lugplatz Ingolstadt-Manching, located
around 43 miles (70km) north of
Munich, is not a heavily utilised air
base. In fact, visitors to the Bundeswehr
Technical Centre for Aircraft and Aeronautical
Equipment – better known as Wehrtechnische
Dienststelle 61 (WTD 61, Defence Technical
Department 61) – are likely to see only a few
flights on any given day. WTD 61, which
celebrated 60 years of existence in 2017, is
the flight test unit of the Bundeswehr (German
Armed Forces) and shares the Bavarian airfield
with the German Eurofighter production
line and a handful of factory maintenance
facilities. However, Eurofighter company test
flying is independent of WTD 61 and is
carried out by Airbus test pilots.Facilities &
equipment
The Manching site is immense and
ideal for test purposes. Nearby
can be found a special restrictedThe German Armed Forces’ WTD 61 conducts a wide
range of flight test activities on behalf of the Federal
Ministry of Defence. Peter ten Berg reports from
Manching in Bavaria.rangeofflighttestactivitiesonbehalfoftheFederal
TheGermanArmedForces’WTD 61 conductsawide
rangeofflighttestactivitiesonbehalfoftheFederalMagicians
facilities. However, Eurofighter company test
flying is independent of WTD 61 and is
carried out by Airbus test pilots.Facilities &
equipment
The Manching site is immense andcan be found a special restrictedMagicians
Ma nchi ng
F
Above: Withdrawn from fl ight operations some years ago, the specially marked Tornado
IDS 45+03 (GS156) is now used as an instructional airframe to train maintenance personnel
at WTD 61’s Berufsausbildung centre. Peter ten Berg Below: The WTD 61 test fl eet
encompasses the spectrum of the Bundeswehr’s fl ying assets, from the
Luftwaffe’s EF2000 to the army’s Tiger UHT. Eurofi ghter 98+07 is IPA 7
(GAS029), which was used for Taurus standoff missile trials and remains
at Manching with the manufacturer, while Tiger 98+17 (UHT13) has
since joined an operational unit as 74+13. Dr Stefan Petersen94 // MAY 2018 #362 http://www.airforcesmonthly.comFlight test focus