Photo and text by Ugo Vicenzi
Junkers Aircraft marked a new chapter in its expansion on July 15th with the official opening of its Venezia Lido office, dedicated to the sales and support of the company’s A50 Junior replicas. The company is owned by Dieter Morszeck, CEO, and Dominik Kälin, Managing Director—two figures well known in both aviation and business circles. Morszeck, founder of the premium luggage brand Rimowa, made his name producing lightweight suitcases with a distinctive corrugated aluminum design inspired by Junkers fuselages. After selling Rimowa to Bernard Arnault’s LVMH group, he purchased the Junkers brand and launched a new aviation venture. Kälin, owner of Kalinin Aero Structures, brought his expertise in the design and maintenance of aeronautical structures. His company earned a reputation among vintage aircraft enthusiasts by producing replacement parts for the Swiss Super Constellation.
Today, Junkers Aircraft manufactures replicas of the A50, A60, and F 13 at Kalinin Aero’s facilities. The airframes are faithful recreations of the originals, updated with modern instrumentation and engines due to the scarcity of period powerplants. The A50 Junior is powered by a Rotax 912iS, while the F 13 uses a Pratt & Whitney Wasp radial. Although most original F 13s were fitted with inline six-cylinder engines, some were delivered with Pratt & Whitney Hornet or Gnome radials—making the Wasp a historically fitting substitute. Each aircraft is hand-built using more than 1,000 machined parts and over 10,000 rivets. In 2015, Morszeck personally presented a flying F 13 replica at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. In 2025, Junkers Aircraft launched a 14,000 km promotional tour across Europe. The Venezia Lido stop not only formed part of this campaign but also marked the opening of the company’s Italian office, located in a restored building that once housed an Esso refueling station.
Nicelli Airport, on the island of Lido, is Venice’s historic airfield, renowned for its beautifully restored Art Deco terminal—the only one of its kind to survive World War II. Opened in 1911, the airport served military and later civil flights until the 1950s, when airline operations shifted to Treviso and then to the newly built Tessera Airport on the mainland. For decades, Officine Aeronavali operated at Nicelli, converting surplus C-47 and C-46 transports for airline use before relocating to Tessera. Nicelli then became home primarily to Aeroclub activities, regaining prestige after the terminal’s restoration.
The connection between Junkers and Venezia Lido runs deep. The German manufacturer was instrumental in the creation of the Società Anonima di Navigazione Aerea Transadriatica (later simply Transadriatica), first based in Ancona and later at Venezia Lido. Beginning in 1926, the airline operated Junkers F 13s on routes linking Venice with Vienna via Klagenfurt and Graz, in cooperation with Austrian carrier ÖLAG. Services later expanded to Munich and Rome in partnership with Deutsche Lufthansa.
This historical legacy lent special significance to the Lido stop, which was distinct from yet timed to coincide with the A50 Junior Tour. Guests of honor included pilot Claus Cordes and his A50 Junior, showcased alongside three F 13 replicas to create a living link to the past. Following test flights, the event culminated in an impressive formation display over the lagoon. The most striking moment came when a Junkers A50 Junior was placed aboard a barge and floated along the Grand Canal, passing in front of the iconic Piazza San Marco—a fitting tribute to both Venice and the pioneering spirit of Junkers.
