3rd Place 'Pilots top 5' 

The weather was not perfect, but much better than forecasted (only a few short showers). At the end of the first flight, part of the landing gear did not enfold due to a small technical issue. It did force Erik to land the plane on the wing tips. The tips withstood the landing gracefully as if they where designed for this. During the next two flights everything operated normally again.

The jury of Jets over Pampa was obviously also impressed by the model and it's performance, as the team did receive the 3rd place for 'Pilots top 5 - 2011'

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

For details and other pictures of Jets over Pampa visit the PMF website

The Focke Wulf 3x1000 is officially ready for take-off !

July 14th, the team went to airfield Bad Sassendorf, Germany, to get the certification for the Focke Wulf.

The conditions were rather windy, 5 Bft!

The two inspectors, Mr. Menke and Mr. Schott, had 300 kg in sandbags waiting for our poor model. After weighing all parts separately, we put together the Focke Wulf and layed it on its back.

Now the inspectors loaded about 60 kg of sandbags on the aircraft. They then measured how much each wingtip was bended downwards. After removing the sandbag load, they measured again so see if the wing came back to its original shape.

After this ordeal, the model had to undergo the same test while standing on its wheels.

These tests went all very well, but now... two flights had to be performed to see if the plane handled safely.

Erik started the plane from the concrete surface in front of the hangar and it was airborne within 15 meters. The extremely short take-off was due to the very strong wind.

Both flights were uneventful; landing however, demanded all of Erik's flying skills. Because he does not lack those, both landings went well.

Another mile stone reached in the FW3x1000 project.

Last week we sent the completed questionaire and documentation to the "Das Bundesluftfahrtambt" in Braunschweig (DE). The inspector, Mr. Udo Menke, agreed on all documents.

Certification is foreseen in the middle of July.

Details on the certification procedure can be found here