Egon Scheibe (28 September 1908 – 26 September 1997)
''

Münchner Merkur The ''Münchner Merkur'' (, literally "Munich Mercurius", i.e. the Roman god of messengers) is a German Bavarian daily subscription newspaper, which is published from Monday to Saturday. It is located in Munich and belongs to the Müncher Merkur ...

'', 26 September 2008 ttps://books.google.com/books?id=IG3Rp8NAO8EC&dq=Egon+Scheibe&pg=PA792 "Scheibe, Egon" ''Deutsche biographische Enzyklopädie'', ed.

Rudolf Vierhaus Rudolf Vierhaus (29 October 1922 – 13 November 2011) was a German historian who mainly researched the Early modern period. He had been a professor at the newly founded Ruhr University Bochum since 1964. From 1971, he was director of the in Göt ...

, vol. 8 ''Poeten – Schlüter'', 2nd ed., Munich: Saur, 2007, , p. 792 was a German aviation engineer who, among other things, developed the

Scheibe Bergfalke The Scheibe ''Bergfalke'' (German: "mountain hawk") is a German glider designed by Egon Scheibe as a post-World War II development of the Akaflieg München Mü13 produced before and during the war. Design and development The prototype flew on ...

glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...

Life and career

Egon Scheibe was born in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

on 28 September 1908, the son of a bookbinder. He studied there at the '' gymnasium'' and the

Technical University An institute of technology (also referred to as: technological university, technical university, university of technology, technological educational institute, technical college, polytechnic university or just polytechnic) is an institution of te ...

; beginning in 1928, while a student of aircraft construction, he worked on the models Mü-4 to Mü-13 of the Akaflieg München (Munich Academic Flight Group). After graduating in 1933, he worked in sport gliding until 1935. From 1935 to 1937, when he passed his master's examination in aircraft construction, he was chief of aircraft construction at the

Deutsche Versuchsanstalt für Luftfahrt The German Aerospace Center (german: Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V., abbreviated DLR, literally ''German Center for Air- and Space-flight'') is the national center for aerospace, energy and transportation research of Germany ...

(German Experimental Agency for Aeronautics, one of the predecessors of the

German Aerospace Center The German Aerospace Center (german: Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V., abbreviated DLR, literally ''German Center for Air- and Space-flight'') is the national center for aerospace, energy and transportation research of Germany ...

), working at the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

testing centre in

Rechlin Rechlin is a municipality in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany, around 100 km (60 mi) northwest of Berlin. The town's airport has a long history and was the Luftwaffe's main testing ground for new aircraft designs in Nazi Germany. ...

, then from 1938 to 1945, despite never becoming a member of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

, he worked in the Air Ministry in Berlin developing new aircraft. After World War II, he at first built bicycles, mini-cars and motorised tricycles, developed the Mü-13E Bergfalke design in

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

, then in 1951 in Dachau founded

Scheibe Flugzeugbau Scheibe Flugzeugbau was a manufacturer of sailplanes and motorgliders in Germany in the second half of the 20th century. Founded by Egon Scheibe at the Munich-Riem Airport to produce his Bergfalke design in 1951,Gunston 1993, p.270 the company ha ...

, originally in a barracks at the former

Telefunken Telefunken was a German radio and television apparatus company, founded in Berlin in 1903, as a joint venture of Siemens & Halske and the ''Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft'' (AEG) ('General electricity company'). The name "Telefunken" app ...

plant. The first Bergfalke was produced the same year, and the company also produced the Spatz single-seater. Beginning in 1957, Scheibe turned to pioneering the development of powered gliders. By his 80th birthday, Scheibe Flugzeugbau had produced some 2,200 aircraft. Scheibe continued to be actively involved in the company to an advanced age, focussing on further development of single- and two-seater powered gliders. There were usually between 50 and 60 employees. He died two days before his 89th birthday.

Work

Scheibe's 1930 work with Akaflieg was a major part of the "Munich School" of sailplane construction. He pioneered the use of steel tubing in glider construction. After the war, his Mü-13E, continuing the Akaflieg series numbering, was the first post-war high-performance German sailplane. He was one of the most important developers of motorised gliders and originated the touring motor-glider.Jochen Ewald
"Scheibe's Tugs"
, ''Gliding Magazine'' 7/2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scheibe, Egon Engineers from Munich 1908 births 1997 deaths German aerospace engineers Technical University of Munich alumni