Bidspirit auction | WW2 Gerd Achgelis multiple signed
WW2 Gerd Achgelis multiple signed Hans Rossbach Helicopter cover. Six other VIPS test pilots in John Mortopn MRAF Slessor, Prince (now King) Charles flight tutor. May well be UNIQUE. Achgelis was born in Golzwarden in Oldenburg, and after an apprenticeship as an electrician, began working as a stunt pilot in 1928. In 1930 he flew inverted for an hour over London, and in 1931 he was the German aerobatic champion. Flying a Fw 44 Stieglitz, Achgelis was placed third in the 1934 World Aerobatic Championships in Paris, and was 5th at the 1936 event in Berlin. From April 1932, he also worked as a flying instructor at the Technikum Weimar, and in 1933 became chief test pilot for the Focke-Wulf company in Bremen. On 26 June 1936 he flew the Focke-Wulf Fw 61, considered the first practical helicopter, on its maiden flight. On 27 April 1937, together with Henrich Focke, he founded the company Focke-Achgelis to develop and manufacture helicopters at Hoykenkamp. In 1933 Hermann Göring proposed that Achgelis take a post as an instructor at the Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule (”German Air Transport School”), to establish and train an aerobatic team. Achgelis turned down the offer, and he also refused Göring's request to take the position of Generalluftzeugmeister (”Luftwaffe Director-General of Equipment”) after the death of Ernst Udet in November 1941. He worked as a test pilot at an aircraft factory in Graudenz until the end of World War II.