Leichtflugtechnik Union
| Leichtflugtechnik Union GmbH | |
|---|---|
| legal form | Company with limited liability |
| founding | January 16, 1963 |
| resolution | June 6, 1984 |
| Reason for dissolution | liquidation |
| Seat | Bonn , Germany , HRB480 |
| management |
|
| Branch | Aircraft manufacturer |
The Leichtflugtechnik Union (LFU) was a joint venture founded in 1963 to develop a plastic airplane by the partners Bölkow, Pützer and Rhein-Flugzeugbau.
Company history
From the cooperation between Alfons Pützer KG and Bölkow Apparatebau Nabern GmbH, which had already existed since 1958, on questions about the use of plastics in the aeronautical sector, the Bölkow engineer Erich Ufer proposed the construction of a motorized aircraft in all-plastic construction in 1960.
Study group for light aircraft construction
Alfons Pützer and Ludwig Bölkow then founded the study group for light aircraft construction . As part of the study group, Pützer Kunststofftechnik GmbH & Co KG initially took on issues relating to materials and operating resources, while Bölkow Apparatebau Nabern GmbH was responsible for the aircraft design. On the basis of a conventional design by Hermann Mylius , the study group developed the design of a two-seater touring aircraft with two additional, auxiliary seats under the name Bölkow-Pützer BP 205 . In 1962, Pützer Kunststofftechnik commissioned Alfons Pützer KG to build a 1: 1 wooden model of the BP 205.
To finance the construction of the BP 205, the study group applied for funding from the Federal Ministry of Defense in 1962. At the same time, Hanno Fischer at Rhein-Flugzeugbau GmbH (RFB) was also working on the use of plastics in aircraft construction. Since RFB also sought public funding for its research projects at the Ministry of Economic Affairs of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Federal Ministry of Defense, the study group was expanded to include Rhein-Flugzeugbau in 1962 at the suggestion of the ministries. Erich Ufer, Alfons Pützer, Ludwig Bölkow and Hanno Fischer then formulated a joint research program for the development of an all-plastic motorized aircraft.
Leichtflugtechnik Union GmbH
Since the study group was not a binding legal form as an applicant, the three companies involved founded Leichtflugtechnik Union GmbH (LFU) in Bonn on January 16, 1963 with a company capital of DM 21,000. The entry in the commercial register of the city of Bonn took place on April 11, 1963 under the number HRB 480. The company was based in the Bölkow GmbH liaison office in Bonn at Adenauerallee 68. Richard Schreiber was responsible for the management of Bölkow GmbH and the RFB managing director Theo Meyenburg , as well as Alfons Pützer. Erich Ufer and Hanno Fischer took over the tasks as technical managers of the LFU manufacturing company.
An advisory board was set up to manage the company, to which the Federal Ministry of Defense as a sponsor, as well as the German Research Institute for Aviation (DFL), the Technical University of Braunschweig and the Testing Center for Aircraft (PfL) belonged to questions of licensing law. Leichtflugtechnik Union GmbH did not have its own development or production facilities, but rather outsourced the necessary work to the partner companies Bölkow GmbH, Pützer Kunststofftechnik and RFB. In relation to donors and aviation authorities, however, the LFU assumed the overriding role of the manufacturing company for the all- plastic machine, now known as the LFU 205 , which has been funded by various federal and state ministries with DM 3 million.
In almost five years of work, coordinated by the LFU at the three partner companies, the world's first motorized touring aircraft in all-plastic construction, which took off on its maiden flight in March 1968. After the successful first flight and the subsequent testing, the LFU prepared the necessary certificates for approval in the following years. On March 16, 1977, the Federal Aviation Office issued the final type approval for the LFU-205 with the device identification sheet 665 / SA.
resolution
With the type certification of the LFU-205, the cooperation of the partner companies within the LFU ended. The company was deleted from the commercial register of the city of Bonn on June 6, 1984. The manufacturer's responsibility was taken over by the MBB Group, in which Bölkow GmbH had meanwhile been absorbed. It ended with the decommissioning of the LFU-205 in 2017.
Aircraft production
The LFU and its predecessor organization did not have their own production facilities. The assemblies were manufactured at Pützer Kunststofftechnik GmbH & Co KG (lead plant), Bölkow GmbH (fuselage) and Rhein-Flugzeugbau (wings). Bölkow GmbH was responsible for the final assembly and approval.
- Bölkow-Pützer BP 205 - projected 2 + 2-seater all-plastic motorized aircraft from 1962, 1 wooden dummy
- LFU 205 - four-seat all-plastic motorized touring plane from 1968, 1 prototype
Considerations for series production of the Bölkow Bo 211 at LFU were given up again at an early stage.
literature
- Paul Zöller, Hanns-Jakob Pützer: Pützer aircraft. 2018, ISBN 978-3-7481-2096-4
- Kurt Strait: LFU-205: Made entirely of plastic. 1969
- G. Niederstadt: Development of a light touring aircraft made of fiberglass plastic. In: plastics. No. 58, vol. 1989, pp. 847-850
- Kurt Trettner: Smooth skin made of plastic. In: The time. 16/1968
- Ab and Away. In: Der Spiegel. 17/1970 (on the situation of German sports aircraft construction)
Web links
- Alfons Pützer Homepage - LFU image archive
Individual evidence
- ^ Paul Zöller, Hanns-Jakob Pützer: Pützer aircraft. Dec. 2018, ISBN 978-3-7481-2096-4
- ↑ Moneyhouse.de