…finally I've flown the Ju 52! [14 pics]

Today was a day I’ve been waiting for for several years. Lufthansa’s beautiful Junkers Ju 52/3m D-AQUI visited Sweden on its Nordic Tour 2005 and I was very happy to be one of 16 lucky passengers on the scenic flight over Stockholm!

During check-in I found out that I indeed was very lucky. The 16 tickets sold out in two hours when the flight was announced in early April… 🙂

Joining me were a variety of passengers, most of them were clearly admirers of the Tante Ju, and several of them probably first saw it when it flew scheduled services ;). At 30, I was the youngest onboard except for a few kids with their father.

So, here is a photo report from this adventure…

Weather was great. Lots of spectators. Everything was great…

Just before boarding, Captain Uwe Badow talked about the history of Junkers, D-AQUI and the Deutsche Lufthansa Stiftung Berlin, who operates the aircraft whose official registration is D-CDLH.

Turning east towards Stockholm city, we see our home port Bromma Airport in the distance. The Ju 52 was quite a common sight here in the 30s and 40s.
D-AQUI itself was actually operated by SAS as LN-KAF from 1946 to 1957, albeit on floats in Norway.

One by one, we were let into the tiny cockpit where a wonderful view was to be had…

…although the instrument panel, understandably, is a bit more modern than it was in the good old days.
Since restoration in 1986, D-AQUI has flown over 5,000 hours and carried 120,000 passengers.

Everyone has a window seat on the Ju 52! The sound was simply incredible. A heavy piston sound from the three Wasp engines coupled with a

comfortable vibrating feeling created an atmosphere not even a 707 can offer… 🙂

Some turns over Stockholm were done – here is the Old Town with the Royal Castle just aft of the wingtip.

Back at Bromma, a non-flying crew member is sharing a joke with copilot Eichhorn…

No time to lose – let’s see some views! Is this lovely or what?

Checking the oil level…

Two of my favourite symbols and a name which I want to learn more about!

Swedish-born Birgitta Beyring is a Lufthansa A300/A310 first officer in real life, but spends her spare time as a stewardess on the Ju 52…
and she did a great job. All Ju 52 crew members are pilots with Lufthansa – the captain normally flies 747-400s.

Lufthansa is one of few airlines who has a plate showing the name of the crew on every aircraft, even in the Ju 52. Why don’t more airlines do like this?

Lufthansa values its past like no other airline.
The corrugated ‘look’ is even used on Lufthansa’s check-in counters around the world. What other airline would take the a design feature of a 70 year old aircraft and use it for corporate identity?

I will definitely fly on the Ju 52 whenever I get the opportunity again. It was worth every Krona. Hope you enjoyed!

Ihr Sonnenflieger