Günter Kappler

Guenter Kappler (* 9. September 1939 in Reghin , Transylvania , Romania ) is a German engineer in the field of aviation and aerospace .

Life

Günter Kappler visited the Nikolaus-Lenau-Lyceum in Timișoara and began studying mechanical engineering at the Polytechnic University there . As an excellent athlete, he was part of the Romanian national water sports team.

This allowed him to relocate to the west in 1960. There he continued his studies at the Technical University of Darmstadt , which he graduated with a diploma in 1964. This was followed by a two-year study visit to the University of Pittsburgh , where he obtained a Master of Science degree. He returned to Germany to research beer as a research assistant at the Thermodynamics Institute of the University of Karlsruhe . As part of this activity, he developed and built a plasma burner and carried out basic experiments on high-temperature / high-speed combustion processes for the first time in Germany. In doing so, he laid the basis for the then new international research field of supersonic combustion. With this work he received his doctorate in 1970.

At the beginning of 1971 he began as a development engineer at what was then the Motoren- und Turbinen-Union in Munich. Kappler became head of component development for jet engines and shaft power engines for helicopters and vehicles. As part of this activity, he directly influenced the design of low-emission combustion chambers, improved cooling processes, new materials (especially ceramics), heat exchangers and new measuring techniques.

After a year as a member of the management of AVL List in Graz, where he headed the research and development department in the field of piston engines , he accepted an appointment at the Technical University of Munich in 1982 as a professor of aircraft propulsion and director of the Institute for Aerospace Space travel . There he turned back to basic research and set up several test stands, in particular a gas turbine test stand and a combustion chamber test stand with flow speeds up to supersonic . New insights into engine control, dynamic engine monitoring and transient performance as well as stable supersonic combustion could be achieved. Particularly noteworthy is Kappler's development of a concept for an engine family. The hallmark of this engine family is a common core engine, in which the sophisticated high pressure / high temperature technology is present, as well as various low pressure systems. In this way, a wide thrust range can be achieved with less development and maintenance effort.

From 1990 he switched back to industry. As a member of the management of BMW Rolls-Royce AeroEngines GmbH in Oberursel, he was responsible for the development of the Rolls-Royce BR700 engine family, the first post-war German engine family for civil aviation. To this end, he built the “BMW Rolls-Royce Research and Development Center” in Dahlewitz , Brandenburg . When the company was taken over by Rolls-Royce, Kappler left the company. Further stages led him to Fairchild-Dornier in Oberpfaffenhofen and EPI Europrop International in Unterschleißheim . In these companies he led the development of an entire family of aircraft and was head of development for the most powerful European turboprop engine . Since 2005 he has been involved in review teams for two Airbus programs of the EADS group, as an advisor to the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology on issues relating to the aerospace industry and as a member of the expert committee of the federal aviation research program .

Since May 2008 he has been the technical manager of the aircraft engine manufacturer Thielert in Lichtenstein .

Honors

From a long series of awards are the Federal Cross of Merit on Ribbon , an honorary professorship at the University of Aerospace Beijing in the Chinese capital Beijing , honorary doctorates from the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Munich and the Bucharest Polytechnic as well as the Ernst Messerschmitt and Otto Lilienthal -Medals of the German Aerospace Society mentioned. Günter Kappler has "shaped engine construction like no one else in Germany over the last few decades," wrote the Süddeutsche Zeitung on July 10, 2008 in a detailed appraisal of his personality. On September 17, 2015, Rolls-Royce Germany's “Günter-Kappler-Cube”, a new building with a canteen, offices and conference rooms, was inaugurated at the Dahlewitz site. In 2017 Kappler received the Order of Merit of the State of Brandenburg .

Web links

• German Aerospace Society, celebratory speech on the award of the Otto Lilienthal Medal , accessed August 2008 (PDF file; 348 kB)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Much too small for two . In: Der Spiegel . No. 32 , 1991, pp. 102-103 ( Online - Aug. 5, 1991 ).
2. ↑ thielert.com ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Statement by the insolvency administrator of Thielert Aircraft Engines GmbH 
3. ^ Lenauschule.net , biography Günter Kappler on the occasion of the award of the Elsa Lucia Kappler Prize
4. ↑ Christian Zielke: Cube with a pioneering spirit. In: Märkische Allgemeine from September 17, 2015
5. ↑ "Made a contribution to our community" - Woidke presented the Order of Merit of the State on Constitution Day. In: Brandenburg State Chancellery from June 15, 2017.