Old Bückers
Bücker Jungmann formation display team, available for your special event
These German designed aircraft first flew in 1934 and the 2 examples displaying today are ex Spanish Air force. The Spanish Airforce continued to use this aircraft for primary and Aerobatic training up to the mid-1970s,
G-CDJU now carries CX+HI (S/N 1078 E3B-379) was demobbed from the Spanish Air force in 1981, and G-BZJV (S/N 1075 E3B-367) one of the very last to leave military service in 1984 is undergoing maintenance this season.
The aircraft are totally original and have 4 cylinder inverted engines with a capacity of over 7 litres and 150 HP turning at a very modest 2000 RPM. The delicate construction is fabricated from small Chrome Molybdenum steel tubes in the fuselage and very light intricate wooden sections (Spruce) for the wings. The whole assembly is then covered in Linen and copious amounts of Dope applied,
Just like a big model aircraft! Each aircraft weighs in at only 450 KG, around a third of the weight of a small family car, which makes for a lively and capable aerobatic performance but also leaves the aircraft very susceptible to and difficult to handle in gusty wind, especially on the ground.
The Buckers have regularly been referred to as the “Stradivarius of Biplanes”, unquestionably the best handling aircraft of the period.
Of the many thousand built since 1935 in Germany, Spain, Czechoslovakia and Japan, there are only around 100 original Jungmann surviving worldwide today, with only a few flying examples in the UK. The aircraft have all have undergone extensive restoration.