50 Jahre WTD61

(Reading time: 3 - 6 minutes)

Page 1 of 6

User Rating: 0 / 5

Please rate this article:

0 of 5 - 0 votes

Thank you for rating this article.

Where? Manching (ETSI)
When? 15/09/2007

A 50th anniversary is always something special, and when a flight test centre is celebrating it you have the right ingredients for a lot of surprises. Exactly that was the case at Manching near Ingolstadt in southern Germany when the Wehrtechnische Dienststelle 61 (WTD61) opened its doors on September 15th, 2007.

The WTD61 was founded on October, 1st 1957 in Oberpfaffenhofen and has been given the task to examine and evaluate everything that was due to fly within the Luftwaffe. But by that time it was still called "Erprobungsstelle" ("E-Stelle", or "Test Centre"), which was still the case when it moved to its current location in 165/66. In 1987 it changed its name from "Erprobungsstelle 61" to "Wehrtechnische Dienststelle für Luftfahrzeuge des Bundeswehr" (WTD 61) and by doing so also got the recognition of the widespread field of activities in aircraft and system testing. It is today the main test and evaluation unit for flying systems in the German armed forces.

To celebrate this anniversary a Tornado and a Phantom were painted in bright orange, similar to the test equipment that is installed in the aircraft. Furthermore aerodynamic and flight mechanic formulas were written all over the aircraft together with the German national colours and the WTD61 emblem. Additionally the F-4 has got 'Spooky' on the bottom side, the Tornado carrying an emblem with a Tornado saying "Tornado Flight Test".

Tornado 45+30 - s/c 50 years WTD61

----

F-4F Phantom 37+16 - s/c 50 years WTD61

----

Static Display: Phantom, Tornado, CH-53G 84+02 (special markings)

----

Detail photos

----

Details: Category: 2007; Published: 15 September 2007; Hits: 15641

recently published

Warbirds over the Beach

(Reading time: 3 - 6 minutes)

Warbirds over the Beach Airshow, Military Aviation Museum, Virginia Beach
Where? Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA
When? 19-21/05/2017

„Warbirds over the Beach“ is the annual airshow of the Military Aviation Museum (MAM) at Virginia Beach with a strong focus on aircraft of the WWII era. Each year during the May weekend before Memorial Day the majority of warbirds from the 1940s era being part of the fantastic collection of the MAM are literally unleashed and take to the air from a small private airstrip just South of Virgina Beach on the US Atlantic shoreline.

more Airshows

Chino "Planes of Fame" Airshow 2013

(Reading time: 3 - 5 minutes)

Chino Planes of Fame Airshow 2013 - PoF - P-38 Lightning strikes Chino

Where? Chino, California, USA
When? 04-05/05/2013

The "Planes of Fame" annual airshow at Chino can surely be rated as one of America's premiere warbird airshows. This is owned to the great collection of flyable warbirds of the "Planes of Fame" itself, and to the many interesting visitors that are attracted by this event. 2013 for example saw the outstanding happening of 5 Lockheed P-38 Lightning flying together in the air.

more Air-Air

Israeli Spitfire

(Reading time: 3 - 6 minutes)

The Israeli Air Force's Spitfire Mk. IX
Where? Negev Desert
When? November 2011

When talking about the "Black Spitfire", the sole example of this classic fighter to be airworthy in the Middle East region, everyone in Israel with an interest in classic airplanes or aviation history refers to it also as "Ezer's Spitfire".