Hardly anyone knows that the Speyer airport is one of the oldest aerodromes in Germany. As early as 1912, a Rumpler Taube aircraft landed on the meadows near the Rhine! The Taube was one of the most successful motor-powered aeroplanes prior to World War I.
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Landing of a Rumplertaube in Speyer 1912
| | | | | Considering that the first motor-powered flight was accomplished by the Wright brothers in 1903 and that innovations from America did not cross the Atlantic quite as fast then as they do today, Speyer was in those days a very progressive place. In 1913, the Pfalz-Flugzeugwerke aircraft factory was established next to the aerodrome, which makes Speyer one of the oldest aviation technology sites in Germany. To commemorate this fact, the former DASA facility has now resumed its historic company name. | 
First hall of Pfalz-Flugzeugwerke, 1914
| | | | During the First World War, the aircraft plant was the largest employer in Speyer. Following the armistice in November 1918, all motor-powered flight activities were at first prohibited in Germany, which boosted the development and popularity of gliding, and the victors closed down the aircraft factory.
In 1937, the Speyer company was re-established under the name of “Saar-Pfalz-Flugzeugwerke”. Then history repeated itself: the plant, considered as a major armaments factory, was closed down at the end of World War II, and aviation of any kind was again prohibited for a considerable time.
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Damaged hall of Pfalz-Flugzeugwerke, 1919
| | | | | In 1950, however, some enthusiasts from Speyer and the surrounding area got together to establish a recreational aviation club, the “Flugsportverein Speyer e. V”. The restrictions on flying were finally lifted in 1955. | 
FSV Speyer with a flying wing at Brezelfestumzug, ca. 1956
| | | | | In 1956, the aircraft factory was also reopened as a part of Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugbau GmbH. Due to continuous restructuring within the German aviation industry, the facility changed hands several times. After Heinkel, it was taken over by VFW-Fokker, MBB and DASA. It has now become a largely independent corporate entity once more. | 
Workers on an U.S. Army-aircraft, 1958
| | | | | At the same time, the aerodrome was continuously extended and modernised under the company’s direction. In 1971, a bitumen runway and paved taxiways were built, which were extended to their present size in 1986. Direct international flights starting from Speyer airport have been permissible since the 1970s. | 
Hall 15 with flight station and check in on grass, 1978/79
| | | | Since the late 1980s, the Speyer aerodrome has served more than 20 companies as a base for their business travel.
A completely new situation arose with the announcement by DASA that it no longer needed the aerodrome and wanted to close down air traffic in Speyer. Then the state government of Rhineland-Palatinate and the municipal council of Speyer approved plans to purchase the commercial airport in 1994. Before the end of that year, the FSG real estate company and the FSL operating company were established and the purchase contract was signed. | 
Aircrafts during a Formula 1 Race at Flugplatz Speyer, 1985
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Publishing of the pictures with friendly authorisation of:
Picture [1]-[3]: Stadtarchiv Speyer
Picture [4]: Friedbert Vögeli
Picture [5]: Peter Seelinger
Picture [6],[7]: Leo Wittemer
Copyright by the persons named above.
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