Ju-Air

JU-AIR
IATA code :
ICAO code :	JUR
Call sign :	JUNKERS
Founding:	1982
Seat:	Dübendorf , Switzerland
Home airport :	Dübendorf military airfield
Fleet size:	3
Aims:	Sightseeing flights
Website:	www.ju-air.ch

CASA 352 (HB-HOY) at Friedrichshafen Airfield, 2012

Ju 52 / 3m HB-HOP at Samedan Airfield, February 22, 2007

Cabin of the Ju 52 / 3m HB-HOP at Dübendorf Airfield, May 27, 2017

Ju 52 HB-HOS at the start of a sightseeing flight at Albstadt-Degerfeld airfield (2016)

Ju-Air (spelling JU-AIR ) is the name of an association that was founded with the aim of organizing sightseeing flights with the former Ju-52 planes of the Swiss Air Force . The group, which is based on voluntary work, is based in the Air Force Center at the Dübendorf military airfield near Zurich . The Association of Friends of the Swiss Air Force (VFL) with currently around 7,000 members acts as the current sponsoring organization of Ju-Air and the legal owner of the aircraft .

history

Ju-Air was founded in 1982 when donations were collected in Switzerland for the transfer of three Junkers 52 (HB-HOP, HB-HOS, HB-HOT) from the Swiss Air Force to civil aviation. Two of the three Ju 52s - the HB-HOS and the HB-HOP - were put into operation for sightseeing flights in 1983. The aircraft originally belonged to the operator of the Flieger-Flab-Museum in Dübendorf, the Association of Friends of the Museum of Swiss Aviation Troops (VFMF), which was able to purchase an aircraft at a symbolic price, and one to the previous owner, the Federal Office for Military Airfields . Both aircraft were made available on the condition that the operation was cost-neutral for the museum. With the help of 60 volunteer employees, 5'500 passengers were handled in simple barracks in the first year.

In 1985 the third Ju 52 (HB-HOT) was put into operation. In 1986 the first big trip abroad followed to Lanzarote on the Canary Islands . In 1989 the HB-HOS made a trip to the North Pole.

In 1990 there was a flight to the production site, the Junkers factories, in Dessau . The restoration of another Ju 52 of the Association of Friends of Historic Aircraft e. V. (VFL eV), which was built in 1949 in Spain as CASA 352 under license from Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA , and the beginning of certification for BMW engines with normal petrol. In 1992 it was decided to replace the wooden hangar with a new one; this was inaugurated in 1993. From 1993 the machines are used as advertising media for various products and brand names.

In 1997 the CASA 352 of the VFL eV was handed over to Ju-Air for operation and incorporated into the fleet with the registration number (HB-HOY). She flew together with the other Ju 52s in the fleet to the historic Ju 52 meeting at the Mönchengladbach airfield . There was a meeting with the Lufthansa Ju 52 on site . In the same year, the BMW engines for normal gasoline were certified by the Federal Office for Civil Aviation . This was followed by the start of flight operations in Mönchengladbach in 1998, for which the HB-HOY is mainly used.

In 2000 the HB-HOS went on a world tour. In 2001, 13,000 passengers were handled for the first time. This happened with 180 volunteers. The 20th anniversary was celebrated in 2002. On this occasion a museum hall was opened, which was celebrated with a party and an air show.

In 2006 the HB-HOS got a new color scheme. In 2007 the 25th anniversary was celebrated and celebrated with a ceremony on September 8th. The four Ju 52 Ju-Air flew with the D-AQUI from Lufthansa and the French Ju 52 from EADS in a formation of six over Dübendorf airfield.

In 2004, a Swissair DC-3 was taken on board and completed its maiden flight to London as HB-ISC , but has not been in service since 2007. The Friends of Swissair Association was dissolved on December 31, 2006, the members were integrated into the Association of Friends of the Swiss Air Force (VFL) from January 1, 2007 .

On August 4, 2018, there was an accident with HB-HOT (see incidents). After the accident, flight operations could initially be resumed on August 17, 2018. On November 20, 2018, the Swiss Safety Investigation Board published an interim report that found serious damage to the crashed Ju 52 / 3m, which, however, was not the cause of the crash. Then the other two Ju 52 / 3m (received HB-HOS and HB-HOP ) due comparability both at the age of the cell, as well as number of hours of flight time with the unfortunate machine until further a fly . The sightseeing flight operator accepted the judgment, but plans to resume flight operations in spring 2019.

The Federal Office for Civil Aviation withdrew Ju-Air's license for commercial flights on March 12, 2019. A national authorization for flights with club members as well as only in Germany, however, remains possible. At this point in time, the HB-HOS aircraft had been dismantled and extensively x-rayed. At the time the license was withdrawn, Ju-Air was hoping that the X-ray images would be accepted by the Federal Office and that this one aircraft would operate in the summer of 2019.

fleet

After the HB-HOT crash on August 4, 2018, the Ju-Air fleet consists of three aircraft:

• 2 Ju 52 / 3m (HB-HOS ex A-701, HB-HOP ex A-703)
• 1 CASA 352A-3 , built in 1949 (HB-HOY)

Incidents

The HB-HOT (ex A-702) had an accident on August 4, 2018 in the basin southeast of the Segnes Pass , southwest of the Piz Segnas . All 20 passengers and crew were killed.

→ Main article : Crash of the Junkers Ju 52 HB-HOT

See also

• List of airlines

Web links

Commons : JU-AIR  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Ju-Air website

Individual evidence

1. ^ Walter Dürig: 25 years of JU-AIR; a success story ( memento from March 26, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
2. ↑ VFL eV A reliable and strong partner. (No longer available online.) Association of Friends of Historical Aircraft, archived from the original on October 3, 2016 ; accessed on October 3, 2016 . 
3. ↑ Switzerland issues Ju-52 flight ban , accessed on November 21, 2018
4. ↑ Federal government tightening the screw at Tante Ju , Tages-Anzeiger, March 13, 2019, p. 5
5. ↑ Ju-Air is no longer allowed to offer commercial flights
6. ↑ FOCA - Official Aircraft Register , accessed on August 5, 2018.