Klaus Holighaus

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Klaus Holighaus (born July 14, 1940 in Eibelshausen ; † August 9, 1994 at the Rheinwaldhorn ) was a German sailplane designer and pilot.

As a child, Holighaus began model flying on the airfield in Hirzenhain . As a 19-year-old, he set a world record in endurance flight for a model there in 1959. After graduating from high school, Holighaus began studying mechanical engineering at the Technical University in Darmstadt . There he joined the Academic Aviation Group , where he was involved in the construction of the D-36 , among other things .

After his diploma, Holighaus got a job with the aircraft manufacturer Schempp-Hirth through personal intervention by Martin Schempp , where he was responsible for the development of the sailplane types Cirrus , Standard Cirrus , Janus , Discus , Duo Discus , Ventus and Nimbus .

In addition to his work as a designer, Holighaus was also a glider pilot himself. He took part in various national and international championships, including becoming vice world champion in 1981 and winning the European championships in the open class in 1982, 1986 and 1988. He also held several world records for gliding. On August 9, 1994, Holighaus crashed his Nimbus-4M into a rock face of the Rheinwaldhorn , resulting in fatal injuries.

After his death, a street in Kirchheim unter Teck was renamed Klaus-Holighaus-Straße in his honor .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Holighaus's curriculum vitae on the Schempp-Hirth company homepage
  2. ↑ Entry about Holighaus on Munzinger
  3. ↑ Aviation (gliding - European championships). sport-komplett.de, accessed on December 13, 2010 .
  4. ↑ Overview of the world records ( Memento of the original from June 8, 2011 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. on the homepage of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / records.fai.org
  5. ^ Died: Klaus Holighaus . In: Der Spiegel . No. 33 , 1994, pp. 176 ( online ).
  6. ↑ [1] (PDF; 4.4 MB) Official accident report

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Holighaus, Klaus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German sailplane designer and pilot
DATE OF BIRTH July 14, 1940
PLACE OF BIRTH Eibelshausen
DATE OF DEATH August 9, 1994
Place of death Rheinwaldhorn