assets were destroyed.
After the war
In order to at least maintain the tradition of aviation in Frankfurt and to keep the spirit of the sports community alive, the Cumulus Club for Technology, Sports and Meteorology was formed on April 19, 1950 . Its first chairman was Wachter. During this time without a flyer, they consoled and encouraged their comrades with slide shows by Wolf Hirth , Jachtmann, Hanna Reitsch and Max Pruss . A spring festival served to promote social cohesion. In addition, another important engine of all German aviation was the re-establishment of the German Aero Club in Frankfurt on August 4, 1950 under the presidency of Wolf Hirth .
When the Allied authorities released ballooning and gliding on August 1, 1951, the Cumulus Club was renamed the Frankfurt Aviation Association under its chairman Richard Held , and so took its original name from 1912 again.
On Sunday, August 19, 1951, Frankfurt experienced the first Rhine-Main glider flight, which, in conjunction with the Frankfurt Aviation Association and other associations, was under the patronage of Pan American World Airways. On June 22, 1952, an international major flight day organized by the association took place at the Rhein-Main airport . He contributed to the fact that the Frankfurt Aviation Association was able to win many new members.
Powered flight
On May 6, 1955, motorized aviation was allowed again.
On June 23, 1955, the Frankfurt Aviation Association bought a Piper Cub L 4 J (registration number: HB-OBT) from a Swiss provider from member donations and contributions for 8,000 DM and took it to Egelsbach, where the association went after the Rebstock airport was confiscated as a result of the Second World War by the American occupation forces had relocated its flight operations, the powered flight again.
Some time later, a Focke-Wulf FW 44 »Stieglitz« was added, with which two members of the Frankfurt Club took part in the first flight to Germany in 1956 after an 18-year break. These were flight captain Gerhard Mücke, co-founder of the ATCO's motorized flight group and later airport director in Bremen, and Werner Ursinus, the only son of the Rhön father Ursinus who had returned from the war. From 1960 to 1965 he was chairman of the Frankfurt Aviation Association.
About three years later another Piper L 4 was added, the »D-EFIL«, type Piper J 3 C, serial no. 12320. On September 13, 1958, the aircraft changed hands from the Auto-Hage company in Frankfurt am Main - Rebstock to the ATCO, represented by Berth Weber. In the years that followed, many machines were part of the ATCO's aircraft fleet: Pipers, Cessnas, a moraine, as well as a 2-engine Piper Seneca and a Piaggio 149 B. The old D-EFIL was the oldest training aircraft at Egelsbach airfield, and also the cheapest and most popular in beginners school. In the seventies, two club members, Karl Bäcker (called Charly) and Dirk Schwabe, flew with a Cessna 172 without modifications across the Atlantic to the USA and Africa.
Jossa private airport
In 1972 more than 126,000 aircraft took off and landed in Egelsbach. For reasons of noise protection, the number of training flights and not least because of the increase in landing fees was reduced.
The "Frankfurter Verein für Luftfahrt" took advantage of this opportunity and rented a farm near the Jossa private airport near Fulda, not far from the Air Defense Identification Zone . For 2 DM, the flight students and club pilots - could do their traffic circuits to save costs. Club comrades had set up a flyer's bar in the stables of the farm and the pilot's wives had set up the rooms, the bathroom and the kitchen. On the weekends, families of pilots from the "Frankfurter Verein für Luftfahrt" met around a campfire in Jossa by moonlight.
Club flying school
Even before the re-authorization of motorized aviation in Germany, the desire of the members became more and more urgent to refresh existing flying skills in their own club flight school and to renew authorizations or even to learn to fly from scratch. Some glider pilots also wanted to get to know powered flight.
In autumn 1955, the government granted the ATCO permission to run a powered flight school for club members. From now on the number of trainee and trained pilots of the club increased. In the beginning there were still the false renewers, pilots from the war and pre-war times, in the majority (16 in 1956, 22 in 1957), then more and more new aviators came along. In the first three and a half years since the training was re-approved, from 1955 to 1958, 69 members obtained private pilot licenses from ATCO, six obtained aerobatic licenses and 27 obtained towing licenses for gliders.
Volunteer flight instructors - mostly pilots from the Second World War - were available and taught theory and practice. After the club merged with the Egelsbacher Rhein-Main-Fliegerclub in 1996, it was one of the largest aviation clubs in Germany.
From the late 1960s onwards, the Frankfurt Aviation Association had roughly 500 members. Around 100 of the members were model pilots. In the course of the training, volunteer flight instructors gave up to 40 club members their pilot's license each year. The association also held training courses for night flights, briefing in the Alps in Innsbruck, the radiotelephone certificate, the IFR license and CPL II. The Bavarian politician Franz Josef Strauss also acquired his IFR license here.
Out of an idealistic interest in aviation and the ATCO, around 25 flight instructors and officers are currently teaching voluntarily at the flying school. There is also a full-time flight instructor and a secretary.
One of the last major events at the Egelsbach airfield was the association's "100th anniversary" in 2008. On August 18 and 19, 2018, the ATCO's "110th Anniversary" took place, including sightseeing flights together with the Hessen pilots and the Hanseatic Aviation Club. Flying enthusiasts were invited to the two days under the motto “Flying you can touch”. In addition to the Frankfurt Association, the Hanseatic Aviation Club, the Hessenflieger, Heli Transair, the Ochsenflug flight school and the AOPA were involved.
The association operates its own Apple / Android app for internal communication between members.
Around Egelsbach
From 1958 to 2011 the traditional rally friendship flight "Around Egelsbach" took place. Founders were Max Dobilav and Fritz Kahl. Flight manager was Berth Weber. Alfred Heim and Rüdiger Wandke later took on the responsible organizational task. From 1960 on, the rally flight was under the patronage of the Hessian Minister for Economics and Transport. In 1965 this was taken over by the Lord Mayor of Frankfurt am Main , as well as the District President of Rheinhessen-Pfalz.
The purpose of the flight was to establish and deepen the friendly ties between the neighboring clubs. The placeholders and the clubs should be given the opportunity to gain practical experience in carrying out flying events on their site and to use this day for advertising purposes for themselves and for recreational flying. Last but not least, the flight should serve all participants to get to know each other, to exchange experiences and to be sociable with the representatives of the authorities, friends and sponsors during the flight evening.
Pilots from Germany and partly from abroad took part in this popular competition. In the peak years there were over 50 participants, some of whom regularly demonstrated their flying knowledge.
Disciplines in the rally were:
- Punctuality start
- Finish landing in a 30 x 30 m field
- Time approach
- Navigation and search image task
- Image flight
In the first 40 years, more than 15,000 aircraft and crews took part in the "Around Egelsbach" event and covered a total of over 500,000 kilometers of flight without any notable accident. The friendship flight was always a "highlight" in Egelsbach and also at the numerous airfields along the route. This event brought friends of rally flying together, deepened friendships and comradeships among sports pilots and, last but not least, increased safety in aviation through responsible and precise flying. In 2010 the rally was held for the first time together with the Flugsportclub Aschaffenburg-Großostheim e. V. (FSCA).
public relation
For a good cause, the Frankfurt Aviation Association, together with other associations based at the Frankfurt-Egelsbach airfield , provided aircraft and pilots at the AKHD Flugtag. This enabled around 30 families with seriously ill children from the Frankfurt / Rhein-Main Children's and Youth Hospice Service (AKHD) to take a sightseeing flight over Rhine-Main.
Every year on the weekend after St. Nicholas Day, the association organizes a children's St. Nicholas Festival at the airfield together with the Hesse police squadron. Nicholas flies with his angel in the police helicopter to the site and then distributes gifts and pastries to children from the area around the airfield.
110th anniversary
On August 18 and 19, 2018, 110 years after its founding, the association held an airfield festival in Egelsbach under the motto "Flying you can touch".
Together with the Physikalischer Verein , this was also taken as an opportunity to hold a series of lectures on the subject in Frankfurt. Under the name "The dream of flying - stars, weather and big data in aviation", he continues the beginnings of the association when he was still regularly informing Frankfurt citizens about the weather and new experiences in flying.
Known members
At times, the ATCO had over 1000 members, including
- August Euler
- Alfred Wegener
- Albrecht von Bethmann
- Bruno Poelke
- Carl Oskar Ursinus
- Ernst Udet
- Franz Linke (founding member, former first chairman)
- Fritz from Opel
- Ferdinand von Zeppelin
- Franz Josef Strauss
- Gerhard Fieseler
- Hanna Reitsch
- Heinrich Kleyer
- Käthe Paulus
- Ludwig Landmann
- Leo Gans (former first chairman)
- Max Pruss
- Michael Zacharias
- Richard Wachsmuth
- Werner Busch
- Willy Messerschmitt
Model flying group
Model flying after the war in Frankfurt am Main began in 1949 with a small group of enthusiasts. They came together through an advertisement that was in the magazine "Modellflugsport". In 1952 the model flying group was created from this, which settled in the Frankfurt Aviation Association. Co-founders were u. a. Werner Busch and Alfred Fisch.
Despite the lack of their own area, the members of the model flying group were extremely active from the start. The model pilots won many prizes in competitions at state and federal level. In 1953 a team victory was won in the international competition in Madrid / Spain for the first time.
In 1956 the specialist group for remote-controlled model aircraft was founded. She also brought home prizes from national and international competitions. The culmination of the work was a first place at the world championships for tethered flight models in Brussels by Dieter Kruck in 1958.
In 1960, the ATCO acquired 10,000 square meters of land for model pilots in the Diedenbergen district. In 1961 a runway of 12 × 50 meters made of lime cement was built there. This material was not suitable for winter and therefore unsuitable for the purpose. In 1965, a new asphalt track with a size of 25 × 75 meters was therefore set up in Diedenbergen. A required building was also leased for this. In 1969, the approach from Weilbach to the model airfield was paved. In 1970, the Darmstadt regional council granted the association's model flying group official approval for the use of the airspace at the model flying site in Weilbach.
The importance of the model flying group in the Frankfurt Aviation Association grew steadily due to their sporting achievements. The group provided the participants of the national team in uninterrupted succession from 1970. 7 club members became world champions. Model pilots were always among the best aerobatics and represented the club in international competitions.
At national and international meetings in Yugoslavia, Hungary, the CSSR, France, Sweden, England and in the USA, the model pilots were able to record successes.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Register of associations at Offenbach am Main district court for VR no. 5725.
- ↑ Frankfurt Aviation Association - History. Association website. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
- ↑ AOPA membership directory. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
- ^ Frankfurt Aviation Association | Fleet. Retrieved April 18, 2020 .
- ↑ Linke, F. (1904). Air-electrical measurements during twelve balloon flights. Treatises of the Society of Sciences in Göttingen, Mathematical-Physical Class, 3, 1-1.
- ^ Scientific Society for Flight Technology (1913) list of members. In: Yearbook of the Scientific Society for Flight Technology . Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
- ^ Maué, H. Three pioneers of color chemistry. Leo Gans, Arthur and Carl v. Vineyard. Monthly Gazette / Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nürnberg, (78), 626-627.
- ↑ Modern aviation , A. Schall, Berlin 1903.
- ↑ Frankfurt a. M. engine of aviation | Max Geisenheyner / Peter Supf (1959).
- ↑ Alfred Berg: The History of the airship in Frankfurt a M . In: ILA Wochenblatt 1909, pp. 102-108.
- ^ The meteorological training of the aviator , R. Oldenbourg, Munich and Berlin 1913.
- ^ Yearbook of the Scientific Society for Flight Technology: I, volumes 1912–1913, pages 28–30.
- ^ Louis Liebmann and Gustav Wahl: Frankfurt Association Days. In: Catalog of the historical department of the first International Aviation Exhibition (ILA) in Frankfurt a. M. 1909 No. 1, 1912, pp. 101-109.
- ↑ Michael K. Wustrack: Frankfurt Airport: a story in pictures 2003, pp 6-7.
- ^ "About Fritz von Opel" website of the Hessian Teaching Academy.
- ^ International major flight day at the Rhein-Main airport 1951 Frankfurter Stadtchronik. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
- ^ International major flight day at the Rhein-Main airport in 1952. Frankfurter Stadtchronik. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
- ↑ Frankfurt Egelsbach Airport. Retrieved August 20, 2018 .
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20101108081130/http://www.fvl-online.de:80/veranstaltungen/rund-um-egelsbach/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20100804071200/http://www.fsca.de:80/rund_um_charlie.html
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from August 22, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in Frankfurter Neue Presse on August 21, 2017, pilots of the Flieger-Verein have organized a sightseeing flight for seriously ill children. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
- ↑ [1] picture gallery of the association. Retrieved December 12, 2017
- ↑ Frankfurt Egelsbach Airport. Retrieved August 20, 2018 .
- ↑ From natural science and technology. Retrieved August 20, 2018 (UK English).
- ↑ Wegener, Alfred, and Erich Kuhlbrodt. Pilot balloon ascent on a trip to Mexico March to June 1922. Deutsche Seewarte [publisher], 1922.
- ↑ http://www.taunus-zeitung.de/lokales/hochtaunus/vordertaunus/Der-Graf-und-sein-Neffe;art48711,2513974
- ↑ On the 85th birthday of Leo Gans. Frankfurt city history. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
- ^ The history of the ATCO's model flying group. ( Memento of the original from August 10, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Website of the model aircraft division of the ATCO. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
