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English Translation Available
A printout of the complete English translation is available for only $14.95 (printing costs).  The translation printout is 174 pages and includes page number references to the pages in the 75th anniversary edition of the book.  All photo captions and tables are also translated.  The copy is professionally printed and bound with a spiral binder and plastic covers.  You can select the English Translation as an option when ordering.

Overview
This book offers a comprehensive look behind the scene into the exciting and varied history of the Schleicher Aircraft Company, from the craftsmen's initial modest workshop to the current manufacturing facility, which is located just a short distance below Germany’s famous Wasserkuppe hill, known all over the world as the “Cradle of Soaring”.

It gives a deep insight into the rapid technical development of the sailplane, from the simple open seated braced glider built with wood, fabric and cables back in 1927, and then the elegant all-wood soaring ships, the various two seat trainers and the high performance sailplanes, some built with wood and fabric, others with fabric covered steel tubes, and finally the current fiber-reinforced plastic shell super sailplanes and their world wide successes in competition and record flights, right up to the year 2003, and...  the story of the dedicated people who design and build these man-made birds, explore their scientific basis and offer their findings and creations to the worlds soaring pilots, to enable them to experience the fascinating thrill and adventure of silent flight powered solely by the energy of the sun.

Inside the Dust Cover Front Flap (English Translation of original German text)
75 Years Alexander Schleicher Segelflugzeugbau, covers the period from 1927 to 2002, two thirds of aviation history and a period of incredible technologic advances that began with Otto Lilienthal.
During these 75 years the Schleicher factory at Poppenhausen, below the Wasserkuppe Hill in the Rhön mountains near Fulda, Germany, built some 8.500 gliders and sailplanes. Who could foresee such a success during the world depression in the early 1930’ies and the extremely difficult period following the devastations of WWII?

This book describes the technical development of the sailplanes that were designed and manufactured in Poppenhausen. It offers a candied study of the human individuals behind all those inventions and it touches upon the performances achieved world wide by soaring pilots flying these “HighTech” sporting-devices known as sailplanes. Creative designers succeeded in applying the use of fiber reinforced plastic structures for load carrying parts in various industrial products and especially in aircraft with encouraging results. This eventually replaced the use of standard materials such as natural fiber wooden materials and fabric covering for most of the sailplanes’ surfaces.

Sailplane manufacturers such as Schleicher established and maintained close cooperation with the Akademische Fliegergruppen (Academic Flying Clubs) at German Universities that resulted in the world dominance that Germany has today in sailplanes manufacturing. The German sailplane production has proved to be the driving force in science, technology basis, innovation power source and know how, a multiplier for the application of fiber reinforced plastics (now also used by large commercial aircraft manufacturers) and the improvements and progress in aerodynamics and physics of atmosphere. Often all of the sailplanes participating international competitions are built in Germany and a substantial number of them in Poppenhausen by the 75 year old Alexander Schleicher Segelflugzeugbau.

Schleicher’s sailplanes still occupy a leading position today, and as for the future, expect to see the: “White Eagles from the Rhön” at the top of competition and record lists.

This book brings to light the names of famous aviation pioneers, also well-known outside Germany, as Alexander Lippisch, Hans Jacobs, Edmund Schneider, Heini Dittmar, Rudolf Kaiser and especially Alexander Schleicher, who founded this company and, for more than 40 years, directed it, and even saved it in the depressed region near the "iron curtain" during the difficult times after 1945. There he managed to save more than 100 jobs for his highly qualified workers. But this book also traces the enduring results of the activities of the now leadership by the Schleicher and Kremer families and the current designers Gerhard Waibel and Martin Heide and all the other employees.

“Rhön-Adler, 75 Years Alexander Schleicher Segelflugzeugbau”: It provides knowledge of the history of a highly specialized middle size company, a well recognized supplier of top performing sailplanes and an extraordinary contributor to the development and growth of the sport of soaring around the world.

Comments by Paul Remde
I am a Mechanical Engineer and glider pilot so I have always thoroughly enjoyed watching or reading documentaries on the development of airplanes and the history of airplane manufacturers.  As a glider pilot with many hours of enjoyable flight time in Schleicher gliders I find this book extremely interesting!  It includes histories of all their sailplanes and sailplane designers.  Thank you Dr. Karl Nickel and Jan Scott for making the English translation available!

Paul E. Remde

8661 Connelly Place
Savage, Minnesota 55378
USA

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