Stuka in Maine

The plastic kits coming out of Revell-Germany these days do not include
a swastika on the decals or the box art. Of course, it's still illegal
in Germany to have something with a swastika on it.

Originally Posted by Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired

wrote:
On Sat, 24 Sep 2005 15:09:22 -0500, "Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired"
wrote:


Actually one would have to be fairly close to an aircraft and
looking at it to see the markings. The siren's sound would be heard by
people indoors or out.


Not sure that the sirens operated unless in a dive. I think it took
dive velocity winds to make it shriek.

Corky Scott

That may be so, but the people I have met who have heard them said
they could be heard indoors. I would hope they could be turned off when
not needed. It would seem to me they would drive the aircrew nuts when
flying cross country.

Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired

Have read the very interesting comments thus far regarding the STUKA sited in Maine. One gentleman was correct. I guess the rest is opinion. I own the aircraft which is a 7/10's scale replica of the JU87B2 which was the only STUKA built by Louis Langhurst, completed in 1979 after 8,000 manhours of work. There were one or two other versions, built by others, who were perhaps using Mr. Langhurst's drawings, but I am not sure of that. This STUKA is the only flying version in the world, there being two static actuals in museums in Chicago and Britain. It does have a swastika on the vertical tail assembly and the rest of the paint scheme is the one used by Oberst Hans Ulrich Rudel who was the WWII Luftwaffe's highest decorated pilot. Oberst Rudel flew in my aircraft (N87LL) in November of 1980 and said its characteristics were true to the actual machine. I have used wind-driven sirens on the aircraft but they are not permanently fixed for various reasons including some of the ones mentioned by others in this forum. I have met a number of people who were actually on the receiving end of the STUKA. They seemed to have adjusted to the past and were not antagonistic toward me, preferring to the portrayal of the historical accuracy of the craft to something that is diminished by being politically correct. The actual sirens were activated when the dive brakes were extended when initiating the attack dive. The STUKA was equipped with the "ASKANIA" auto-pilot which retracted the brakes and trimmed for dive recovery in order to allow the pilot to recover from the high "G" forces of the dives. N87LL will be on the Discover Channel Canada in October and then, hopefully, in the U.S. this Fall/Winter, on a show entitiled "The Greatest Ever". Watch for it. N87LL has been in numerous air shows, OSHKOSH, opening ceremonies for the D-Day Museum in New Orleans, and a number of Commemorative Air Force events over the years. It was displayed in the San Diego Air and Space Museum for ten years after which it was owned by Mr. Roland Weeks of Biloxi, Miss. I purchased it from him three years ago and brought it to Maine a year ago. It is a very well built aircraft and does have touchy landing tendencies as someone pointed out. But, all in all it is a fine example of what a genius like Mr. Langhurst was capable of. I plan to have it in more shows as time and weather permits.

Mitch,

Thanks for the information. I was the poster who saw your plane over
Greenville. I was hoping to find it at the airport later that day.

then you stated "This STUKA is the only flying version in the world", are
you referring to your aircraft, or is Louis Langhurst's JU87B2 flying?

In any event, I'd love to get a closer look ar your plane. Maybe next year
in Greenville.


- Steve

"Mitch" wrote in message
...

Have read the very interesting comments thus far regarding the STUKA
sited in Maine. One gentleman was correct. I guess the rest is opinion.
I own the aircraft which is a 7/10's scale replica of the JU87B2 which
was the only STUKA built by Louis Langhurst, completed in 1979 after
8,000 manhours of work. There were one or two other versions, built by
others, who were perhaps using Mr. Langhurst's drawings, but I am not
sure of that. This STUKA is the only flying version in the world, there
being two static actuals in museums in Chicago and Britain. It does have
a swastika on the vertical tail assembly and the rest of the paint
scheme is the one used by Oberst Hans Ulrich Rudel who was the WWII
Luftwaffe's highest decorated pilot. Oberst Rudel flew in my aircraft
(N87LL) in November of 1980 and said its characteristics were true to
the actual machine. I have used wind-driven sirens on the aircraft but
they are not permanently fixed for various reasons including some of
the ones mentioned by others in this forum. I have met a number of
people who were actually on the receiving end of the STUKA. They seemed
to have adjusted to the past and were not antagonistic toward me,
preferring to the portrayal of the historical accuracy of the craft to
something that is diminished by being politically correct. The actual
sirens were activated when the dive brakes were extended when
initiating the attack dive. The STUKA was equipped with the "ASKANIA"
auto-pilot which retracted the brakes and trimmed for dive recovery in
order to allow the pilot to recover from the high "G" forces of the
dives. N87LL will be on the Discover Channel Canada in October and
then, hopefully, in the U.S. this Fall/Winter, on a show entitiled "The
Greatest Ever". Watch for it. N87LL has been in numerous air shows,
OSHKOSH, opening ceremonies for the D-Day Museum in New Orleans, and a
number of Commemorative Air Force events over the years. It was
displayed in the San Diego Air and Space Museum for ten years after
which it was owned by Mr. Roland Weeks of Biloxi, Miss. I purchased it
from him three years ago and brought it to Maine a year ago. It is a
very well built aircraft and does have touchy landing tendencies as
someone pointed out. But, all in all it is a fine example of what a
genius like Mr. Langhurst was capable of. I plan to have it in more
shows as time and weather permits.


--
Mitch

Hi Steve,
I was probably not as clear as I should have been. There are no actual flying STUKAs in the world. Just static displays. N87LL, now owned by me, is the only Langhurst STUKA built by Louis Langhurst and is the only flying version of a STUKA in the world. I fly it whenever I can for enjoyment. I hope that we do get a chance to meet so that you can see the aircraft up close. It is a fine piece of craftsmanship that makes many AAF veterans think that it is the "real thing".
There are others in the US and even in Germany who want to construct a STUKA but it is a daunting task.

Originally Posted by Steve Foley

Mitch,

Thanks for the information. I was the poster who saw your plane over
Greenville. I was hoping to find it at the airport later that day.

then you stated "This STUKA is the only flying version in the world", are
you referring to your aircraft, or is Louis Langhurst's JU87B2 flying?

In any event, I'd love to get a closer look ar your plane. Maybe next year
in Greenville.


- Steve

"Mitch" wrote in message
...

Have read the very interesting comments thus far regarding the STUKA
sited in Maine. One gentleman was correct. I guess the rest is opinion.
I own the aircraft which is a 7/10's scale replica of the JU87B2 which
was the only STUKA built by Louis Langhurst, completed in 1979 after
8,000 manhours of work. There were one or two other versions, built by
others, who were perhaps using Mr. Langhurst's drawings, but I am not
sure of that. This STUKA is the only flying version in the world, there
being two static actuals in museums in Chicago and Britain. It does have
a swastika on the vertical tail assembly and the rest of the paint
scheme is the one used by Oberst Hans Ulrich Rudel who was the WWII
Luftwaffe's highest decorated pilot. Oberst Rudel flew in my aircraft
(N87LL) in November of 1980 and said its characteristics were true to
the actual machine. I have used wind-driven sirens on the aircraft but
they are not permanently fixed for various reasons including some of
the ones mentioned by others in this forum. I have met a number of
people who were actually on the receiving end of the STUKA. They seemed
to have adjusted to the past and were not antagonistic toward me,
preferring to the portrayal of the historical accuracy of the craft to
something that is diminished by being politically correct. The actual
sirens were activated when the dive brakes were extended when
initiating the attack dive. The STUKA was equipped with the "ASKANIA"
auto-pilot which retracted the brakes and trimmed for dive recovery in
order to allow the pilot to recover from the high "G" forces of the
dives. N87LL will be on the Discover Channel Canada in October and
then, hopefully, in the U.S. this Fall/Winter, on a show entitiled "The
Greatest Ever". Watch for it. N87LL has been in numerous air shows,
OSHKOSH, opening ceremonies for the D-Day Museum in New Orleans, and a
number of Commemorative Air Force events over the years. It was
displayed in the San Diego Air and Space Museum for ten years after
which it was owned by Mr. Roland Weeks of Biloxi, Miss. I purchased it
from him three years ago and brought it to Maine a year ago. It is a
very well built aircraft and does have touchy landing tendencies as
someone pointed out. But, all in all it is a fine example of what a
genius like Mr. Langhurst was capable of. I plan to have it in more
shows as time and weather permits.


--
Mitch

On 2005-10-06 15:59:05 -0400, Mitch
said:

This STUKA is the only flying version in the world, there
being two static actuals in museums in Chicago and Britain

Mitch, thanks for an interesting post. If yours was the only one he
built, and I don't doubt you on that, what was the one in the Burhans
crash? Curious.

There is one in Russia that has been restored to airworthy condition,
however it did not fly at their big warbird show this year due to a
technical defect at the last minute. It appeared to be a Ju87 D.

http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/87/...0_airshow.html (only
mentions russian types)

http://military-en.rian.ru/article.html?art_id=37852 (this article
mentions the Stuka, and says it arrived from the UKraine -- and is a
replica! I know I saw an article with a photo of it, and it appeared to
be full size and DB 601 powered. I just couldn't find this article on
the Monino show with the Stuka photo again.

I liked this comment:

"Aircraft restorers are great people, who allow today’s young
generation to admire bygone warplanes and to compare them with modern
aircraft, Genrikh Novozhilov, general designer of the Ilyushin aviation
complex, noted during the official aircraft-transfer ceremony."

Somehow I think you and I and Mr Novozhilov would get along together.

--
cheers

-=K=-

Rule #1: Don't hit anything big.

On 2005-10-07 15:26:39 -0400, Mitch
said:

I was probably not as clear as I should have been. There are no actual
flying STUKAs in the world. Just static displays. N87LL, now owned by
me, is the only Langhurst STUKA built by Louis Langhurst and is the
only flying version of a STUKA in the world.

Mitch, and guys

Here is an update, to my comments. This page is a photo gallery from
the 2004 Monino show, and you can see that the Stuka there is a
replica. The second picture is the Stuka. This is NOT the same Stuka
nor the same picture that I saw from the 05 show... dagnabbit.

http://www.avialegend.ru/fotogalereya/

In fact, Mitch's replica looks more accurate, FWIW. Mitch, drop me a
line (my domain name for email is in the "organisation" section of my
message headers as an anti-spam measure). I'd like to do a story on
your plane sometime.

--
cheers

-=K=-

Rule #1: Don't hit anything big.

Originally Posted by Kevin O'Brien

On 2005-10-06 15:59:05 -0400, Mitch
said:

This STUKA is the only flying version in the world, there
being two static actuals in museums in Chicago and Britain

Mitch, thanks for an interesting post. If yours was the only one he
built, and I don't doubt you on that, what was the one in the Burhans
crash? Curious.

There is one in Russia that has been restored to airworthy condition,
however it did not fly at their big warbird show this year due to a
technical defect at the last minute. It appeared to be a Ju87 D.

http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/87/...0_airshow.html (only
mentions russian types)

http://military-en.rian.ru/article.html?art_id=37852 (this article
mentions the Stuka, and says it arrived from the UKraine -- and is a
replica! I know I saw an article with a photo of it, and it appeared to
be full size and DB 601 powered. I just couldn't find this article on
the Monino show with the Stuka photo again.

I liked this comment:

"Aircraft restorers are great people, who allow today’s young
generation to admire bygone warplanes and to compare them with modern
aircraft, Genrikh Novozhilov, general designer of the Ilyushin aviation
complex, noted during the official aircraft-transfer ceremony."

Somehow I think you and I and Mr Novozhilov would get along together.

--
cheers

-=K=-

Rule #1: Don't hit anything big.

Not sure if this is the way to post a reply... The builder of the second JU87B replica and how that came about is not known to me. I had heard that he may have used some plans developed by Mr. Langhurst, who did sell some (I have two copies of the plans), but I am unclear on that whole story. I have only read the NTSB report of the accident because I wanted to learn of any sort of flight problems inherent in the replica. As far as I can tell, there are none...she flies beautifully...with characteristics of the "real" model. I have read of the replica for the Monino show...saw a few photos, and understand that it was not built to fly...maybe taxi. I do not know of the one in Russia.
Foregive me, but I did not follow how to send e-mail to you. There have been many articles written about N87LL, and recently, she has been on the Discovery Channel - Canada and Britain. Would be glad to discuss further with you.