Kegel-Flugzeugbau Kassel, owner: Fritz Ackermann
The Kegel-Flugzeugbau Kassel, owner: Fritz Ackermann, was a German manufacturer of gliders.
1927
Max Kegel was known not only as a successful glider pilot, but also by the clean construction of his first glider, the cone 1. A number of airmen and flight groups therefore commissioned him to build gliders for them. Since in the meantime he had sufficient capital, the then 33-year-old cone decided at the end of 1927 to found the cone aircraft construction in Kassel. The city of Kassel supported his plans and provided him with suitable premises in Kassel-Bettenhausen.
Since Kegel was an air policeman, he could not run the operation himself. That is why he was the owner of Fritz Ackermann, who was well known to him. As an avid glider pilot and sponsor, his colleague, Hauptmann Karl Knevel, became a silent partner of the company. The aircraft carpenter Fritz Paul, who had already supported the cone on the Wasserkuppe during the craftsmanship, was also present.
The company manufactured the design samples and the test specimen as well as parts for these training aircraft of the Rhön-Rositten-Gesellschaft (RRG). Advertisements were advertised in the well-known trade magazine Flugsport.
AK Display Flugsport.jpg
The order situation developed so well that they needed larger premises. In the north of Kassel, in the district of Ihringshausen, the stock company Hahn for optics and mechanics was located. This company for theodolites and film projectors had developed and manufactured a safety lock, which was taken over by the company Zeiss-Ikon and then produced in Berlin. It was known as the Zeiss-Ikon-Castle with Mäanderkranz all over the world and was the basis for modern locking techniques. Sales by Hahn AG had declined and a large hall was empty. The premises and sufficiently large open spaces next to the buildings appeared to Ackermann and the participants suitable for aircraft construction.
1928
In the spring the small company moved to Ihringshausen. Max Kegel designed a high-performance sailplane, the Kegel 2, and the free-working 28-year-old engineer Emil Arnolt calculated the machine. Arnolt came to Kassel in March 1926 after completing his mechanical engineering studies at the Technical University of Hanover. The order situation developed well. In addition to the production of training aircraft, the construction of the cone 2 was started. The sailplane professor, designed by Alexander Lippisch, went into series production as a licensed product.
1929
Orders continued to develop positively. Additional staff was hired and trained. The workforce had now grown to around 30 employees. In the meantime Fritz Ackermann had been ordered to build a glider for gliders and was named the German Aerospace Center (DVL). Arnolt continued to work for the company and made designs for new gliders. The cones 3 and the double sender KFK 3 were created . A number of performance pilots commissioned new gliders, such as the well-known glider pilot Robert Kronfeld, his Vienna. The Elida , a cone 3 , was built for the Niederhessischer Verein für Luftfahrt . Even complicated mechanical parts and assemblies could be produced in the company. Kegel and Ackermann had made a good choice with the establishment of their company in Kassel. In the town and in Northern Hesse lived craftsmen, who were able to carry out precision mechanical work with the utmost precision. These mechanics had taken them from the former Hahnian enterprise. In addition, a catalog was published which, in addition to the wide range of series production machines, showed the indications of individual productions for the performance flight (see 3 product overview). Erich von Knüpffer, who had lost his place at the Raab-Katzenstein Flugzeugwerk , was hired as a company manager. He drew attention to Gerhard Fieseler on the Kegel-Flugzeugbau, Kassel. Fieseler then took part in the company from the middle of 1929, To initiate the conversion process from crafting to serial production. He noted that the financial position of the company was anything but good. Nevertheless, he kept the interest in the company and the excellent employee base, and took an ever greater influence on business. Fieseler had become wealthy thanks to his income from the aerobatics business. Through his contacts with motorsports in the UK, he learned that the sails were in the middle of a break-up mood. The newspaper Daily Express bought a twin-seater KFK 3 and a performance sailplane of the type Professor. In addition, they wanted to get a pilot to show the gliders on flights. Fieseler was able to win Karli Magersuppe, who was already known at the time, for the job of working for him. The 22-year-old Karli was to travel to England after the two aircraft had been completed. Without Fieseler's financial support the company could not have survived.
1930
The global economic crisis was strongly felt in Germany. There were already 3.1 million unemployed at the beginning of the year. This situation led to a decline in order intake, particularly in the case of clubs. So the small glider construction was forced to dismantle the staff. At the beginning of the year, perhaps even earlier, there must have been the first talks on the construction of a 30-meter glider, the Ku 4, with Robert Kronfeld, with which Kegel was also present. This project was supported by the Rhön-Rositten-Gesellschaft. As Fieseler already made the decisions for the small company, the project was accepted. Fieseler had the Walter engine of his Tigerschwalbe, D-1616 after a total operating time of 39:05 hours at the manufacturer. The star motor showed no flaws and ran flawlessly. Subsequently, he commissioned his future operation to overtake and modify the cell of the machine. The revenues of the company continued to decline, and on March 31, 1930 the ownership of Fritz Ackermann at the Kegel-Flugzeugbau Kassel ended with the sale to Gerhard Fieseler.
Max Kegel and Karl Knevels continued to pursue their activities as air policemen on the Kassel-Waldau airfield.
Product overview
Schoolboy; Wingspan 10,00 m, Empty weight 85 kg, flight speed Approx. 45 km / h, gliding ratio approx. 11: 1.
DUT - exercise aircraft; Wingspan 10.58 m, Empty weight 105 kg, flight speed Approx. 47 km / h, gliding ratio approx. 14: 1.
Hangwind - school and exercise aircraft; Wingspan 10.58 m, Empty weight 105 kg, flight speed Approx. 41 km / h, gliding ratio approx. 13: 1.
Professor - Exercise and Performance Plane; Wingspan 16,09 m, Empty weight 155 kg, flight speed 52 km / h, sliding ratio 21.5: 1, lowering speed. 0.67 m / sec.
Double-seat KFK 3 - school and exercise aircraft; Wingspan 15.50 m, Empty weight 182 kg, flight speed 51 km / h, gliding ratio 17.5: 1, lowering speed. 0.86 m / sec. (Double-seated values)
Westpreussen - high performance aircraft; Span 16.00 m, empty weight 155 kg, flight speed Approx. 52 km / h, sliding ratio 23.5: 1, lowering speed. 0.61 m / sec.
Kegel 3 - high performance aircraft; Wingspan 18,70 m, empty w. 170 kg, flight speed Approx. 54 km / h, sliding ratio 28: 1, descent speed. 0.53 m / sec.
Kegel 3 A - High-performance aircraft with suspension chassis and clutch to start behind engine aircraft. The machine corresponds to type cone 3.
Max Kegel became famous when he accidentally got caught in a thunderstorm at the 7th "Rhön Competition" of glider pilots on August 12, 1926. After taking off on the Wasserkuppe, he (involuntarily) gained about 2,000 m in altitude through updrafts in the cloud, so that he could fly to Meiningen. The flight distance was 55.2 km – that was a world record. He was then nicknamed Gewittermaxe. The flight took place on the occasion of the Rhön competition. Since Kegel was the last to start, he did not want to land right away despite the approaching thunderstorm front. When he felt a strong updraft field, he wanted to use it for a spontaneous cross-country flight. In the process, he was pulled into the thundercloud.
Kegel's flight caused a great stir, but surprisingly remained without any effect on the development of gliding. Even when the turn indicator was available, none of the leading glider pilots came up with the idea of giving up slope flying and looking for updrafts under clouds. It was not until two years later, in 1928, that Robert Kronfeld began to consciously use the thermals as a source of upwind and thus to detach himself from the slope wind.
Max Kegel had been stationed as an air policeman on the Wasserkuppe to monitor aviation and had taken a liking to gliding there. He had received this position as an air policeman because he was a trained motorized pilot. And it was probably thanks to his experience as a powered pilot – in addition to a lot of luck – that this cloud flight did not end in a catastrophe completely without blind flight instruments.
A popular legend tells that Kegel carried out his legendary flight because, despite the bad weather, he wanted to demonstrate to his superiors that gliding was also interesting for the police. However, this legend is not substantiated by anything, his flight was a normal flight at the annual Rhön competition.
