The city of Speyer is one of the oldest in Germany having been founded by the Romans more than two thousand years ago. It is located alongside the Rhine river and is about half way along the Alsatian wine road. To the South the road is in France and is called the "Routes Des Vin". To the North of Speyer, the road is in Germany and is called the "Deutsche Weinstrasse". This is where the world's best Riesling and Gewürztraminer wines are made.
The area around Speyer is a wonderful place to visit. Nearby Heidelberg, the Hockenheimring motor racing circuit, the wine road and much more. It is also home to a first class aviation museum and most importantly, home to B & F Technik, makers of the "light sport" Jungmann that has appeared on this website from time to time. I met Peter Funk of B & F last year in Degerfeld and was invited to visit the Speryer service center.
We spent some time looking around the hangar and the office complex, but of course it was the Jungmann that I was most interested in.
What are they like, these light-weight Jungmann? I have been thinking for a while about how to explain exactly that. Despite all of the pictures and information you may have seen here, I was taken aback when I saw the biplanes in person.
Peter's goals were to produce an aircraft that was indistinguishable from the original Bu131a when seen side by side at the airport, but which used a few modern materials and techniques to reduce its weight substantially. This would allow his Jungmann to fall within European LSA regulations (and therefore the equivalent US regulations.) Clearly these goals have been met. It would take an expert to tell them apart, and the empty weight of the aircraft is only 292 Kg (643 lbs). The original Rangsdorf built Jungmann with a Hirth engine weighed 350 Kg (770 lbs). With 18% less weight and considerably more power, performance is not an issue with these Jungmann.
So how is this spectacular weight reduction achieved? Aluminum tubing? pop-rivets? composites, helium? - No. None of that. Put any thoughts you may have of ultralight or light sport right out of your head. These aircraft are simply the aircraft Anders Anderson would have designed if he had the materials technology we now have.
The structure of the aircraft is very close to the original and the 4130 steel tube fuselage is faithful to the 1934 version. The Mikron engine is very light so the structure of the horizontal stabilizer, fin and control surfaces were changed to aluminum to maintain proper balance. Some cast components were replaced with carbon fiber equivalents, and the wooden wing was simplified to save more weight. So effective was this weight saving that Peter was able to stretch the rear cockpit and add a ballistic parachute yet still stay within the regulations.
There are a few more differences: The landing gear struts are gas struts and may be inflated to provide the ride you prefer, and while the flying/landing wires are McWhyte streamlined wires, the cabane and interplane wires are aircraft cable. (You can order streamlined wires for these areas too, but it adds to the cost)
So what about the quality? It is hard to convey in words just how spectacular these Jungmann are. Have you ever seen a Legend Cub or a Cub Crafters "Carbon Cub"? If so, you will have some idea of what is possible when the finest craftsmen apply the best possible materials to an older design. The B & F Jungmann are even better. Like the new LSA Cubs the attention to detail is spectacular and the fabric and paint is as good as any I have ever seen. You really need to see these aircraft in person to understand how good they are, but perhaps these picture will give you some idea.
These are by no means minimal aircraft. Herr Bücker would be very proud.
Surprisingly the price for a new B & K Jungmann is far less than most LSA aircraft. As much as $50K less than a Cub Crafters Cub and substantially less than most LSA on the market today.
Thank you Peter and family. Visiting Speyer was one of the highlights of the trip.
http://www.bueckerundfunk.de/fk%20131%20jungmann.htm
