I don’t often do trip reports here anymore, but
here is a quick one. Today, finally, the weather was good for flying. Unfortunately, all the recent snow has melted though. Anyway, I planned a little flight to Eisenach (EDGE) in Thüringen, departing from Egelsbach (EDFE), just south of Frankfurt.
By the way, my Egelsbach club has now acquired a third BR23, this time the Turbo (915) variant. Here it is.
Unfortunately, they decided to not get the IFR-equipped version, so even when (if?) the IFR certification is finally done, this one will remain VFR-only.
I took its sister ship, D-ELBR, with the 912S engine. But first, I had to get some fuel (UL91). It was a busy day at Egelsbach…
After departure, a quick look back at the airfield.
In the northern circuit, one always gets good views of Frankfurt city.
The Bristell‘s panel, once we were established in cruise.
Gelnhausen (EDFG) did not seem to have any activity. Their grass runway tends to get unusable in winter.
Fulda, a pretty little city, bang in the centre of Germany.
The Thüringer Wald.
And here is Eisenach. To the right is the city, and to the left you can see the Wartburg, the landmark of Eisenach.
Here we are turning final for runway 28 at EDGE. It’s a huge runway, but the airfield does not have any instrument approach. They do have English-speaking radio operators though.
Parked up.
“Tower” building and restaurant.
I had a quick bite to eat at the restaurant, and then, since I still had some time, I decided to take the local App2Drive car and head into town (about 10km away) for a quick look around. App2Drive works really well and is one of the pros of GA in Germany.
By the way, anyone know the brand name of this car I spotted at the airfield carpark? 
Here is another look at the Wartburg, from up close.
The Wartburg is a place where many historically important events have happened and it is nowadays very popoular as a tourist attraction. I didn’t really have enough time to visit, so opted for a short stroll in town instead.
Back at the airfield, I was pleasantly surprised to see the RV8 of Herrmann Schiele, plus a few other nice aircraft.
Herrmann had flown in from Günzburg EDMG (near Ulm in the south of Germany) to meet a couple of other pilots. We chatted for a few moments before each of us headed his way.
On the return flight, I made a short detour to the south to get some more views of the Thüringer Wald.
First, a look back at the airfield.
Thüringer Wald, looking south.
The Großer Inselberg, one of the highest points of the Thüringer Wald. Little bits of snow remaining. A week ago, there was still half a meter of snow…
Quite a famous airfield amongst ultralight pilots in Germany, the “Dolmar”…
The light was difficult, but here is the Wasserkuppe (EDER).
Back in the Frankfurt area, the antenna array of Zellhausen. That small lake on the very left is my favourite local swimming spot in summer.
Approaching Egelsbach, I kept a close lookout for traffic, both through the window and on the traffic scope, but to my surprise, there wasn’t a lot.
Final runway 26.
Back at EDFE.
They are finally building new hangars at EDFE.
Always very tight parking in front of the hangars at EDFE. The staff moves the aircraft in a out of the hangars.
Lovely report, thanks a lot!
Those App2Drive cars are great indeed. It’s a pity that they revoked a lot of locations.
By the way, anyone know the brand name of this car I spotted at the airfield carpark?
Of course, it’s Wartburg the most iconic car after Trabant.
boscomantico wrote:
anyone know the brand name of this car I spotted at the airfield carpark?
It could only have been more funny if it had been parked up at the castle… a Wartburg at the Wartburg.
Emir wrote:
it’s Wartburg the most iconic car after Trabant.
In comparison to the Trabant the Wartburg is almost a “nice” car :) I’ve managed to get some experience in both as well as in a Lada some years back.
In comparison to the Trabant the Wartburg is almost a “nice” car :) I’ve managed to get some experience in both as well as in a Lada some years back.
I had opportunities to drive all three… Lada is a limousine comparing to the other two.
It could only have been more funny if it had been parked up at the castle… a Wartburg at the Wartburg.
Wartburgs were built in Eisenach and named after a local landmark, so seeing one there is not so uncommon – they are local history. I was there a few years ago on a loop around Germany and took note. The Wartburg pictured appears to be one of the last, with a VW engine built under license instead of the previous two-stroke. The factory was in a previous phase the first BMW car plant and continued to build East German derivatives of BMWs after the war. Until 1952 they continued to call them BMWs and they were the only cars in production with that name, despite being Soviet operated by then and having no linkage to the company. After that they called them EMWs, with the E standing for Eisenach. Later the factory built the Wartburgs for mainly Eastern European consumption, and finally they built Opels for a time.
Nowadays there is still an Opel factory in Eisenach, but it is not the same factory even if it continues automobile production in the area.
In about 1990 some Slovenian friends, then young, decided to pile into a two-stroke Wartburg and head to Monza to see the Formula One race, a big adventure for them. After the race the car wouldn’t start so the they push started it…. after which it made huge clouds of exhaust smoke. Somebody in the street with evidently little experience with two-stroke powered cars started yelling “bomb! fire! bomb!” after them in Italian as they jumped in and departed the scene
Nice trip report, thanks Bosco. Good to see that there are still some gaps in the weather now and then up there, because I almost feel guilty down here. Well, almost 
Good to see that the club went for a 915 turbo BR23. Looking forward to your review!
Nice report, thanks for that!
Just curious – 107 knots on the Bristell speedo, at what power setting? I thought they are faster.
Thanks for the report and the photos.
Just curious – 107 knots on the Bristell speedo, at what power setting? I thought they are faster.
Why? You can‘t really expect more from a docile, 750kg, side-by-side two seater, with comfortable seating position (!), and 100 non-turbo horsepower. This is at 21 litres per hour.
I am told the turbo version uses very little runway, climbs at almost 2000 feet per minute, and the cruise is about 125 knots at 5000 feet and about 130 knots at 9000 feet. All at about 28 litres per hour.
