Participant lists of the famous "Rhönwettbewerbe" (gliding competitions on the "Wasserkuppe") prove that the Rhönsperber is the first choice from 1935 through 1937. Many world records and spectacular cross country flights were achieved in this type of glider: 1936 Heini Dittmar traverses the Alps in a Rhönsperber from north to south for the first time in a glider landing in Italy. 1937 Paul Steinig climbs to 18893 ft (5760 m) with his Rhönsperber - world record! Not really amazing that "Flugzeugbau Karl Schweyer" in Ludwigshafen mass produces about 100 Rhönsperber.

Most striking design details of the Rhönsperber are its gull wing and the drop shaped canopy. Both features clearly improve pilot visibility and gliding safety. Even until today the Rhönsperber is one of the very few gliders that allow you to watch the glider's tail from the cockpit because the whole canopy is located above the fuselage.

The very first glider equipped with air brakes is - yes, you guessed right - the Rhönsperber. This new type of control element can be extended from the upper and lower wing surface. It dramatically improves cloud flying safety because now the pilot just needs to deploy the air brakes if he looses control in the violent turbulence of a thunderstorm cloud. Air brakes keep the air speed below the maximum avoiding structural overstressing which might result in the glider breaking apart. Another very positive side effect of air brakes is the fact that you can control the glider's sink speed in a wide range. Now it's much easier to land in short fields.

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⁽¹⁾ What differentiates a glider from a blimp is the fact that it's heavier than air. Therefore it unavoidably sinks towards the ground. So why can gliders weighing up to 850 kg (1890 lbs) stay aloft for so many hours? The answer: If the air mass surrounding the glider rises faster than the glider sinks within the very same air mass then the glider will - relative to the ground - gain altitude. There are four different types of lift:

• Ridge   Horizontal surface wind is being deflected upwards in front of a mountain. Otto Lilienthal utilized slope lift at the end of the 19th century.
• Wave   Behind a mountain range the air mass oscillates. Where the air flow goes up a glider can gain altitude. Wave lift has been used exclusively for the current world distance record of unbelievable 3008 km (!!!) - that's more than 1869 miles - between sunrise and sunset.
• Thermal   The sun heats the ground unevenly: Just imagine a black seal coated parking lot right next to a lake. The air mass above the parking lot will get warmer that the air above the lake. Eventually a warm air bubble forms above the parking lot which will at some point in time leave the ground rising upwards like a hot air balloon. Gliders will circle within this air bubble gaining altitude.
• Polar Vortex   This type of lift has been discovered not too long ago. The "Perlan Project" tries to break the current world altitude record of 49.000 ft using this type of lift.

Not really a type of lift but another way to stay aloft in a glider is dynamic soaring. It is used in perfection by albatross birds on their long flights across the oceans in order to save energy. Dynamic soaring only works if there is a very strong wind shear. The four time world champion Ingo Renner demonstrated that it also can be used in a glider. However constantly changing high gravity forces ("G loads") can be very stressful and sickish.

⁽²⁾ The glide ratio will tell you how "well" a glider glides in calm air. For example: If the glide ratio is 40 then each foot of altitude loss is "converted" into 40 feet of forward movement. The glide ratios of the Rhönsperber and the Airbus A320 (all engines shut down) are about the same and range around 20. However: Those best glide ratios are achieved at completely different air speeds. Currently the worlds best performing glider is the eta. It reaches a glide ratio above 70.

06.08.2005