Glider Development in Germany: A Technical Survey of Progress in Design in Germany since 1922 Available to Purchase

IN 1922 the world was startled by the announcement of a motorless flight of one hour's duration made at the Wasserkuppe by Martens. The machine on which this flight was carried out was the “Vampyr,” the first true sailplane, and the forerunner of all the types which have been designed in the ensuing years, whose development has made possible the achievement in the soaring competitions of 1935, when four pilots flew on the same day from the Wasserkuppe to Brünn, a distance of approximately 310 miles at an average speed of 40 m.p.h.