Gerd Achgelis
Gerd Achgelis (born July 16, 1908 in Golzwarden , Grand Duchy of Oldenburg , † May 18, 1991 in Hude ) was a German aerobatic pilot .
Life
He was the son of the landowner Heinrich Achgelis. After an electrician apprenticeship and flight training at AEG , Achgelis completed this at the Böblingen Aviation School up to aerobatics . In 1928 he began to work as an aerobatic pilot. In 1930 he flew over London on his back for an hour . In 1931 he became German aerobatic master. From April 1932 he worked as a flight instructor at the technical center in Weimar and as a test pilot . He took up his position as chief pilot at Focke-Wulf in Bremen in 1933. In 1934 he came third at the European Aerobatic Championships in Paris and, on the mediation of his friend Ernst Udet , took part in the “World Championships” in Cleveland / Ohio with a Focke-Wulf Fw 44 B Stieglitz . He won this world championship as well as the following year in Los Angeles . In 1936 he won this championship for the third time in a row with the Fw 56 Stößer designed at his suggestion .
As one of several flyers (test pilots) at Focke-Wulf / Albatros in Berlin, he tried out new types of aircraft and became a co-owner of the helicopter production facility at Focke, Achgelis & Co. GmbH in Delmenhorst . There he took off on June 26, 1936 with the new Fw 61 , the first usable helicopter developed in Germany , on its maiden flight . In 1937 he founded the Focke-Achgelis company together with Henrich Focke , who had just left Focke-Wulf . The company started building helicopters in Hoykenkamp .
1933 offered him Hermann Goering , the site of an aerobatics instructor at the Pilot School Berlin-Staaken, where he should start a aerobatic team and train. Achgelis did not accept this offer. After the death of the well-known aerobatic pilot Ernst Udet in 1941, Göring tried to win Achgelis as his successor in the office of general airman. However, he stayed as a one-flyer until the end of the Second World War in an aircraft factory in Graudenz . From there he was able to flee to West Germany at the end of the war .
After the war, Achgelis first ran his parents' farm in Schweiburg (now part of Jade ) and renewed his flight license in Switzerland in 1950 . From 1952 he worked commercially in Hude . Nevertheless, he remained connected to aviation. In 1961, on his initiative, the Oldenburg airfield community was established. In 1975 he received the Paris Medal of Honor for his aviation services .
He also donated the trophy Gentleman of the skies , which will be awarded in November each year.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d H. Müller: A life for aviation - Gerhard Achgelis 80 years . In: aerokurier . No. 8 , 1988, pp. 1028 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Achgelis, Gerd |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German aerobatic pilot |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 16, 1908 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Golzwarden , Grand Duchy of Oldenburg , German Empire |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 18, 1991 |
| Place of death | Hude (Oldenburg) , Lower Saxony , Germany |