I got to visit Hartmut in Berlin this past weekend. I flew in on Air Berlin from Cologne, and walked around for a while before Hartmut arrived. I wandered a few blocks toward the remains of the Wall at Checkpont Charlie and looked around at the outdoor displays. Berlin has changed so much in the past 20 years that it was difficult to orient the present-day city to the pictures from the past. I went back and met Hartmut, and he gave me a quick tour of German aviation sites in Berlin-- the old Air Ministry, (now the Finance Ministry), and Tempelhof that closed recently. We drove about 35 minutes to the hangar at Shoenhagen (EDAZ) and I got my fist look at his beautiful polished metal 'coupe. We visited one of his friends at the airport for a while, then he gave me a detailed tour of his airplane, explaining the work he and his brother had done. Then he asked "Well, shall we go flying?" Of course!
We took off and flew below and outside Berlin's Class C airspace due to a balky transponder altitude encoder. We flew around Postdam and Hartmut showed me the many small castles in the area. Then we flew over several closed Soviet military installations that were abandoned at the end of the Cold War. It was amazing to think that 20 years ago these bases were filled with troops in garrison, armoured vehicles, MiG's in revetments and weapons in storage areas. I got to do a lot flying and a couple stalls along the way. We headed back and landed, logging a 1.4 hour flight. After coffee and a bathroom break, Hartmut briefed me on local procedures. Then he put in the left seat and we took off again. My first flight in a two-control Ercoupe! The biggest difference was not knowing where to put my feet during takeoff and approach. We flew over a closed airport that was being developed as a cargo base for Zeppelin operations that never came about. The large Zeppelin dome is now an indoor resort. I flew at hangar-top level along the runway, did a right pull-up, and we looked at another closed installation. We flew into Berlin as close as we could to the new airfield being built and also saw Shoenfeld before turning back to EDAZ. I maneuvered for a base entry to Runway 25 and landed just a bit firmer than I liked. I taxied back to the ramp near the uncontrolled Unicom-tower, and we shut down logging a 0.8. We had a nice dinner at the airport restaurant, then got back to the hotel around 10:30. I was exhausted after very little sleep, but would not have traded the experience for anything. Many thanks to my German friend for sharing his time and his airplane with me! We're hoping to make this an annual visit. Regards, Dave
