The Wasserkuppe

The Wasserkuppe (German: "water peak") is a high plateau (elevation 950 m or 3100 ft), the highest peak in the Rhön Mountains within the German state of Hessen. Between the first and second World Wars, great advances in sailplane development were made there. Jump to: navigation, search Image File history File links Rhoen_Wasserkuppe. ... Jump to: navigation, search Image File history File links Rhoen_Wasserkuppe. ... Jump to: navigation, search In geology and earth science, a plateau (alternatively spelt in a false French spelling plâteau, the real spelling in French being plateau) is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat open country if the uplift was recent in geologic history. ... The Rhön Mountains are a group of low mountains in central Germany, located in the state of Hesse, close to its borders with Bavaria and Thuringia. ... Hesse is also the name of the German writer Hermann Hesse, as well as the German mathematician Otto Hesse. ... Jump to: navigation, search World War I was primarily a European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machineguns, and poison gas World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, the War of... Jump to: navigation, search World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atom bomb. ... Gliders are un-powered heavier-than-air aircraft. ...

Students from the nearby Darmstadt Technical University began flying gliders from the Wasserkuppe as early as 1911, but interest in gliding in Germany increased greatly after 1918 when the Treaty of Versailles restricted the production or use of powered aircraft in the nation. From 1920 onwards, annual gliding competitions were held, leading to records being set and broken for height, distance, and duration of unpowered flight. The first competition had been organised by Oskar Ursinus, who also built the first clubhouse on the Wasserkuppe in 1924 to replace the shipping containers that enthusiasts were using as accommodation up to that point. By 1930, the competition had become an international event, drawing pilots from all over Europe and even the United States. Jump to: navigation, search Gliders are heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for un-powered flight. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1911 was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... Gliding (or soaring) is a recreational activity and competitive sport where individuals fly un-powered aeroplanes known as gliders or sailplanes. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1918 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search The treaty was an International affair The Treaty of Versailles of 1919 was the peace treaty which officially ended World War I between the Allies and Germany. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1920 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events WIKIPEDIA EATS VAGINA January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ... Gliding (or soaring) is a recreational activity and competitive sport where individuals fly un-powered aeroplanes known as gliders or sailplanes. ... Carl Oskar Ursinus (March 11, 1877 - July 6, 1952) was a pioneer of German aviation and is remembered mainly for his contributions to sailplane designs and the sport of gliding. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1924 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1930 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... World map showing Europe (geographically) When considered a continent, Europe is the worlds second-smallest continent in terms of area, with an area of 10,600,000 km² (4,140,625 square miles), making it larger than Australia only. ...

Also in 1924 'Rhönvater' (Rhön father)Oskar Ursinus, convinced the then secretary of air transport for the ministery of transportation, Dr.Brandenburg to turn the new gliding club into a state funded research organization. Thus started the Rhön-Rossitten Gesellschaft and as a result, the Wasserkuppe now sported a gliding school, a glider construction warf and an all-year, funded research facility. Jump to: navigation, search 1924 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Carl Oskar Ursinus (March 11, 1877 - July 6, 1952) was a pioneer of German aviation and is remembered mainly for his contributions to sailplane designs and the sport of gliding. ... Jump to: navigation, search Founded in 1924, the Rhön-Rositten Gesellschaft (Rhön & Rositten society) became the first official organization for glider and sailplane flying, training and research. ...

Managing director of the new society became alexander Lippisch Alexander Lippisch earned his PhD in 1943 at the University of Heidelberg. ...

Virtually every German aeronautical engineer and test pilot of note during the 1920s and 30s spent time building, testing, and flying aircraft here, including the Günter brothers, Wolf Hirth, the Horten brothers, Robert Kronfeld, Hans Jacobs, Alexander Lippisch, Willy Messerschmitt, Hanna Reitsch, Peter Riedel, Alexander Schleicher and many, many others. This period saw great advances in exotic technologies such as flying wings and rocket-powered flights. 1922 Arthur Martens founded the worlds first pilot school at the Wasserkuppe. Jump to: navigation, search Siegfried and Walter Günter were twin brothers and aircraft designers. ... Wolfram Kurt Erhard Hirth (February 28, 1900 – July 25, 1959) was a German gliding pioneer and sailplane designer. ... Jump to: navigation, search Image:Horten brothers. ... Robert Kronfeld (May 5, 1904 - February 12, 1948) was an Austrian gliding champion and sailplane designer of the 1920s and 30s. ... Hans Jacobs was a German sailplane designer and pioneer. ... Alexander Lippisch earned his PhD in 1943 at the University of Heidelberg. ... Jump to: navigation, search Wilhelm Emil Messerschmitt (June 26, 1898 – September 15, 1978) (known as Willi or Willy) was a German aircraft designer and manufacturer. ... Hanna Reitsch in the Fa 61 Hanna Reitsch (March 29, 1912 - August 24, 1979) was a famous World War II German test pilot, and a favourite of the upper echelon of the Nazi party. ... Peter Riedel (August 1905 - November 6, 1998) was a German gliding champion, and was Air Attaché for the Nazi government before and during World War II. Between 1977 and 1985 he published the definitive history of the German gliding movement prior to the war. ... Alexander Schleicher (May 22, 1901 - April 26, 1968) was a German pioneer of sailplane design. ... A flying wing is a type of aircraft design with no tail, one in which the majority of the fuselage is inside a thickened wing. ... A Redstone rocket, part of the Mercury program A rocket is a vehicle, missile or aircraft which obtains thrust by the reaction to the ejection of fast moving exhaust gas from within a rocket engine. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1922 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

During the Third Reich, gliding activities became largely controlled by the state, and for Hitler Youth pilots and their instructors, proficiency in gliding was viewed as the first step towards the Luftwaffe. Sailplane research was also nationalised under the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug (DFS - German Research Institute for Sailplane Flight). Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Gliding (or soaring) is a recreational activity and competitive sport where individuals fly un-powered aeroplanes known as gliders or sailplanes. ... Jump to: navigation, search Flag of the Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (German: Hitler-Jugend, abbreviated HJ) was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party that existed from 1922 to 1945. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Luftwaffe â–¶(?) (German: air force, IPA: [luftvafÉ™]) is the commonly used term for the German air force. ... Jump to: navigation, search Gliders are heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for un-powered flight. ... The Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug, or DFS (German Research Institute for Sailplane Flight) was formed in 1933 to centralise all gliding activity in Germany. ...

Following the war, a US Army camp, radar station, and surveillance station were established there but when restrictions on German aviation were lifted in 1951, gliding soon returned to the Wasserkuppe where it has remained popular since. Beginning in the 1970s, the newer sport of hang gliding has also found a home there. Following the reunification of Germany and demise of the Soviet Union, the surveillance and radar installations were removed in the 1990s. Jump to: navigation, search US Army Seal HHC, US Army Distinctive Unit Insignia The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... Jump to: navigation, search This long range radar antenna (approximately 40m (130ft) in diameter) rotates on a track to observe activities near the horizon. ... Surveillance is close monitoring of behavior. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1951 was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Gliding (or soaring) is a recreational activity and competitive sport where individuals fly un-powered aeroplanes known as gliders or sailplanes. ... Hang gliding is one of the windsports. ...

In 1970, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first competition, the Deutsches Segelflugmuseum (German Sailplane Museum) was opened on the plateau, with Neil Armstrong a guest of honour at the ceremony. The museum gained a new building in 1987. The Wasserkuppe is also the home of the Oldtimer Segelflugclub (OSC - Oldtimer Gliding Club), dedicated (as its name suggests) to flying vintage sailplanes. Jump to: navigation, search 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Jump to: navigation, search Neil Alden Armstrong (born August 5, 1930) is a former American test pilot and astronaut who was the first man to walk on the Moon. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search Gliders are heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for un-powered flight. ...

External link

• Oldtimer Segelflugclub (in German)
• 360 degree virtual trip around the Wasserkuppe and through the hessian Rhön
• Pilot school at the Wasserkuppe (in German)
  • hourly updated Webcam picture of the Airfield at the Wasserkuppe (EDER) taken from pilot schools webpages