Harro Wödl

Harro Wödl (born April 29, 1927 in Perchtoldsdorf near Vienna; † October 5, 1977 at Grimming, Styria ) was an Austrian glider pilot and holder of several course records, including the world championship title of 1968 in the open class.

The multiple Austrian national champion is remarkable not only for his achievements in top-class gliding and his participation in seven world championships (1963–1976), but also for the fact that one of his arms has been paralyzed since his youth . Whenever Wödl got into the cockpit , he had to straighten it with his other hand.

Harro (Harald) Wödl was head of the gliding school in Ennstal from 1955 until shortly before his fatal accident on Grimming . This school, which is very well known in the German-speaking world, was initially housed at the military air base near Aigen , but had to relocate to Niederöblarn - right at the foot of the Grimming - around 1973/74 . This huge two-thousand- meter peak (2351 m), the steep limestone block of which dominates the upper Ennstal, offered the young aviator an ideal school for thermal sailing. On the very exposed local mountain of the region, which rises 1700 m above the valley floor of the Enns, Harro learned to observe even the smallest signs of weather changes based on the cloud structures . This ability soon came to his advantage in the junior championships and later competitions.

As a teacher , Wödl was rather feared because of his lack of words and dry humor. Anyone who showed irresponsible behavior or selfishness at the airport was quickly “through” - and usually preferred to change the flight instructor . He was a valued superior for his team. His successor as headmaster was Ul van Husen (until 1995).

In 1969 he received the Silver Medal of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria

Web links

• Short biography of Harro Wödls, from AEIOU
• Records from the Union Glider Flying Club Wörschach-Niederöblarn ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive )