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A legend grows new wings

The return of the Junkers F13

© by Rimowa / AH-TV Film und Fernsehproduktion / YouTube

Source | Rimowa / AH-TV Film und Fernsehproduktion / YouTube | 07 March 2024 1 minute
The world’s first passenger aircraft and mother of all commercial aircraft flies again!
The JU52, humorously referred to as “Aunt JU”, is famous around the world, but very few people know that in 1919 the great pioneer in aviation, Hugo Junkers, revolutionized flying with his F13, an all-metal aircraft made from grooved Duralumin. In collaboration with the Association of Friends of Historical Aircraft and JU-Air from Switzerland, the Rimowa Flugzeugwerke AG implemented the project of building a brand new F13 from scratch. The idea itself was born in 2009 followed worldwide by research in libraries, archives and museums in 2010. In this process, not only original documents were explored, but also a detailed 3D laser scan of an original F13 was made. After three years, in 2013, the construction was started by one of the youngest aircraft manufacturer based in the Black Forest in Germany. The overall time required for this project was 9,000 hours of manual work. The plane consists of 2,600 individual parts and is held together by 35.000 rivets. The aircraft can accommodate four passengers in an enclosed cabin. The crew consists of a pilot and a mechanic, both of whom sit in an open cockpit. On the evening of July 20, 2015, the exact replica of the original Junkers F13 was unveiled at a special ceremony. The gala guests witnessed this return on a journey through time into the Roaring Twenties and the beginnings of modern aviation. Mid-September 2016, the F13 started her first official maiden flight in her new home in Dübendorf, Switzerland. Aircraft experts from all over the world, VIP-guests and even a former F13 passenger and grandson of aviation pioneer Hugo Junkers were invited to witness the major comeback in aviation history. For more please check out www.rimowa.com/in-the-air