By me All photos me too, copyrighted Well, not really Africa geographically – but that was my first association when I stumbled upon a Diamond DA-62 and CERVA CE.43 Guépard (cheetah) on the Dubrovnik Airport (DBV/LDDU) GA apron 😀 (it may be corny, but it works for me!). After a photographic dry spell, this unlikely …
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- There are two types of airborne visitors to the Croatian coast – those who fly cattle class, and those who go classic piston single class. Another of those beautiful gems that make aviation photography so rewarding, F-BXCO had instantly caught my eye even tucked in among the high-speed carbon fiber pornography lining the GA apron.
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- And the classics just keep on piling up! Having already snapped a brand new DA-62 – and the incredibly rare CE.43 – the day before, I was smitten to find a mint Mooney M-20F at a rainy Split (SPU/LDSP). The last of the type’s snub-nosed models, the F was the final development of the original M-20A before the design was cleaned up by famed aerodynamics specialist Roy LoPresti in the mid-70s, resulting in the highly-successful M-20J. Even though it’s not as rare as its looks suggest, finding one is definitely a treat – especially since D-EJHE is celebrating its 50th birthday later this year!
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- Some people love oldtimers of the road… while others love oldtimers of the air. Manufactured way back in 1958, this very rare Bergfalke – “mountain falcon” in German – perfectly encapsulates just why I love tooling through hangars at small local airfields. A thoroughly upgraded version of the mid-30s Akaflieg Mü13 glider, the Bergfalke had upon its introduction in 1951 quickly laid the foundations for what would become Schiebe Flugzeugbau – and served as the basis for the company’s most popular aircraft, the SF-25 Falke Touring Motor Glider (TMG). Another interesting factoid is that the type had been manufactured mostly at Riem, the main international airport for Munich until the opening of the current MUC on 17 May 1992… E7-1112 itself (latterly known as D-8241) is nowadays on service with the AK Livno flying club at Livno Airfield (LQLV), where it had arrived just recently as a – donation. Despite its advanced age, it is still a frequent flyer, and – according to club members – can hold its own even against more modern metal gliders.
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- While at first glance it seems to be just a stretch of the ubiquitous DA-42 Twin Star, Diamond’s construction technique – basing each type around a custom carbon fiber shell instead of a traditional frame used on metal aircraft – means that the 62 is a whole different animal under the skin.
