Berlin Adlershof - Wiege der deutschen Luftfahrt

[Olham 164]

Just found this (again) - enjoy at least the pictures:

 

http://www.adlershof...e_Leseprobe.pdf

 

...and this great site about Berlin Johannisthal and the early meetings of aviators 1909:

 

http://johflug.de/index_swf.swf

 

 

 

 

 

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Edited August 6, 2011 by Olham

[CaptSopwith 26]

Nice find Olham! I'm enjoying the website - if I'm not mistaken, is it commemorating an anniversary at Johannisthal field?

[Hasse Wind 46]

Great stuff. How interesting it must have been to be alive back then and see the birth of aviation. The turn of the century was a fascinating period indeed. But then came 1914 and everything went to hell.

 

If I had a time machine, I'd definitely visit all those places that were so crucial to aviation history.

[Olham 164]

Indeed, Hasse Wind - it always touches me to see, how much simpler everything was handled back then.

That spirit, the optimism, that innocence you see in the faces of the people.

 

Nice find Olham! I'm enjoying the website - if I'm not mistaken, is it commemorating an anniversary at Johannisthal field?

Yes, CaptSopwith, 2009 the place got 100 years old. Unfortunately there is not much left of it.

The airfield Johannisthal was introduced as the first German aerodrome for motorised aircraft on 26 September 1909.

Edited August 7, 2011 by Olham

[Hasse Wind 46]

And how much simpler flying was 100 years ago than today! The technology was primitive and often unreliable, but the aircraft were such that you could land almost anywhere and even take off safely. Everything is so much more complex today.

 

I imagine it must have been a wonderful experience to take off from some remote field and just fly around, not having to worry about other traffic, radio communications and the complex rules of civil aviation. And you didn't have to spend hours going through extremely tight security checks and being suspected of terrorism when you came to a field and wanted to fly in a passenger plane of the early 20th century.

 

Of course aircraft are safer and more comfortable these days, but some things are still worse than they used to be in the past.

[Olham 164]

I imagine it must have been a wonderful experience to take off from some remote field and just fly around,

not having to worry about other traffic, radio communications and the complex rules of civil aviation.

Yes, those are the nice sides of it. On the other hand, hardly anyone could afford an aircraft then, I guess?

 

Here is an announcement for a flying contest held at the openening of Johannisthal,

and my attempt to translate it. The names list is the Creme de la Creme of early aviation.

 

 

 

Under the protectorate

of the Kaiserlicher Automobil-Club

of the Berlin Airshipping Association

of the Kaiserlicher Aero-Club

Flying Contest

of the first aviators of the world

 

Berlin-Johannisthal-Adlershof

from 26 September to 3 October 1909

daily from 10 (?) h until sunset

 

Severela prizes of honour

160000 Mark cash prizes

The prizes will be competet for daily

 

(Names List)

 

Entrance fees from 1 Mark to 15 Mark

For week tickets considerable reductions

Further information - especially about one-day

and weekly box seats - at the booking offices

A. Wertheim GmbH* and Invalidendank**

 

* A. Wertheim GmbH was a big famous Berliner big store company

** Invalidendank (Thank the Disabled) was an assiciation which helped disabled (esp. soldiers)

to get a work place / job. It was financed from collections and donations. One job was the selling

of tickets in the streets. "Invalidendank" got it's share from each ticket sold.

Edited August 7, 2011 by Olham

[Hasse Wind 46]

Yes, those are the nice sides of it. On the other hand, hardly anyone could afford an aircraft then, I guess?

 

They aren't cheap today either. As far as I know, many of the early pilots gladly took paying passengers with them for a flight, because that helped them to fund their hobby.

[Olham 164]

They aren't cheap today either. As far as I know, many of the early pilots gladly took paying passengers with them for a flight, because that helped them to fund their hobby.

Yes, and many of the pilots today still do the same.

I would guess, that in a wide country like Finnland there should be some pilots to ask?

In my homeland Ostfriesland you can make a round flight over the Eastfreesian Islands for ca. 60,- Euro.

[Hasse Wind 46]

I did that once actually, about ten years ago in a flight show. We flew around for a while in a small Cessna. It was fun. There was no Euro back then, and I don't remember the exact price anymore. It must have been something like 100-150 markkas, maybe 20-30 euros today.

[Olham 164]

Yep, small round trips may be cheaper - or prices have gone up that much.

[Flyby PC 23]

Thing that gets me, is people just climbed on board these machines and flew them. There weren't any flying lessons, because they were the first pioneers and there were no lessons. That must have taken a lot of bottle just to jump on board, crank up the engine and essentially teach yourself to fly.

 

I just cannot imagine people today taking similar risks to pursue a dream. Or to be more accurate, yes I can, but its such a pity that our lives are over regulated with so many rules and regulations covering every aspect of our lives. Build a machine and fly it? These days you even have to think twice about modifying your car just in case you void your insurance.

 

I reckon I'd have had a great time in the 20's and 30's, just touring engineering & blacksmiths shops and seeing creative people making things. Nowadays you see old farm impliments or bizarre contraptions and you're not even sure what they were used for. But once you find out, you'll very often find that tool is spot on for doing the job it was built for.

 

There's no feeling quite like making your own tools or machines and finding out it works or still needs tinkered with. I've never done anything special, but I have broken down some machines and used the parts to build others, and you get a real buzz the first time you try it out. Is it going to work or fall to bits and kill you? Say you adjust a 600mm dia stone saw to take a 900mm blade, or increase the span of a bridge saw - and things like that. You can do that with old machines because they were so solidly built, but it's very risky doing it, not because it's unsafe or dangerous, but because you'd be in such hot water if anybody got hurt using it. I therefore adapt these machines solely for my own use, then have to keep them out of the way. I'm actually very cautious in what I attempt, but even so I still can't let anybody else use them.

 

It almost becomes a hobby in itself. Say one day a tool breaks down, and the replacement part is 2/3rds the price of a new machine, you're better to replace the machine, but then you have a fully operational engine left doing nothing. Therein lies the challenge.... Do you leave it on the shelf for it's pistons to seize up or do you try to find a use for it?

 

I'd never have the guts to build an earoplane and fly it, but I can definitely identify with people working away on 'stuff' to the wee early hours trying to fix things or get them to work better. Doing that with flying machines must have been an amazing challenge and pretty exciting.

 

One of these days, I have a secret desire to build myself a hovercraft. Not a big one, just a one man effort. Mind you, I've fancied doing that for about 20 years now and haven't make a start yet.

[Olham 164]

I understand your thoughts so well, Flyby, and I guess, there are many others here, who feel the same.

The deep respect for craftmanship and handcrafted things, which work reliably.

And the idea to build something yourself, to see how far you can get.

Us men have that deep in us, after all our evolution, we still want to create something

with our own hands - something that would make us proud.

It started with weapons and tools; and it is still in us.

 

A hovercraft may be something with a certain danger potential, so if you ever build one -

why not build a smaller version first - a big test model?

[RAF_Louvert 101]

.

 

... I just cannot imagine people today taking similar risks to pursue a dream. Or to be more accurate, yes I can, but its such a pity that our lives are over regulated with so many rules and regulations covering every aspect of our lives ... but I can definitely identify with people working away on 'stuff' to the wee early hours trying to fix things or get them to work better. Doing that with flying machines must have been an amazing challenge and pretty exciting.

 

Which is why I work on and fly ultralights. Flyby, build your hovercraft Sir. If you can dream it, you can do it.

 

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