BO208 Junior

Mh, I’ve just sent a direct email to the address listed on your profile. Should be back in Europe in a few months…

This looks like a pretty nice example of a Junior for asking 16K UKP… Another plane I’d be drawn to adopt

Junior for Sale on UK LAA Permit

(I have no connection with the plane)

That’s a nice one and I like the name too (Alpendohle = a small black bird in the alps )

Mh, you and I might be the only ones here who care about old Bölkows of any description, but I think they’re pretty cool. I haven’t put aside my idea to bring a BO-207 to the US, it would be a great four seater someday.

Today I was able to connect a friend in Florida with Steinle Flugwerft so he could get some parts for his plane. He’s been flying it since 1973 (and for 3500 hrs) without using any German parts source.

I remember when I was a kid, about 10 or 12 years old – the “Junior” was pretty popular at our field in Bavaria. It was marketed as a “Volks-Plane” back then – and if I remember correctly there was one hanging in a Munich department store …

The Bolkow was a license made version of the Swedish MFI-9, later MFI-15’s and it ultimately became the Saab Safari (still license built in Pakistan). Malmö Flygindustri made them.

They have an interesting history, as they were designed by Björn Andreassen who emigrated to the US and California and worked initially for McDonnell, but then moved to Convair. During his time at Convair working on the first generation jets, he constructed an experimental that was later to become the MFI-9. He wanted an aircraft that was simple, but had excellent views. That’s why it has the shoulder mount wings and the canopy that wraps all around. It’s one of the few planes where you an see both the underside of the wing, and the overside if you’re at the right height.

Couple of years later he boxed it up and moved back to Sweden where they certified it and started producing them. And pretty soon after that, the Swedish count Von Rosen (a maverick, pilot and humanitarian) took a few down to Biafra to help the Biafra Liberation Army in their independence struggle. They mounted rocket pods on the wings and did a lot of sneaky and very successful guerrilla attacks. A MFI-9 actually has a recorded MIG-17 kill (on the ground, but still) at Port Harcourt.

So they are true warbirds. Not many 2-seater trainer aircraft can claim that.

They have an interesting history, as they were designed by Björn Andreassen who emigrated to the US and California and worked initially for McDonnell, but then moved to Convair. During his time at Convair working on the first generation jets, he constructed an experimental

(Sorry for the poorly cropped screen shot – maybe the photo of the prototype will be of interest.)

I think its interesting that Bölkow built wood, all metal and composite private aircraft in the same factory, put into production within a roughly 15 year period.

Very interesting! And I always thought it’s a Bölkow design and that it was later built in Sweden :-)

I wouldn’t call it the “Alpendohle” but the “Octopussy” because you need at least three arms to land the B208 on a short runway under crosswind conditions.
The right arm has to hold the mid-positioned Y-controlstick into the wind – with the left hand you manipulate the brakes like the parking brake in a Volkswagen – and with your third arm you have to keep the power lever linkage at idle – that thing has two big knobs at each end (pilot’s and copilot’s side) and is thrown forward from idle to full power if you dare to brake sharply.

There is a low time “senior”, Saab MFI-15 Safari, for sale here. It’s been there for ages, and the price is steep, but there is not many civilian versions around.