On October 23, 1973, the MB-E1 from the aircraft manufacturer Heinrich Brditschka from Haid / Ansfelden took off on its maiden flight with its son Heino, the flight took about nine minutes and at an altitude of around 300 meters. After a few successful flights the tests were stopped, all that was left of the plane was the fuselage and a few archive pictures.
MB-E1 – The last journey of the first electrically powered man-carrying aircraft from the world
Birgit Hauer, 03. July 2020Almost 44 years later, a student project at the Institute of Aviation started under the guidance of Mr. Andreas Hinze, teacher and head of the working group flight operations at the Institute. Together with 4 students Tom Bruchmann, Klaus Graf, Dominik Praxmarer and Jürgen Hölbling, a total of about 250 hours were spent between July and August 2017 to bring the original parts of the MB-E1 together with suitable aircraft parts from the Museum Graz Thalerhof, so that the MB-E1 was able to regain its original appearance from the first flight.
This year, the 47-year “old lady” was once again led by a team of students Álvarez Mendoza Renato and Romero García José Alberto from Mexico, under the guidance and support of Mr. Markus Buchacher, responsible for the workshop in the Institute’s aviation laboratory, to his last trip – to the Aviation Museum Graz Thalerhof – and found her final honorably place in the hall at lofty heights.
Such to the delight of everyone, an almost 50-year history ends up in probably the most memorable place – in an aviation museum on the doorstep – in order to be admired by all young and old flight enthusiasts in the future.