Page 77 - Combat Aircraft (January 2020)

each year and the high rate of ying
accidents involving the F-104G. ‘Of
course, it moved us,’ he says. ‘But we
got over it and learned — and the
next day we carried on. We trusted the
system and the materiel, and there
was a tremendous team spirit in the
squadron, both when we were on duty
and afterwards!’
That particular team spirit was a
decisive factor for his son in deciding
to become a ghter pilot. Philipp says,
‘I attended school in Wittmund and
experienced the great camaraderie of
the members of the ‘Richthofen’ wing.
That was what I wanted: to become part
of this team.’
Now, Philipp Schelchshorn proudly
wears a ‘Steinho ’ patch on his shoulder,
while having also enjoyed a special
relationship with the ‘Richthofen’
wing. ‘I wanted to become a weapons
instructor on the Euro ghter,’ he says.
It’s an ambition he has achieved,
having graduated in October 2019 as
a proud member of ‘Team Steinho ’
— thus writing another chapter in this Left:
remarkable two-generation story of Helmut
Luftwa e history. Schelchshorn
fl ew the Alpha
Jet in order to
maintain currency
as a fast jet pilot
and between 1998
and 2001 he was
the commander
of Taktisches
Luftwaffen-
Ausbildungs-
kommando
(Tactical Training
Command of the
German Air Force
in Canada) at
I attended Goose Bay.
Right top to
school in bottom:
During an
Wittmund and orientation
fl ight in Poland,
Hauptmann
experienced the Philipp
Schelchshorn
great camaraderie of fl ew in a
MiG-29. Some
the members of the of these very
aircraft formerly
served with the
‘Richthofen’ wing ‘Steinhoff’ wing at
Laage.
Hauptmann Philipp Schelchshorn Eurofi ghters of
TaktLwG 73 during
the Weapons
Instructor Course
carrying GBU-48
bombs, IRIS-T
missiles and a
Litening III laser
designator pod
(LDP) under the
fuselage.

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