Education

To Zeeland and beyond

Their impressive Lambach HL II proudly displayed, the TU’s Foundation for Student Aircraft Development, Manufacturing & Operation (SSVOB) participated in two recent air shows.

With the SSVOBB-Mobile VW van acting as a time-machine, the writer and SSVOB crew journeyed from the past to present and future of airplane technology.   

“We’re going to land there, across the water,” said the pilot. “Where?” I asked, seeing only green pastures below. “Right there!” she said, pointing downwards. I still didn’t see a bloody thing “there”, even though we were only 30 feet high and I could see the geese grazing on the green grass below. But then we touched down, narrowly missing the geese, and I realised that we had landed on a grass runway.

That was my first acquaintance with Midden-Zeeland (MZ) airfield, made during a first-year flight . flying is a part of the Aerospace Engineering Faculty’s education program ., and now, six months later, I’m back to participate in the NVAV (Netherlands Society of Amateur Aircraft Builders) ‘Fly-in Midden Zeeland’, the Netherlands’ largest gathering for amateur aircraft builders.

From my previous experience at Midden-Zeeland, I’m expecting it to be a journey back in time, to the age of biplanes and grassy airfields and I know for sure that at least one biplane will be there – the Lambach HL II, stationed at MZ airfield and built by our foundation, the SSVOBB, which was founded by and for TU Delft students in 1990 and currently has over 100 members. Happily, this year things proved to be somewhat different.

Once the Lambach is cleaned, it’s rolled out of its hangar. We’re the earliest to arrive, so we can choose the best place to park our aircraft . close to the bar, naturally! While we prepare the Lambach for the show, one by one the small, amateur-built “lawnmowers” drop out of the sky. And even though some are, indeed, war-veteran biplanes, most of them are very advanced designs and by noon the cutting edge of small-aircraft technology is lined up alongside the small green runway, shining in the sun.

This is a small event and the atmosphere resembles a family reunion in a Dutch village, as dogs, campers and children mingle around the aircraft. All present are of course big aviation enthusiasts and our unique project attracts the attention it deserves. There’s a great deal of promotion to be done: the SSVOBB is a sponsors-financed organisation and is always on the lookout for potential prey, so every one of us must help with the questions-and-answers about the Lambach. Next to us the most recent development in the industry – a light two-stroke diesel engine . is being presented by Mark Wilksch, managing director of Wilksch Airmotive. After the traditional barbeque, Wilksch also gives a very instructive lecture about the engine, ending the day on a business-note.
Rivals

The following weekend the SSVOBB-Mobile VW van was on the move again, only this time it does go to the past. We arrive at the Lelystad air show on Friday and fit the Lambach with wings . for the first time in years it is complete! Saturday is the big day, and this event is a great deal different from the previous one . 30,000 people attended the air show at Lelystad airport, including the ubiquitous Andre Kuipers, the Dutch astronaut, who’s been present at most TU events this past year and here provides the commentary for the flights program from the control tower.

The old cliché of ‘old rivals come together’ is true here as well, only some of the rivals are very old. The most senior aircraft present are the Fokker Spin, the first Fokker ever built, and the Blériot XI, in which Louis Blériot flew across English Channel in 1909, the first pilot to do so!

Our Lambach is scheduled for a test engine-run, but the 70-year-old Gypsy-Major engine refuses to start. After several failed attempts the crew decides to try another day, once they found and solved the problem. Professor Droste, Dean of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, is very impressed our crew’s decision to work the problem out before making another attempt. “The SSVOBB is an excellent club,” Droste said. “They succeed in combining a hobby-approach of flying and operating aircraft with a huge professional standard.”

www.lr.tudelft.nl/ssvobb

www.airshowlelystad.nl

www.zeeland-airport.nl

“We’re going to land there, across the water,” said the pilot. “Where?” I asked, seeing only green pastures below. “Right there!” she said, pointing downwards. I still didn’t see a bloody thing “there”, even though we were only 30 feet high and I could see the geese grazing on the green grass below. But then we touched down, narrowly missing the geese, and I realised that we had landed on a grass runway.

That was my first acquaintance with Midden-Zeeland (MZ) airfield, made during a first-year flight . flying is a part of the Aerospace Engineering Faculty’s education program ., and now, six months later, I’m back to participate in the NVAV (Netherlands Society of Amateur Aircraft Builders) ‘Fly-in Midden Zeeland’, the Netherlands’ largest gathering for amateur aircraft builders.

From my previous experience at Midden-Zeeland, I’m expecting it to be a journey back in time, to the age of biplanes and grassy airfields and I know for sure that at least one biplane will be there – the Lambach HL II, stationed at MZ airfield and built by our foundation, the SSVOBB, which was founded by and for TU Delft students in 1990 and currently has over 100 members. Happily, this year things proved to be somewhat different.

Once the Lambach is cleaned, it’s rolled out of its hangar. We’re the earliest to arrive, so we can choose the best place to park our aircraft . close to the bar, naturally! While we prepare the Lambach for the show, one by one the small, amateur-built “lawnmowers” drop out of the sky. And even though some are, indeed, war-veteran biplanes, most of them are very advanced designs and by noon the cutting edge of small-aircraft technology is lined up alongside the small green runway, shining in the sun.

This is a small event and the atmosphere resembles a family reunion in a Dutch village, as dogs, campers and children mingle around the aircraft. All present are of course big aviation enthusiasts and our unique project attracts the attention it deserves. There’s a great deal of promotion to be done: the SSVOBB is a sponsors-financed organisation and is always on the lookout for potential prey, so every one of us must help with the questions-and-answers about the Lambach. Next to us the most recent development in the industry – a light two-stroke diesel engine . is being presented by Mark Wilksch, managing director of Wilksch Airmotive. After the traditional barbeque, Wilksch also gives a very instructive lecture about the engine, ending the day on a business-note.
Rivals

The following weekend the SSVOBB-Mobile VW van was on the move again, only this time it does go to the past. We arrive at the Lelystad air show on Friday and fit the Lambach with wings . for the first time in years it is complete! Saturday is the big day, and this event is a great deal different from the previous one . 30,000 people attended the air show at Lelystad airport, including the ubiquitous Andre Kuipers, the Dutch astronaut, who’s been present at most TU events this past year and here provides the commentary for the flights program from the control tower.

The old cliché of ‘old rivals come together’ is true here as well, only some of the rivals are very old. The most senior aircraft present are the Fokker Spin, the first Fokker ever built, and the Blériot XI, in which Louis Blériot flew across English Channel in 1909, the first pilot to do so!

Our Lambach is scheduled for a test engine-run, but the 70-year-old Gypsy-Major engine refuses to start. After several failed attempts the crew decides to try another day, once they found and solved the problem. Professor Droste, Dean of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, is very impressed our crew’s decision to work the problem out before making another attempt. “The SSVOBB is an excellent club,” Droste said. “They succeed in combining a hobby-approach of flying and operating aircraft with a huge professional standard.”

www.lr.tudelft.nl/ssvobb

www.airshowlelystad.nl

www.zeeland-airport.nl

Editor Redactie

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