Walter Eichhorn

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Walter Eichhorn in the Helicopter Museum in Bückeburg on November 14, 2017

Walter Fritz Eichhorn (born July 20, 1936 in Jever ) is a German former flight captain , test pilot , parachutist and aerobatic pilot .

youth

Walter Eichhorn grew up in the immediate vicinity of the Jever Air Base before and during the Second World War , which aroused his interest in aviation. After finishing school, he trained to be a car mechanic .

Emigration to Canada

In 1955 Eichhorn emigrated to Canada . He found work as a truck driver there and was able to finance flight training and even the purchase of his own - used - aircraft - a Fairchild PT-26 Cornell - in addition to his livelihood . In Canada he also met his wife, a German emigrant , and began parachuting .

Back in Germany

On the occasion of a visit to his old home, Eichhorn applied to Lufthansa for training as a commercial pilot.

He was accepted and completed his training as a former private pilot among former World War II pilots and former pilots of the Federal Air Force . At the same time he continued to skydive, led the German team in formation jumping under the name Walters Vögel and achieved good placements in the world championships and up to the German champions. In addition, Walter Eichhorn acquired the aerobatic license, the acquisition of which should have an impact on his further flying life.

A life as an airliner pilot

Walter Eichhorn accompanied professional aviation from piston engine machines such as the Convair CV-440 to the Boeing 727 , the Jumbo Jet , the Boeing 747 , McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and the Airbus A300 . After 30 years of commercial aviation, Eichhorn retired.

The famous Messerschmitt Bf 109

Walter Eichhorn flew the famous German fighter from the Second World War, the Messerschmitt Bf 109, for almost a quarter of a century . It involved various conversions from machines that were still produced in Spain after the Second World War, but he was also able to fly a machine originally from the time of the Second World War from German production. There were a total of six different Bf 109s that he flew.

Eichhorn also flew the Messerschmitt Bf 109 for the filming of the movie Operation Walküre (with Tom Cruise as Hitler's assassin Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg ).

Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-4 "red 7", registration D-FWME, owned by the Messerschmitt Foundation , a machine also flown by Walter Eichhorn

Airshows

In the 1970s, Walter Eichhorn bought the North American T-6 Texan , originally as a training machine of the air forces of the United States designed. Walter Eichhorn still flies this machine today, it is only six years younger than himself.

Together with his son Toni, who has followed in his father's footsteps when it comes to aviation (also professionally), he flew for many years together with his own T-6 in the aerobatic duo "Father & Son" at countless flight shows .

Walter and Toni Eichhorn with their North American T-6

Other flying activities

The possibility of flying as a passenger in a Lockheed TF-104G Starfighter of the German Federal Air Force at the end of the 1970s was reflected in the purchase of his own jet years later . At the beginning of the new millennium he acquired a former jet trainer from the former Eastern Bloc , an Aero L-29 Delfin . This was followed by a Soko G 2a Galeb from a former Yugoslav production.

The traditional aircraft of Lufthansa, the Junkers Ju 52 / 3m D-AQUI , was used for passenger flights from 1986 - after it had been extensively restored. Walter Eichhorn flew it for 15 years from then on.

Appreciation of the flying activity

In 2018 Walter Eichhorn became a member of the Living Legends of Aviation , an exclusive circle of only 103 stars of world aviation. At the same time, Eichhorn received the Bob Hoover Freedom of Flight Award , which was donated by the American test and aerobatic legend Bob Hoover , who died in 2016 .

Aviation record

Walter Eichhorn has recorded around 60 different aircraft types in his flight log, from the single-engine to the jumbo jet . All Walter Eichhorn flights add up to a total flight time of well over 20,000 flight hours. There are also about 2000 parachute jumps.

As long as Walter Eichhorn continues to have his flying fitness confirmed by the medical exam , he wants to stay active. To this end, he is currently, as has been the case for many years, at the Flugsportgruppe Elz eV as a member of the aviation club.

"Walter Eichhorn" lettering on his North American T-6

Fonts

  • 36,000 hours in the sky: The story of Walter Eichhorn and Toni Eichhorn - Frankfurt am Main, 2017, ISBN 978-3-000588-60-0

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Linke: 36,000 hours in the sky: The story of Walter Eichhorn and Toni Eichhorn . Michael Linke - Medien + Verlag, 2017, p. 6
  2. ↑ Michael Linke: 36,000 hours in the sky: The story of Walter Eichhorn and Toni Eichhorn . Michael Linke - Medien + Verlag, 2017, p. 8
  3. ↑ Michael Linke: 36,000 hours in the sky: The story of Walter Eichhorn and Toni Eichhorn . Michael Linke - Medien + Verlag, 2017, p. 92
  4. ↑ Michael Linke: 36,000 hours in the sky: The story of Walter Eichhorn and Toni Eichhorn . Michael Linke - Medien + Verlag, 2017, p. 28 ff.
  5. ↑ Michael Linke: 36,000 hours in the sky: The story of Walter Eichhorn and Toni Eichhorn . Michael Linke - Medien + Verlag, 2017, p. 81
  6. ↑ Flying Star
  7. ↑ Pilot legend Walter Eichhorn enters the "Hall of Fame" of international aviation
  8. ↑ Michael Linke: 36,000 hours in the sky: The story of Walter Eichhorn and Toni Eichhorn . Michael Linke - Medien + Verlag, 2017, p. 170
  9. ↑ Another honor for Walter Eichhorn
personal data
SURNAME Eichhorn, Walter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Eichhorn, Walter Fritz (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German airliner pilot and aerobatic pilot
DATE OF BIRTH July 20, 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH Jever , Germany