It is an unusual image in the early Friday morning at the Swiss Airport Altenrhein. A helicopter comes from the lake of Constance forth floats. He has a long rope under itself. An aviation legend, the fuselage of a Junkers Ju 52 is attached. So a Ju52 weighs in with three engines, wings, and tail almost seven tons. The hull alone is about 2000 pounds on the scale. Thus, the Kaman K-1200 K-MAX, as the helicopter is officially called, but still not at his limit. 2.72 tonnes it can carry. However, the fuselage of a Ju 52 is quite long, almost 19 meters. He is allowed to turn during the flight under any circumstances. Therefore, it is stabilized with the aid of a small parachute on the tail. Slowly, the helicopter set down his precious cargo in front of a Hangar. The ground crew takes you gently in reception. Because this Ju52 is not a Museum piece. You will fly again.
The 1939-built Ju52 is part of the 2018 based company Junkers Flugzeugwerke AG. So far, düben at the military airfield village near Zurich as a tenant is a resident. Purpose of the company is mainly the replica of the historic Junkers F13 aircraft in a small series. These correspond with their characteristic corrugated structure plate for the 1919 for the first time, flown the Original. The F13 is the first standard passenger aircraft made of metal. Now, the company dübendorf and located at the airport St. Gallen leaves-Altenrhein.
The legendary Ju52 with the registration number HB-HOS is to be made in Altenrhein able to fly again. The classic is not too long in the property of the Junkers Flugzeugwerke AG. Their boss is the German entrepreneur and aviation enthusiast Dieter Morszeck. He is a Fan of the corrugated sheet metal construction of aircraft, a Pilot himself, and emotionally, the Junkers-history associated. Morszeck was until a few years ago the owner of the Rimowa-suitcase works in Cologne.
“aunt Ju” will receive a suspected million-dollar restoration and refurbishment. So you don’t fly anymore in the future, with the original 132-A3-nine cylinders from BMW, but with American Pratt&Whitney R-1340 Wasp radial engines. Which are substantially built more often than the aggregates from Bavaria, are easier to maintain, and there are more spare parts. The famous Lufthansa Ju52 D-AQUI flew up to their out of service position with these engines. Morszeck wants to modernize the classics, but also in the Cockpit.
Later, the three-engine could be made will probably be the airline, Ju-Air, dübendorf for the flight operation. Because the Ju-Air operation in the past several Ju52, among them, the HB-HOS. The company had after the crash of a plane in the Swiss Alps on 4. August 2018, with 20 fatalities set temporary flight operations. It currently has no flight-capable copy of a Ju52 and more. After shortly after the end Of the Ju52 D-AQUI of the Lufthansa followed, in Europe, there is no aunt Ju more for passenger flight operation.
