By me
All photos me too, copyrighted
Despite (and, arguably, because of) all that’s been going on in the world lately, the 2026 summer flying season in Croatia had not really shown signs of losing much steam. Sure, if you look really, really hard, you will notice that Avgas burners have toned it down a bit (100LL having always been quite expensive here)… but the mogas-sipping TMG and ultralight crowd have been even more lively than usual.
One of the more interesting indicators of the above is the number of GA events that had popped up between June and September alone. In addition to “proper” air shows (such as the Susreti za Rudija at Stubica, and the two-day Sisak Airshow), there has been a marked increase in the number of local get-togethers: we turn up with our airplanes, socialize, eat, put up a mass formation flyby for the LOLs, and then go home. In the wider Zagreb area alone there had been two in the space of three months, first at Zvekovac/LDZE on 13 June… and then at Mlinski kamen (sans ICAO code for now) on 8 August. And while this does sound rather poor to someone from a country that values its aviation heritage and industry, by local standards this was as busy a social calendar as it gets!
While the ins and outs of each event will likely not be be of interest to my readers (unless you all want to hear about the quality of the year’s pork chops, who makes the best BBQ or who transferred to which airline), what will likely pique everybody’s interest is the ever-increasing variety of aircraft types that attend such events. Not even 10 years ago, the TMG register was in its entirety made up of a handful of SF-25s, while you’d be forgiven for thinking that the only ultralights to exists were flexwings. But now… speedy cruisers, heavy haulers, STOL, barebones, aerobatic… you name it, you can probably find it somewhere in the country. Rotax 447 to 916iS and everything in between.
So, to break this year’s one-year deadlock in posts, here are two little snapshots of some of the stuff we got to see, enjoy and drool over at Zvekovac and Mlinski kamen…
Not that long ago, it would have been hard to believe that this number of airplanes could come out of just four airfields… and that eight would be from the same one! (UPT, UIX, UTP, MIC, UAD, UOO, LY-BTY and UGB are Mlinski kamen locals)
When you get off work and rejoice that you’re finally free of all those Gatwick-style traffic jams… only to come to your base airfield and end up in a Gatwick-style traffic jam…
Bonus content… for me
Because just two photos and a quirky intro would have been far too easy, the attendees of both meets had made sure to bring along two of my “want one” TMGs… which, obviously, have to feature here as well!
The first off the bat is the wonderfully quirky Brditschka/HB Flugtechnik HB-21 Hobbylifter 9A-DLM, only the second of its type in country (alongside OE-9129 of Buševec/LDZB). Now, I must admit that I’m quite partial to Brditschka designs – so much so that in 2023 I went to Hirt/LOKH to fly one of only seven remaining HB-23 Scanliners1… and then in 2025 to the HB factory at Hofkirchen/LOLH for both the most hardworking Scanliner of them all, and the extremely cool one-of HB-202 prototype2. Sadly, my one and only flight in a 21 was in the back seat of 9129… so plans were made on the spot to eventually have a crack at DLM from the front! 💪
1 the Scanliners were standard HB-23 Hobbyliners fitted with a fully-glazed helicopter-style nose for observational duties; some also had larger fuel tanks and structural reinforcements at the outer wing joints to carry airborne cameras. Eight had been made in total, with seven surviving to this day (me having flown OE-9312 and OE-9336)
2 another (albeit substantial) Hobbyliner mod, the HB-202 of 1989 is essentially a normal pointy-nose HB-23 with its wings clipped by a whopping 6.4 meters to turn it into a SEP class airplane. However, while it may be one of the coolest and speediest-looking two-seaters around, its stall characteristics leave A LOT to be desired, with a sharp and violent entry and virtually no prior warning. Indeed, only two prototypes would ever be made, with the second – HB-202 V2 OE-CGW – lost in a crash in 2006. Even though prototype #1 – HB-202 V1 OE-AHB – is still being flown today, only six instructors are cleared for it… which made it all the more unusual that they gave it to ME
Revving up for departure back to its home base Čakovec/LDVC. Manufactured in 1983 with the serial 21026 – and previously registered HA-1303 – DLM is one of the first HB-21s to come equipped with the 2.4 liter HB-VW 2400 engine developing 98 HP, replacing the 1.6 liter VW 60 HP unit used on the very first 1975-1983 models (and still seen today on many SF-25s, including Zvekovac’s own 9A-DHD)
And then came heartbreak… in the form of Fournier RF-5 D-KOKO. For years I’ve been simping for the entire Fournier line, but never actually had the opportunity to get really close to one (having just seen them from afar at the Paris Air Show… and tucked away in the corner of the hangar at San Marino’s Torraccia/LIKD). And when a mate finally bought Croatia’s first and then brought it to Mlinski kamen, I discovered that I’m simply too tall to fit into it with even a modicum of comfort 😭 (there goes my idea of buying an even smaller RF-3 single-seater). Still, I got to look it over top to bottom, which is nice… and even run after it like a proper simp while trying to snap the photo below…
One of the few airplanes that could send me running down the entire length of a 700 m runway in searing sunlight at 38 °C. Manufactured in 1969 under the serial 5042, D-KOKO has, much like 9A-DLM, a lot going for it: not only does it have a 100 HP Sauer S2100 instead of the type’s usual 80 HP Sauer S1800… but it was also featured for a while in the famous Deutsches Museum Flugwerft Schleißheim at Oberschleissheim/EDNX near Munich
