Me 262 Pilot Talks About Flying the German Fighter Jet

I was lucky to run into Geri "K12" Krähenbühl at RIAT23. He flies the Me 262 for Airbus Heritage/ Messerschmitt Foundation and was happy to be interviewed about his experience flying this aircraft at air shows. Big thank you to the community supporters for their support - and Geri, Airbus and the Messerschmitt Foundation for facilitating this interview.

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Geri "K12" Krähenbühl

Me 262 on Thumbnail by Noop1958 (Wikicommons)

- Timecodes -
00:00 - Me 262
00:37 - Pilot: Geri "K12" Krähenbühl
00:54 - What is is like flying an Me 262?
02:09 - How different is it to a piston engine aircraft?
02:33 - What surprised you most about flying the Me 262?
03:14 - What would you change on the Me 262?
03:29 - Different engine: which one?
04:38 - What did you fly from Germany to the UK?
05:40 - Meeting Spitfires over the coast
06:08 - Inside the Cockpit footage

- Audio -
Music and Sfx from Epidemic Sound

[peterstickney]

Back in the late 1980s I was part of a project to obtain one of the Czech-built Me 262s (Avia S-92) and restore it to flight. (The Warsaw Pact was crumbling, and such things were becoming possible) We were going with the same tact as these new-build 262s (Can't really call them replicas), replacing the Jumo 004s with GE CJ610s. My role was performance prediction and flying qualities prediction. It's great to hear from Mr. Kraehenbul not only how much he enjoys flying the airplane, but how close my predictions, from the days when Computers were stupid, and so Engineers made up for it with sweat, coffee, and lots of paper, were to what he's describing.

[chartreux]

At first i thought "Wow, there is still a ME 262 Pilot who's alive AND flying it nowadays? Of course thinking of a WW2 Vet.
That said, hearing from a WW2 Veteran and ME 262 Pilot as well as someone who isn't a WW2 Vet BUT flies these nowadays and has Experience to share are both valueable and fantastic!
Prost & Cheers from Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps

[toby]

I find it hard to believe an ME 262 is actually flying. Well done to all those who worked on this project.

[tigertimon]

It really made him happy to recount a memory from his time in the Swiss AF. Could see it on his face!

[tsegulin]

He is one heck of a privileged pilot and he realizes that!

[insideoutsideupsidedown]

Finally someone who flys this planes knows it was built for the interceptor role, not designed as a dogfighter.

[cannonfodder]

Some great footage and intelligent questions and answers. I love how articulate and excited he is to describe the honor of flying such a unique aircraft and to recount tales of his time in the Swiss A.F.

[MissKay]

That's very cool to learn about him flying it and the challenges faced. Meeting up with the other aircraft was probably an amazing sight to see

[nocloo]

What a great opportunity to get a pilot for a few questions! Thanks to "K12" and to you & your team!

[khrystree]

Me262 even now an astonishing design 😯 Germans were so far ahead .

[frankbarnwell____]

Geri, Chris. Guys thanks more than I can ever say. Awesome

[grizwoldphantasia]

Those last shots coming in to land, it was interesting seeing the slats moving in and out. I'll have to go back and watch your previous videos on the Me-262 again.

[happyhome]

MARVELOUS episode. Well done. Thank you.

[mohabatkhanmalak]

Beautifull aircraft, love the Me-262. ✈

[sva]

Such an elegant airplane. One of my all time favorites. Great video! Interesting to hear the experiences of the pilot.

[monstrok]

When I worked at the Me262 Project at Paine Field (where this a/c was completed), I came to know their test pilot, Wolf Czaia. He provided lots of insight into this aircraft's flight characteristics and quirks. Most notable where the very high stick forces for longitudinal (aileron) control at high speeds which would lighten considerably when the stick reached the end of its travel in either direction. Reminded me of drawing back on a compound bow.

[erikhalvorseth]

Die Schwalbe is such a beautiful looking aeroplane,
arguably my aesthetical favorite

[NekarionSeelenweise]

it's always nice to see when such historical vehicles are functional, even if it requires a bit modern help, and enable us to get first hand experience reports. especially when they're such rare & iconic ones as the 262.

[angusalba]

I think many are missing what this a/c is

It’s a MODERN copy of a 262 with MODERN engines

It’s one of the batch that were started in Tx and finished up at Paine Field.

There was an original with original engines being restored by Paul Allen but I have not seen an update on that program for a while (when his sister didn’t follow his wishes to fund the museum)

[bigboi]

What a trip to have a 262 pull up into formation with you in flight. I wish there was video of that.