Schempp-Hirth Flugzeugbau GmbH is a

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 ...

manufacturer based in Kirchheim unter Teck, Germany.

History

Martin Schempp Introduction Martin Schempp (23 March 1905 - 9 July 1984) was a glider pilot and founder of Schempp-Hirth, a major manufacturer of gliders. First years Martin Schempp was born in Stuttgart. After completing his commercial education, he helped out ...

founded his own company in Göppingen in 1935, with the assistance of Wolf Hirth. The company was initially called "Sportflugzeugbau Göppingen Martin Schempp". In 1938, Wolf Hirth, mainly responsible for the design work, officially became a partner in the company, which then became "Sportflugzeugbau Schempp-Hirth". The company relocated to Kirchheim unter Teck the same year. The company's first product was the

Göppingen Gö 1 The Göppingen Gö 1 Wolf was a single-seat glider produced in Germany from 1935. Design and development Conceived as a rival to the Grunau Baby, it was the first product of the newly formed Sportflugzeugbau Göppingen Martin Schempp firm. It ...

''Wolf'' glider, conceived as a rival to the ubiquitous Grunau Baby, but real success came with the

Göppingen Gö 3 The Göppingen Gö 3 ''Minimoa'' is a single-seat sailplane produced in Germany. It was designed by Martin Schempp and Wolf Hirth and was produced the year after their first glider, the Göppingen Gö 1. It first flew in 1935. The name is deriv ...

''Minimoa'' the same year. During World War II, the company built

DFS Habicht The DFS ''Habicht'' (German: "Hawk") is an unlimited aerobatic sailplane that was designed in 1936 by Hans Jacobs with support provided by the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug. Four planes were made available for the Olympic Games of 19 ...

training gliders, as well as tailplane assemblies for the

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

. The company also built a research aircraft, the

Göppingen Gö 9 The Göppingen Gö 9 was a German research aircraft built to investigate the practicalities of powering a plane using a pusher propeller located far from the engine and turned by a long driveshaft. Design and development In 1937, Claudius Dor ...

to investigate Claude Dornier's rear-mounted " pusher" propeller plans. With its cruciform tail, this aircraft was to be a stepping-stone towards the revolutionary

Dornier Do 335 The Dornier Do 335 ''Pfeil'' ("Arrow") was a heavy fighter built by Dornier for Germany during World War II. The two-seater trainer version was called ''Ameisenbär'' ("anteater"). The ''Pfeil''s performance was predicted to be better than other ...

''Pfeil''. After the war, forbidden by the allied occupation from building aircraft, the company manufactured beds, wheelbarrows, radio cabinets, and other furniture. In 1951, the prohibitions were lifted and the company returned to sailplane building. Wolf Hirth died in 1959 but it was not until 1964 that Martin Schempp found a new designer:

Klaus Holighaus __NOTOC__ Klaus Holighaus (14 July 1940 – 9 August 1994) was a glider designer, glider pilot and entrepreneur.

who had just graduated from

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

Technical University, where he was a member of its

Akaflieg Akaflieg is an abbreviation for ''Akademische Fliegergruppe'', groups of aeronautical engineering students from individual German Technical Universities, pre and postwar, who design aircraft, often gliders. History Otto Lilienthal published his bo ...

. Holighaus was also an excellent pilot and became a regular member of the German gliding team. Additional technical expertise was recruited in 1970 and Holighaus became Chief Executive in 1972. From 1977 Holighaus was the sole owner of the business. After Holighaus's death in a gliding accident in 1994, control of the company passed to his widow and sons, all of whom are keen glider pilots. It employs about 100 people, and is currently managed by Tilo Holighaus and Brigitte Holighaus. The company has often sub-contracted work, and has issued licences for other companies to build its designs.

Aircraft produced

Schempp-Hirth aircraft include: *

''Wolf'' sailplane, 1935 *

Göppingen Gö 2 Göppingen ( Swabian: ''Geppenge'' or ''Gebbenga'') is a town in southern Germany, part of the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg. It is the capital of the district Göppingen. Göppingen is home to the toy company Märklin, and it is the ...

improved Grunau 8, 1935 *

''Minimoa'' sailplane, 1936 *

Göppingen Gö 4 The Göppingen Gö 4 or Goevier is a German sailplane of the late 1930s used for training pilots. Its most notable features include side-by-side seating and dual controls, making the plane ideal for use as a trainer. It boasted average performan ...

two-seat sailplane, 1938 *

Göppingen Gö 5 Göppingen ( Swabian: ''Geppenge'' or ''Gebbenga'') is a town in southern Germany, part of the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg. It is the capital of the district Göppingen. Göppingen is home to the toy company Märklin, and it is the ...

Hütter H 17 sailplane, 1938 *

Göppingen Gö 6 Göppingen ( Swabian: ''Geppenge'' or ''Gebbenga'') is a town in southern Germany, part of the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg. It is the capital of the district Göppingen. Göppingen is home to the toy company Märklin, and it is the ...

''Minimoa Mo 2a'' two-seat sailplane, 1937 *

Göppingen Gö 7 Göppingen ( Swabian: ''Geppenge'' or ''Gebbenga'') is a town in southern Germany, part of the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg. It is the capital of the district Göppingen. Göppingen is home to the toy company Märklin, and it is the ...

two-seat sport aeroplane (not built) *

Göppingen Gö 8 The Göppingen Gö 8 was a 1/5 scale model of the Dornier Do 214, a large projected trans-atlantic long-range flying boat, designed by Dornier Werke GmbH in Germany during World War II. The Gö 8 was used primarily to validate the hydro-dynamic ...

scale model test airframe for

Dornier Do 214 The Dornier Do 214 was a proposed large long-range flying boat, developed by Dornier in World War II. Development Originally designed as the Do P.93 for passenger transatlantic service from Lisbon to New York, the Do 214 was redesigned as t ...

, 1939 *

development aircraft for

''Pfeil'', 1941 *

Standard Austria The Standard Austria was a single-seat aerobatic glider that was originally designed and built in Austria from 1959 but production was moved in 1962 to Schempp-Hirth in Germany. Development Commissioned by the ''Österreichischer Aeroclub'' � ...

Schempp-Hirth SHK The Schempp-Hirth SHK Open Class glider was developed in Germany by Schempp-Hirth. It was based on the 1964 version of the Standard Austria, known as the SH. The Austria was originally a single-seat aerobatic glider that had been designed and ...

* Cirrus *

Standard Cirrus The Standard Cirrus is a German Standard-class glider built by Schempp-Hirth. The Standard Cirrus was produced between 1969 and 1985, when it was replaced by the Discus. Over 800 examples were built, making it one of the most successful earl ...

* Discus * Discus-2 * Ventus * Ventus-2 * Ventus 3 * Nimbus * Nimbus-2 * Nimbus-3 * Nimbus-4 * Mini-Nimbus *

Janus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; la, Ianvs ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Janu ...

* Duo Discus *

Arcus Arcus may refer to: Businesses and organizations *ARCUS, the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States, supporting Arctic policy in the U.S. *Arcus AS, a Norwegian producer of liquor * Arcus Co., a Bulgarian firearm manufacturer *Arcus Fou ...

Quintus Quintus is a male given name derived from '' Quintus'', a common Latin forename (''praenomen'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Quintus derives from Latin word ''quintus'', meaning "fifth". Quintus is an English masculine given name and ...

References

*''Segelflugzeuge vom Wolf zum Discus'', Peter F Selinger, Motor Buch Verlag 1989

External links

Schempp-Hirth company website
{{Authority control Aircraft manufacturers of Germany Glider manufacturers