Research aircraft visits Idaflieg 2025 in Stendal

This year, we attended the Idaflieg (https://idaflieg.de/) summer meeting for the first time with our Cessna 172. This event is an annual research week where academic flying groups (known as Akafliegs) from all over Germany meet to experimentally test and measure prototypes and gliders.

© TUD ILR / Manuel Reif

We are delighted that TU Dresden also has an Akaflieg, with which we maintain close cooperation. This year, due to the short lead time following our intensive cockpit conversion, we were only able to attend for training and instruction flights and to exchange ideas with students and colleagues from the DLR and other universities, but the next summer meeting is already firmly in our annual schedule – and will certainly include our own measurement and research flights, e.g. from our MAZe or Air-Take-Off projects.

© Kai Rhode - DLR Brandenburg

The summer meeting shows us, as professors of aircraft technology, how important it is to introduce students to practical aviation topics at an early stage. The experience that students gain during the summer meeting is invaluable for their future careers – which is why many glider manufacturers draw on the expertise available at the summer meeting to test flight characteristics and performance. 

© TUD ILR / Manuel Reif

But even without it, we were able to establish good contacts, exchange ideas about measurement campaigns, research flights and certification issues, and gather some interesting information for our work at the professorship and future projects on our part.