Kassel Airport sightseeing flight

Start the engine, flip the switch and take off. Fly over Kassel and the surrounding area once and get a bird's eye view - while remaining completely on the ground. All this is possible with the Fieseler Storch simulator.

Five years of planning, development and construction have gone into the project. Students and staff from the Department of Systems and High Voltage Engineering developed and built the simulator. Since the beginning of the year, it has had its permanent home at Kassel Airport. The official opening ceremony was on January 17. However, the mobile design also allows it to be set up at other locations.

In a 1:1 replica of the original cockpit, hobby pilots can experience a realistic flight experience. All functions and controls are digitally implemented. Historical switches and fuses in the cockpit have been partially replicated using 3D printers, and the flight dynamics have been implemented in corresponding software. The outside world is projected onto a 180-degree large screen with a total area of 22 square meters. Added to this are the original sound and vibrations of the eight-cylinder Argus engine, which provide a true-to-life atmosphere. The students gained practical experience in digitization from different disciplines of electrical engineering and computer science. 

The flight behavior of the simulator was fine-tuned with real Storch pilots so that the maneuvers in the air can also be used as training and instruction for student pilots to supplement their training. Depending on the level of knowledge and experience, different scenarios can be selected and flown in the simulator: A relaxed flight in fine weather over Kassel or Rio de Janeiro for the connoisseur can be selected, as can a challenging landing in bad weather and turbulence for the flight expert.

The Fieseler FI 156 "Storch" is a propeller-driven aircraft built in 1936 and developed and produced at the Fieseler-Werke in Kassel. About 3000 of the Storch, which got its name because of its high-legged undercarriage, were built. The special feature of the Storch is its ability to fly extremely slowly at about 50km/h, so that it only needs a few tens of meters for a takeoff or landing.

Further information, contact persons and pictures can be found on the flight simulator website: www.storch-simulator.de.