Germany POI V - Castles and Bridges

This is our fifth flight to see the new POI in Germany.

We depart from Michelstadt (EDFO), head north to the bustling Frankfurt Metropolitan Region, and land at Egelsbach (EDFE), Germany's busiest General Aviation Airport. We'll then take a sightseeing tour over Frankfurt, admiring its many iconic landmarks. Our first stop will be at Reichelsheim (EDFB). Leaving Reichelsheim we track northwest and land at Lutzellinden (EDFL). Then we continue and visit the Wilhelmsturm. Between 1872 and 1875, the Wilhelm Tower was built on the former upper castle courtyard. This tower was intended to erect a lasting monument to William I of Orange, who was born here in 1533. A modern critic described the tower as a “mixture of romantic functionalism with a monumental architectural idea”. We land at Breitscheid (EDGB) and continue straight west to overfly my neck of the woods. WP1 marks my house.

Continuing west we reach Castle Drachenburg, a private villa styled as a palace and constructed in the late 19th century. It was completed in only two years (1882–84) on the Drachenfels hill in Königswinter. Baron Stephan von Sarter (1833–1902), a broker and banker, planned to live there but never did. The State Foundation of North Rhine-Westphalia owns the villa. An intermediate station serves it on the Drachenfels Railway. We land at Bonn-Hangelar (EDKB), just a few miles north. After departure, we will cross the River Rhine and overfly two castles forming a historical building complex, Castle Falkenlust and Castle Augustusburg. The spacious gardens and trees of the Schlosspark connect the buildings. Built in the early 18th century, the palaces and adjoining gardens are considered masterpieces of early rococo architecture and have been listed as a UNESCO cultural World Heritage Site since 1984. Augustusburg Palace (German: Schloss Augustusburg) and its parks also serve as a venue for the Brühl Palace Concerts.

We head back to the River Rhine and inspect five bridges before landing at Leverkusen (EDKL). About 2 miles north is the Leverkusen Water Tower. It is a landmark visible from afar, and a symbol of the city. The two separate storage chambers have a total capacity of 4000 m³. Since its completion, Leverkusen's tallest building open to the public at 72.45 meters with a tank diameter of 42 meters has also served as a viewing platform.

We turn east again and reach the Altenberg Cathedral, the former abbey church of Altenberg Abbey which was built in 1259 in Gothic style by Cistercians. Badly damaged after the monastery was dissolved in 1803 due to the secularisation of Germany, the church was rebuilt with support from Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia, who decreed in 1857 that it was to serve as a parish church simultaneously for a Catholic and a Protestant parish. The German name has sometimes been translated to English as Altenberg Cathedral, but it was never a cathedral, a bishop's seat. About 6 miles north we inspect the Muengsten Bridge, the highest railway bridge in Germany. The bridge is 107 meters (351 ft) high and spans the valley of the river Wupper, connecting the cities of Remscheid and Solingen. Originally the bridge was named Kaiser-Wilhelm-Brücke (Emperor Wilhelm Bridge) to honor Emperor Wilhelm I. After the end of the monarchy, the bridge was renamed after the nearby settlement of Müngsten, which is close to the city limits of Solingen, Remscheid, and Wuppertal. The settlement no longer exists, so Müngsten is simply a landmark.

We head east again and reach Meinerzhagen (EDKZ). We cross the low mountain range called the Rothhaar Mountains and land at Allendorf (EDFQ). After departure, we cross the National Park Kellersee with Lake Eder and the Dam. The Edersee Dam is a hydroelectric dam spanning the Eder River. It was constructed between 1908 and 1914, and today generates hydroelectric power and regulates water levels for shipping on the Weser River. At low water, in the late summers of dry years, the remnants of three villages (Asel, Bringhausen, and Berich) and a bridge across the original riverbed submerged when the lake was filled in 1914 can be seen. The descendants of those buried there go to visit the graves of their ancestors.

We continue and finish the flight at Kassel-Calden (EDVK). This is a minor international airport serving the German city of Kassel in the state of Hesse and is mainly used for business and general aviation. There is also a flight school, an ultralight flying school, and a parachuting school based on the site. The new airport opened in 2013 and has faced many problems ever since. In 2024, Sundair announced it would withdraw the sole aircraft which it had based in Kassel since 2017. This led to the loss of most seasonal scheduled routes and sparked further controversy regarding the lackluster utilization of the airport. Shortly after, Corendon Airlines also announced it will no longer serve Kassel in 2025.

The flight has a length of 260 miles and 8 landings. Any GA plane is suitable for this flight. I will be in the A2A Comanche. Please fly what you like.

The flight plans are here.

Recommended scenery:

EDFO: https://flightsim.to/file/5504/edfo-airfield-michelstadt-germany

EDFE: https://flightsim.to/file/65718/frankfurt-egelsbach-airfield-edfe-enhancement

EDFB: https://flightsim.to/file/13416/edfb-reichelsheim-qre

EDFL: https://flightsim.to/file/10000/edfl-giessen-luetzellinden-light

EDGB: https://flightsim.to/file/24367/flugplatz-breitscheid-edgb-lite-v0-9

EDKB: https://flightsim.to/file/86039/edkb-bonn-hangelar  

EDKL: https://flightsim.to/file/16548/edkl-flugplatz-leverkusen

EDKZ: https://flightsim.to/file/25796/edkz-flugplatz-meinerzhagen

EDFQ: https://flightsim.to/file/45854/edfq-allendorf-eder

EDVK: https://flightsim.to/file/2250/airport-kassel-edvk

The complete package is here.

The scenery for Bonn-Hangelar (EDKB) is big (1 GB) and includes a configurator that needs to be run individually. The Frankfurt and the larger Cologne area are Photogrammetry and are heavy on the system (at least on mine…).

We try real weather. Let’s depart at 11:00 local.

Multiplayer Particulars
Date and time: Saturday, December 28, 2024. 1900 UTC
RTWR Multiplayer Discord Channel
Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: United States East server.

If you want to help others enjoy the multiplayer experience, don't forget to enter your aircraft details on the multiplayer spreadsheet (linked here). Please be kind enough to enter the title exactly as it stands in the title=”xxx” line of the aircraft.cfg file. Your courtesy will save others a lot of time and effort. Thanks!