The Junkers F 13 caused a stir at EBACE 2019 in Geneva. The world's first all-metal airliner is also considered the world's first business aircraft; it had already been offered as a business aircraft in the 1920s. With this exhibition, Junkers Flugzeugwerke commemorated the first flight of the Junkers F 13 100 years ago.
It took Hugo Junkers and his chief designer Otto Reuter just six months in 1919 to turn the idea of an all-metal commercial aircraft into a flying prototype. After the maiden flight on June 25, 1919, the Junkers F 13 was first used in mail aviation in North America and then in passenger service on all continents.
For airlines such as Deutsche Luft Hansa AG or Ad Astra Aero, predecessor of later Swissair, the Junkers F 13 soon became the backbone of the fleet. With its all-metal construction, it is still considered the “mother of all modern commercial aircraft.”
As early as the late 1920s, the Junkers F 13 was also offered as a private and business aircraft. “As a businessman, you are certainly not only traveling in Germany,” a brochure extolled the benefits of the Junkers F 13. Short travel times and easy entry at the destination were important aspects for business travelers even back then. Entrepreneurs from several European countries operated the Junkers F 13 for their business and private trips.
More than 300 Junkers F 13s were built between 1919 and 1932. 100 years after its first flight, the Junkers F 13 is now being handcrafted again. The classic design of the interwar period has been preserved, as has the luxuriously furnished cabin based on the historical model.
Nevertheless, the new Junkers F 13 is fully suitable for everyday use: The new edition features brakes and a tail wheel as well as a robust, 450 hp radial engine from Pratt & Whitney. The open cockpit is equipped with modern instruments, radio and navigation aids.
At the EBACE 2019 business aviation trade show, the JUNKERS F 13 won the hearts of visitors in no time, and the numerous specialist media also reported on hardly any other of the aircraft on display more often than the JUNKERS F 13.
Hundreds viewed the historic aircraft, and thousands took pictures of themselves in front of the elegant radial engine with the glowing silver propeller. Designed for four passengers and two pilots, the new Junkers F 13 allows decelerated and enjoyable travel just like 100 years ago.
The HB-RIM exhibited in Geneva is the first “new” Junkers F 13. There are already three more machines in production.
Christian Gartmann is the Communications and Media Officer at Junkers Flugzeugwerke AG.