Maybe (I hope) you saw my post yesterday – the documentation page on the Klemm L.25 and its eligibility for the FAC National Air Races (find it HERE). This post you are reading is an update and correction to that information.
This morning, about the time I was to get up, I received a Facebook message from one Roel Lucassen (all the way from the Netherlands) telling me he had additional information on Ulrich (Uli) Richter’s Klemm aircraft. In short, he told me I had the registration number wrong, the aircraft model number Wrong, the coloring WRONG, and the wing markings WRONG (virtually everything)! I am being extra-dramatic here – he was very kind and it was all told in a great sense of friendship and research camaraderie. AND – I am VERY appreciative to receive this information!
I asked and he has allowed me to share this information with everyone. I have already updated my plan and soon will update my tissue templates (although I will not strip and re-cover my model). And now, I will update the documentation.
Well, it turns out Richter’s Klemm was the L.26 V model – an upgraded L.25 for the powerful Argus engine. There really isn’t much of a difference between the L.25 and the L.26, so the model doesn’t have to be scrapped – thankfully. This can be confirmed by the next detail: the registration number was actually D-1993 (this still fits into my analysis of the white-washed number on fuselage.
Roel verified the number by providing a photo of the the aircraft somewhere in Europe. You can tell it is the same aircraft by the same pet name on the nose (which we determined to likely be “Razeri” or “Rozeri”).
A close look at this shows an arc of color on the wing – and – a registration number on the top of the left wing. This tells me the numbers were on both wings and likely on the bottoms, too.
Regarding the coloring, Roel provided a news-clipping from a newspaper in Buffalo, NY.
While this is very blurry, the second line states the plane was blue and white. It also states the Uli and his wife were on a world tour. Since this was probably at the same time as the Cord Cup race (which did not go to Buffalo), this explains the female jumping into the cockpit in my photo – she is likely his wife. Unseen in my photo is their small dog mentioned in the newspaper article.
Verifying the world tour is this photo, likely from a Munich newspaper stating the couple is starting a world tour.
Lastly, here is a photo of Uli Richter from what appears to be his German sport flyer’s license.
I want to than Roel Lucassen for reaching out to me! This information completes the package on this model, even though my covering is now “incorrect”!