As of: January 20, 2024, 6:00 a.m
By: Boris Forstner
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The M-28, with which the airborne school has conducted most of its parachute training for years, currently has to remain on the ground.
© Hans-Helmut Herold
There are problems with the aircraft in Altenstadt's Franz Josef Strauss barracks, which are massively affecting skydiving training.
Altenstadt - Before the foreseeable end of the venerable Transall, the paratroopers in the Altenstadt Franz Josef Strauss barracks asked themselves about ten years ago how training operations in the airborne/air transport school should be maintained.
The successor model, the Airbus A400, had just been delivered to the Bundeswehr with the first units and was still a long way from being approved for skydiving service.
The solution was the M-28 Skytruck, a comparatively small machine but ideal for the conditions in Altenstadt.
Depending on their luggage, ten to 14 parachutists fit in the plane, and what is important: it could also land directly on the small Altenstadt airfield - there were extremely short distances.
The Transall was stationed in Penzing at the time, and the parachutists from Altenstadt always had to be driven there first.
A long-term contract was concluded with the private owner of the M-28; the operator from East Germany could also be requested at short notice, which was more complicated with the Transall.
Federal Aviation Office vetoes: “This means that skydiving with the aircraft will no longer be approved”
The M-28 has been in use in Altenstadt since mid-2017, and with the exception of a few residents who are annoyed by the louder flight noise compared to the humming Transall and the more frequent use due to its smaller size, everything went smoothly - until the middle of last year Apparently the Federal Aviation Office completely unexpectedly vetoed it, as was learned from an insider on the sidelines of the New Year's reception: "It was said that skydiving with the plane will no longer be approved."
From one day to the next, the parachute jumps over Altenstadt had to be stopped - with a short interruption when it was allowed again.
Since then, the Federal Aviation Office and the Bundeswehr Aviation Office have apparently been arguing, and the case is said to have now made it to the upper circles of the Defense Ministry.
When asked yesterday, a spokeswoman for the ministry said that it was not possible to comment on this in such a short period of time, as it would take up to two weeks.
“An hour with the M-28 costs 6,000 euros without fuel, with the Airbus it’s 60,000 euros.”
In order to keep skydiving training going, the A400, which is now approved for skydiving, has recently been seen more often over the district.
The problem: “An hour with the M-28 costs 6,000 euros without fuel, while with the Airbus it costs 60,000 euros,” the insider knows.
With an approach time of one and a half hours from Wunstorf in Lower Saxony, where the A400 is based, that amounts to a whopping 180,000 euros just for a return flight, without a single parachutist jumping.
The route for the A400 to Altenstadt is long – and expensive.
© Mercury
After Penzing is closed, the machine can only land in Lechfeld or, if de-icing is necessary, in Memmingen, which means that the parachutists have to travel 40 or 75 kilometers beforehand.
The federal government's decision in March 2022 not to permanently station the A400 in Lechfeld, contrary to plan, takes on a completely different note.
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In July 2021, Altenstadt paratroopers completed their first jumps from the A400.
© Hans-Helmut Herold
Since the Ukraine war, the Bundeswehr has taken on a different status again; the paratroopers are an important part of the emergency forces who have often been deployed abroad - so the dispute over aircraft registration comes at the most inopportune time.
So far, Altenstadt has been at 8 in terms of priority for the A400 on a scale of 1 (high priority) to 8 (lower priority), says the insider.
“Since the M-28 had to be temporarily shut down, we have been upgraded to sixth place,” he says.
But it is clear that a lot of other things are going on.
The A400 was most recently used during the evacuation in Sudan, and after the Hamas attack on Israel, a plane was stationed in Cyprus - so requests from Altenstadt are in vain.
That's why they sincerely hope that a solution will finally be found soon.