Two more from the series "Little-known airfield gems in Germany": Gotha-Ost (EDEG) and Suhl-Goldlauter (EDQS)

Yesterday, I had planned to fly to Samedan (LSZS) for the first edition of their summer fly-in. However, the south of Germany and Switzerland are having a streak of bad luck with the current, very unstable WX. So they cancelled the fly-in. I then briefly considered going to Rakovnik for their fly-in. But again: a bit too coldish and cloudy for a fun event such as a fly-in.

Still, in central Germany, it was a totally solid VFR flying day, with high ceilings, good visibilities and only few showers here and there. Just the sunshine was a bit in short supply. In the end, I visited two very nice small airfields in the Thuringia region, in the east of Germany: Gotha-Ost (EDEG) and Suhl-Goldlauter (EDQS), which I will obviously end up recommending to others. The thing however is that they are more appropriate for flyers who speak German, since, for sorting out PPR and for the R/T, English might be no good. Quite in general, these two airfields are of the “less straightforward” type, which is the type I like very much: no English, PPR, no IFR, no hard runways, no customs, no fuel, no public transport, no “ops office”…

The aircraft was PuFs Grumman Cheetah, N26292, based at Egelsbach (EDFE), near Frankfurt. All flights were VFR (IFR would have been no good, with the risk of being placed right into a TCU or CB).

Here’s the route; 105 nautical miles, or just over 50 minutes of flight.

First thing in the morning, a little bit of fuel was called for (the Cheetah can use Mogas, but unfortunately, none of that at Egelsbach).

Eastbound departures out of EDFE must initially maintain max 1500, before being allowed up to 3500. Here we are in the climb through 3000 feet.

The good thing about cloudy conditions in summer is that there is no turbulence. A very smooth flight it was. Seligenstadt am Main:

Gelnhausen. The Old town is to the right and the airfield (EDFG) to the left.

After Gelnhausen, a northeasterly route takes you over one of the most beautfiful rural landscapes of Germany, the Rhoen. Here’s sort of a 180-degree view:

Shortly after that, one crosses the former Inner-German border, with what was the so called “Todessstreifen” (death strip). If interested in more details, see here. It used to be right down here in this valley.

Right to the east of the former border, the Thueringer Wald is to be crossed, with elevations up to 1000 metres in that area.

Here we are, approaching Gotha. By the way, between 1640 bis 1825, Gotha was the residence of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, which spawned many European rulers, including the royal houses of England.

Here, you can see the castle, the museum, and adjacent parks.

Another view, from the other side.

The airfield is just to the northeast of the city, adjacent to an industrial zone.

Turning final 08.

It’s very basic little airfield, which has been under threat of closure for many years now. That of course precluded any meaningful investment, so its buildings still have their distinct GDR-style. On the other hand, the facilities would make some of the more popular GA airfields in the UK envious…

Seriously, the attraction of Gotha for GA is more in the city than in the airfield. A 10-minute walk will bring one to the Ostbahnhof (East Station), from where a tram ride takes another 5 minutes into the city-centre. It obvioulsly isn’t huge, but quite beautiful and has lots of history on offer. Easy to spend a day here.

The outsides of the castle.

And the insides:

Some more impressions of the city:

The typical dish of Thueringen: Bratwurst!

Of course, Gotha also has some typical ex-GDR stuff on offer:

Back at the airfield, a rather rare, Austrian-built motorglider, a Brditschka HB-23 just took off.

N26292, ready for the next leg.

My next destination, Suhl-Goldlauter, was only about 30 kilometres to the south, nestled in the Thueringer Wald.

A small shower on the way there.

The airfield has an elevation of almost 2000 feet. The circuit altitude is 3200 feet. Lots of skiing there in winter. Very interesting.

Approaching the overhead from the north:

The grass runway is only 570 meters long, but in additon, it has 100-metre, paved starter extensions on both sides.

Here is the city of Suhl.

Lots to say about this one as well. Over several centuries, Suhl was a mining town. In the 1960s and 1970s, Suhl was made on the most important industrial nodes of the GDR, and population grew from 25,000 to 56,000. Today, Suhl is back to 35,000. An entire quarter of the city, for which there is no more demand, is currently in the process of being torn down and restored to green land…

Base for 10:

At the airfield, I was met by a group of very friendly glider pilots and had a good chat with them. I liked the fact that despite the mediocre weather, they did one winch-launch after the other, scraping the rust off themselves after their winter break.

All in all, a very nice airfield to put into your logbook. The city is not that exciting I understand, but the general area sure is nice. Half an hour later, I took off again, westbound, for the 45-minute flight to Frankfurt. Here, you can see some of the Plattenbauten (large-panel system buildings) from the GDR-era, scattered over the valley.

Ten minutes later, one is back over the FRG, err, the former west of Germany. On the fast track, back to base:

Seligenstadt again:

Egelsbach was now using runway 26, so it was a straight-in.

Back at Egelsbach.

A great little flight, to two interesting places. Gotha more for the city, Suhl more for its airfield.
Hope you enjoyed this.