Ernst Udet Doing A Dead-Stick Loop and Landing...

[Hauksbee]

You will recall the respect that Waldo and Ezra Stiles had for Ernst Kessler? Here's the man himself (Udet) in fine form.

 

Edited December 13, 2015 by Hauksbee

[+whiteknight06604]

damn......

[Olham]

Yeah, I posted this some time ago - it is a most amazing stunt surely!

A German actress said in an interview, that Ernst Udet must have promised his soul to the devil for this ability of flying.

And he did walk with the devil later. Goering "bought" him with two brand new American Curtiss Hawk,

which Udet studied for his ideas about dive bombing (Udet invented the Stuka, incl. the "Jericho trumpet").

He also used them for air show stunt flying.

 

One of these planes can still be seen, in the Aviation Museum, Cracow, Poland.

 

Edited December 13, 2015 by Olham

[Hauksbee]

...which Udet studied for his ideas about dive bombing (Udet invented the Stuka, incl. the "Jericho trumpet").

Right. The Chicago Air Show had to make a choice that year between inviting Ernst Udet or Gerhard Fiesler (designer of the Fiesler Storch) Fiesler specialized in aerobatics done slowly and near to the ground. Pretty dangerous stuff. Udet favored the screaming power dive. Thrilling, but on two occasions vibration caused the fuselage to fail and the tail assembly to tear off. Udet got the nod. He was already aware of the U.S.Navy's dive-bombing studies. When he arrived in America he was offered a chance to try out the new Curtiss Hawk. He was much impressed and told Goering that Germany needed one of these to study. Goering bought him two, but the price was Udet had to join the Nazi government. It cost him his life.

[Dutch_P47M]

On Discovery channel was a nice docu a couple of years ago, about that Udet did give his soul to the devil, think a short youtube search would bring this docu up!!! 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itmAdu7xsWU

 

here it is!!!! 

[Wayfarer]

By coincidence, my RE8 always does that when I come in for a landing ... does that make me an ace pilot?

(Great video by the way).

[Olham]

By coincidence, my RE8 always does that when I come in for a landing ... does that make me an ace pilot?

(Great video by the way).

 

Not, when it looks like you cannot stop it from doing so, Wayfarer!

Which I assume it DOES look like to your CO...

[Wayfarer]

Not, when it looks like you cannot stop it from doing so, Wayfarer!

Which I assume it DOES look like to your CO...

 

Ah ... I knew it was too much to hope for.

[Hauksbee]

By coincidence, my RE8 always does that when I come in for a landing ... does that make me an ace pilot?

Any landing you walk away from is a good one.

[JimAttrill]

Udet took the then teenager Eric Brown up for a trip in a Bucker Jungmann and he was most impressed and then decided to learn German and to fly himself.  Udet was a terrific pilot by all accounts.  See "Wings on my sleeve" by Capt. Eric Brown

Edited December 14, 2015 by JimAttrill

[Hauksbee]

...and, in a post-war move that has never been adequately explained, Udet was allowed to circumvent the stringent Versailles Treaty prohibition on military aircraft and had his own Fokker D.VIII which he used to tour air shows.

[Olham]

Not sure there - he took one or two aircraft with him, but I thought he had to hand them to the Allies, short after the war ended?

[Hauksbee]

Not sure there - he took one or two aircraft with him, but I thought he had to hand them to the Allies, short after the war ended?

Hmmmm...not sure where I read that, so it would be hard to fact check.

[Olham]

Just checked Udet's book "Mein Fliegerleben". He had indeed taken a "Fokker Parasol" with him,

Ritter von Greim took a Fokker D.VII. The two performed dogfights on air shows for the Kriegs-

gefangenenhilfe (Aid for Prisoners of War). It is not clear for how long this went on - possibly

for weeks - but when Ritter von Greim got his Fokker caught in telephone wires and crashed

into a lake (he remained unharmed), the air combat show had an end.

"I had to hand out my Fokker the other day" wrote Udet. He didn't say to whom.

 

Strange indeed - I would have expected, that at least the Fokker D.VII would have been confiscated

by the Entente military. Could it be, that the Entente military also received money from the Kriegs-

gefangenenhilfe? The book does not explain that.

Edited December 14, 2015 by Olham

[Hauksbee]

Well researched, Olham! It would be interesting to know how they got away with it.

[Olham]

He wrote of the final closing day of the Jastas of the Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte,

that he and Ritter von Greim debated a long time with the "Materialverwalter"

(custodian for gear and equipment).

But Udet didn't say, if this administrator/custodian/caretaker was a German,

or an Entente officer.

Edited December 14, 2015 by Olham

[JimAttrill]

The DVII was the only aircraft specifically mentioned in the Versailles treaty.   Apparently Göring had his pilots taxy their aircraft into a hangar wall at Darmstadt rather than hand them over.  Can't remember where I read that though.  I do remember it was Darmstadt as that is the HQ of Software AG and I was using their database software at the time so it stuck in my memory.