The Göppingen Gö 3 ''Minimoa'' is a single-seat
sailplane
A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the leisure activity and sport of gliding (also called soaring). This unpowered aircraft can use naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to gain altitude. Sailplan ...
produced in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. It was designed by
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 ...
and
Wolf Hirth
Wolfram Kurt Erhard Hirth (28 February 1900 – 25 July 1959) was a German gliding pioneer and sailplane designer. He was a co-founder of Schempp-Hirth, still a renowned glider manufacturer.Segelflugbildkalendar 2011
Hirth was born in Stuttgart, ...
and was produced the year after their first glider, 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 ...
. It first flew in 1935. The name is derived from the name
Moazagotl given to
lenticularis clouds caused by the
foehn wind
A Foehn or Föhn (, , ), is a type of dry, relatively warm, downslope wind that occurs in the lee (downwind side) of a mountain range.
It is a rain shadow wind that results from the subsequent adiabatic warming of air that has dropped most of ...
in
Sudetenland
The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and sk, Sudety) is the historical German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the ...
. The name was used for one of Hirth's earlier gliders and since the Gö 3 was a smaller version, it was called 'Mini' as a diminutive.
It established several records, including the world altitude record of 6,687 m (21,939 ft) in 1938 in a thunderstorm.
Richard du Pont and Chet Decker flew Minimoas to win the US Championships in 1937 and 1938.
It was made out of wood and fabric with cantilevered 'gull' wings. A B-version in 1938 had thinner wings with a modified section and the gull's kink in a different place. The undercarriage was non-retractable. It was the first glider built to carry water-ballast in a tank behind the pilot.
Only five Minimoas remain airworthy: two in Germany, one in Japan, one replica built in the Netherlands and the latest one to fly in the U.K. One more is being prepared for flight in Bacchus Marsh Australia.
A 1935 Minimoa is on display at the National Soaring Museum in Elmira, NY (USA). The only known Minimoa still in private ownership in the USA is a 1938 owned by Jerry Wenger in Powell, WY (USA).
Specifications (Gö 3)
See also
External links
Sailplane directory- Minimoa CC-PIA preserved at
Museo Nacional Aeronáutico y del Espacio de Chile
National Soaring Museum- Goppingen 3 Minimoa on display at the National Soaring Museum in Elmira, NY, U.S.A.
- History and photos of the Minimoa at Scalesoaring.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goppingen Go 3
1930s German sailplanes
Schempp-Hirth aircraft
Gull-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1935