“Great! I think it’s great. The fact that we, as fans of the ‘Star Wars’ series, can take part in such a great festival is simply amazing.” Timo Schustek, a member of the “German Garrison” – Germany’s largest Star Wars costume club – can hardly stop raving about it.
It is Saturday morning and the Dornier Museum is still relatively quiet. As one of 20 club members from Austria, Switzerland and Germany, Timo Schustek is making the final preparations at his club’s stand before the largest technology museum on Lake Constance opens and the many people waiting in a long line stream in.
Many visitors came to the newly designed “Summer Festival and Flight Weekend” at the Dornier Museum. (Photo: Hildegard Nagler)
Fans and not-yet-fans
Children, women and men – they are all excited about what awaits them. “We read about the festival on the Internet,” says Gaby Brockerhoff from Düsseldorf. Her husband Marcus is an airplane enthusiast. “I’m fascinated by how you can get several tons into the air,” he explains.
It’s obvious that visitors to the Dornier Museum are aircraft fans. But that doesn’t have to be the case: the museum crew has put together a program that will also captivate those who aren’t (yet) aircraft fans. There’s a lot on offer both in the air and on the ground.
Seehasen steam train on the move
For example, when steam locomotive fans roll under the large Breguet Atlantic, a multinationally developed maritime patrol aircraft, on the Seehasen steam train, it is something very special. Andreas Voss and his friends from the “Dampfbahn Bodensee” have brought three steam locomotives and one electric locomotive with them.
Even though the locomotives are small, they do great things. A locomotive weighing up to 155 kilograms steams away with up to 30 passengers, as Andreas Voss says with a beaming smile.
Mister Hagen conjures
Mister Hagen also spreads joy: Together with his son Tobias, the magician makes not only children’s hearts beat faster. The two have 4000 long balloons in their luggage. They quickly blow up one after the other – and shape the balloons into hearts or animals, for example.
Tobias even wrote a song for the Dornier Museum. When he asks who would like a heart, the children’s hands shoot up. “We’re still here for a while,” the father reassures the girls and boys who came away empty-handed in this round. “It’s a matter close to our hearts to give people presents. At the same time, we get an incredible amount in return,” enthuses Mr. Hagen.
Popular: the Do 24 ATT. (Photo: Hildegard Nagler)
Electric aircraft on display
Meanwhile, outside the hangar, Uwe Nortmann is being bombarded with questions from museum visitors. The former Dornian has his electric plane on display. Because he is convinced that it is “the future,” the flight instructor and test pilot helped build it.
The aircraft had its maiden flight in June 2022, and flight testing was followed by certification in January 2023. He is in the air with his two-seater for two and a half hours, then the battery is empty. “Everyone who has flown with us so far has been enthusiastic,” says Uwe Nortmann.
Apparently the former Dornian is not the only one who is convinced by the machine. The series is slowly ramping up. Anyone who wants an electric aircraft will have to dig deep into their pockets: they are available from 250,000 euros.
Steam locomotive fans (from left): Andreas Voss with son Nikola and David Schmid with Lenja. (Photo: Hildegard Nagler)
Airshow with eight aircraft
The air show is a real spectacle with a total of eight aircraft. Classics such as the Mustang P51, which weighs more than two tons, or a bulky North American T6 from the 1940s show off their skills. Moderator Uwe Nortmann describes the two aircraft as “relatively easy aerobatics”.
In his words, “aerobatics at their finest” is presented by a Pizz Special, for example. The pilot lets it rise and then spin downwards. The presenter also takes off in his yellow electric plane – and is impressed not only by the elegance of the machine. The viewers praise it as barely audible at 48 decibels.
Omnipresent: the members of the “German Garrison”, Germany’s largest Star Wars costume club. (Photo: Hildegard Nagler)
Do 24 ATT by Iren Dornier
On the ground, you can see Iren Dornier’s Do 24 ATT. The seaplane’s reputation is legendary. “I wonder if it will ever be able to take off again?” a man asks his companion. She brings up the increasingly strict regulations and shrugs her shoulders. “It would be nice for the grandson of aircraft pioneer Claude Dornier,” she adds.
The members of the “German Garrison”, Germany’s largest Star Wars costume club, are omnipresent in the museum. All costumes are made by hand. Wearing them is no joke. It can get up to 40 degrees hot under the costumes. The beginners last an hour, then they need to cool down.
Insight into airport operations
Next door, Friedrichshafen Airport offers adventure activities. Airport tours allow you to take a look behind the scenes, ride a bus along the runway or marvel at the airport fire brigade and its fire engines during an operation.
The Meckenbeuren fire department is part of the safety concept. (Photo: Hildegard Nagler)
45 registrations of guest aircraft were received. Preparations for the summer festival were complex, explains museum director Hans-Peter Rien. Firefighters, ambulances and security were part of the security concept, and access to the airfield had to be specially guarded.
The museum guests are full of praise for the “very nice event”. The atmosphere was great, they say. Families are happy about the “great children’s program”. So it is not surprising that organizers and guests are enthusiastic – and are already looking forward to the next summer festival.
