Schempp-Hirth Flugzeugbau GmbH is a glider

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or Production (economics), production of goods with the help of equipment, Work (human activity), labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary se ...

based in

Kirchheim unter Teck Kirchheim unter Teck (, ; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Kircha'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, in the Esslingen (district), district of Esslingen. It is located on the small river Lauter (Neckar), Lauter, a tributary of the Neckar. It i ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

History

Martin Schempp founded his own company in

Göppingen Göppingen (; or ) is a town in southern Germany, part of the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg. It is the capital of the Goeppingen (district), district Göppingen. Göppingen is home to the toy company Märklin, and it is the birthplace ...

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

the same year. The company's first product was the Göppingen Gö 1 ''Wolf'' glider, conceived as a rival to the ubiquitous Grunau Baby, but real success came with the Göppingen Gö 3 ''Minimoa'' the same year. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the company built DFS Habicht training gliders, as well as tailplane assemblies for the

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a monoplane fighter aircraft that was designed and initially produced by the Nazi Germany, German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt#History, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW). Together with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the ...

. The company also built a research aircraft, the Göppingen Gö 9 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) is a heavy fighter built by Dornier for Germany during World War II. The ''Pfeil''s performance was predicted to be better than other twin-engine designs due to its unusual push-pull configuration and the l ...

''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 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 the ...

Technical University, where he was a member of its Akaflieg. 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: * Göppingen Gö 1 ''Wolf'' sailplane, 1935 * Göppingen Gö 2 improved Grunau 8, 1935 * Göppingen Gö 3 ''Minimoa'' sailplane, 1936 * Göppingen Gö 4 two-seat sailplane, 1938 * Göppingen Gö 5 Hütter H 17 sailplane, 1938 * Göppingen Gö 6 ''Minimoa Mo 2a'' two-seat sailplane, 1937 * Göppingen Gö 7 two-seat sport aeroplane (not built) * Göppingen Gö 8 scale model test airframe for Dornier Do 214, 1939 * Göppingen Gö 9 development aircraft for

''Pfeil'', 1941 * Standard Austria * Schempp-Hirth SHK * Cirrus *

Standard Cirrus The Standard Cirrus is a FAI Standard Class, Standard-class Glider (sailplane), glider built in Germany by Schempp-Hirth. The Standard Cirrus was produced between 1969 and 1985, when the Schempp-Hirth Discus, Discus replaced it. Over 800 examp ...

* 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 ( ; ) 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 Janus (''Ianu ...

* Duo Discus * Arcus *

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

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