THE SIGHT & THE SOUND : Flight onboard AEROM AN-72 ER-AFZ from Cochstedt (CSO) to Cochstedt (CSO)

THE SIGHT & THE SOUND : Flight onboard AEROM AN-72 ER-AFZ from Cochstedt (CSO) to Cochstedt (CSO)

Daniel’s Travel Vlog

It came to my attention that a Moldovan AN-72 operated by AEROM – Aeroportul Internațional Mărculești was operating Skydiving flights during the summer season at the Airfield of Cochstedt, close to Magdeburg in Saxony-Anhalt.

Together with a good friend of mine and a passionate Avgeek we decided to try our luck to meet the Star of the day, ER-AFZ, an 1988 built AN-72.

We were about to witness a spectacular event of Skydiving, hosted by the Mitteldeutsches Fallschirmsprungzentrum e. V.

After pulling a few strings we were invited onboard one flight on the Flight Deck, piloted by Stepan, Julia and Mihail against a very modest fee of 50 EUR.

Since we were not the only “Av-geek applicants” in line, we needed to move swiftly and quietly to get on board quickly and unnoticed.

Off we went and this flight was nothing short of spectacular.

A steep take off and steep bankings put my stomach’s stress resistance to the test.

It was not for long, as the plane emptied one by one as one brave Skydiver after the other decided not to witness the landing on board and to try their luck on their own.

Shortly thereafter ER-AFZ turned downwards and in a steep downfall we finally touched ground after seconds.

All in all this flight was 17 minutes short and I craved for more.

Yet, the waiting list for the Flight Deck was far too long by now, so we would call it a day.

Join with me this spectacular flight in the heart of Germany in yet another video of the “Sights & Sounds of Aviation”.

Thank you for watching my channel.

History of Antonov AN-72 ER-AFZ

Serial number 36572070698 was manufactured 1988 and was delivered to the Soviet Air Force as CCCP-72933 on December 28, 1988, and transferred in 1994 as ER-72933 to the Moldovan Air Force

Vichi Air Company, an asset of the Moldavan Air Force, used the aircraft as ER-AFZ from 2000 to 2003

In September, 2003 ER-AFZ was returned to the Air Force as 72933, but from March 2004 72933 was returned to civil ownership with Aeroportul Internațional Mărculești.

Aeroportul Internațional Mărculești – with links to the Military – lost its AOC in 2007.

ER-AFZ is reported active and her current owner and operator are unknown.

Flight details

Flight : AIM #3
Date : Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Aircraft : AN-72
Registration : ER-AFZ
Built : 1988
From : Cochstedt (CSO)
To : Cochstedt (CSO)
Take off : 15.02 h (1302 Z)
Touch down : 15.19 h (1319 Z)
Duration flight time : 17 minutes
Flying Distance : 67,5 nM / 125 km
Altitude : 5.000 m
Flight Captain : Stepan
First Officer : Julian
Flight Engineer : Mihail