The reservist camaraderie flight service “RK Flugdienst” represents an absolute rarity in the
Association of reservists of the
German armed forces [VdRBw] as only flying reservist Fellowship in
Germany. The basic idea was to offer an interesting project of reservist soldiers. In contrast to traditional reservist activities, the realization of flight operations with historic aircraft of the
German Bundeswehr was the primary objective.
Numerous meetings with the
Federal Defence Ministry of Germany were required for the implementation of the concept of reservist camaraderie flight service.
Initial concerns could be removed by benevolent support of important decision makers, so that the successful establishment of the flight service could take place on the 01.03.
1993 in the Bundeswehr barracks located near
Appen, germany. At the time of OStFw D.r
. Hagen Hamm and a small circle of other aviation-enthusiastic comrades founded the RK flight service which has now grown to over
100 members in the country and abroad. The flight service includes a multi-layered structure of members such as skilled aviation technicians, experienced pilots and a variety of aviation-interested persons.
To fulfill their task, RK Flugdienst took over two twin-engined Dornier DO 28 D2 Skyservant built in
1973, which still fly today for the purpose of public relations. These aircraft are currently the only units of their type certified in Germany.
In addition to the DO 28 Skyservant D2 the RK air service also has a Dornier DO 27 A4
MFD in 1960, as well as on a Piaggio P 149 MFD in
1959
The type designation
Dornier Do 28 comprises two different twin-engine
STOL utility aircraft, manufactured by Dornier Flugzeugbau GmbH. Most of them served with the
German Air Force and Marineflieger and other air forces around the world.
The Dornier company was given financial assistance from the
German government to develop a larger STOL transport to carry up to 13 passengers. The type was designated the Do 28D and later named Skyservant. The Do 28D was a complete redesign and shared only the basic layout and wing construction of the earlier versions. The fuselage and engine nacelles were rectangular, unlike the rounded Do 28A/B. The aim was to develop a simple and rugged aircraft for use under arduous conditions, which could be easily maintained. With a crew of two pilots, the cabin accommodated up to 12 passengers; freight could be loaded easily through large double doors and with the seats removed the cabin gave 283 sq ft (26.3 m2) of unobstructed space. The first flight of a Do 28D took place on
23 February 1966 and the type was publicly exhibited at the
Paris Air Show at
Le Bourget airport in June
1967.
A further variant of the Skyservant was the Do 28D-2/OU (Oil
Unit). Two aircraft were fitted with radar and
SLAR (Side-Looking
Airborne Radar) to monitor oil pollution in the
Baltic and
North Seas.
Painted in a white scheme, they were operated between
1984 and
1995 by
MFG 5 of the Marineflieger, on behalf of the
German Transport Ministry. These aircraft are easily recognised by the fuselage-mounted SLAR antenna and a radome under the cockpit. In
1991, both aircraft operated for several weeks in the
Persian Gulf during the Gulf War under the control of the
United Nations. These two aircraft were replaced by the
Do 228 at the end of 1995. These Skyservants are preserved in the
Aeronauticum museum at Nordholz.
In
1997, the
Hungarian engineer
Andreas Gál developed a conversion based on a D-variant, that was intended to meet the requirements of skydivers.
Instead of the Lycoming piston engines, Gál had two
Walter M601-D2 turboprops, modified three-blade propellers and a skydiving kit installed by Aerotech
Slovakia on seven planes. The
Do 28 series consists of the fundamentally different Do 28
A/B (1959) and Do 28 D Skyservant (1966).
- published: 13 Nov 2015
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