Index Preface to the 3rd Edition 9 Preface to the 1st Edition 10 The importance of Alexander Schleicher 13 Founding, pioneering and growing 16 The period from 1927 to 1945 From primary gliders to the cantilever wing high-performance sailplanes by the leading sailplane designers of the time History: From Frankfurt to Fränzchen 23 A home-built Luftkurort Poppenhausen 29 Research Sailplanes built at Schleicher 32 A fresh start, beginning 1951, with sailplanes 43 of proven designs ES 49, a two-seater Baby by Edmund Schneider 43 Baby III und Baby lib, new series of Schneider’s success- 48 ful sailplane designs Rhönlerche I, the last design of Alexander Schleicher 51 Condor IV, the first post-war high-performance two-seater 53 Rudolf Kaiser, a new era begins 58 Ka 1 und Ka 3, small home built sailplanes for the 59 slim post-war purse, today a rare treat for the eyes Ka 2 “Rhönschwalbe”, Tandem two-seater for training 63 and performance flying, today a treasured oldtimer Ka 4 “Rhönlerche II”, basis for sailplane training 66 “Rhönsegler”, the Ka 6 and their offspins the К 10 and К 6 E 74 Worldwide accepted standard for performance and flight characteristics Ka 6 B/BR, OSTIV-award and world champion 79 Ka 6 C/CR, World wide success in the standard class 80 К 10, first Ka 6 series with improved laminar wing 82 К 6 E, The pinnacle of the wooden standard class sailplane 84 with slimmed fuselage and laminar airfoil К 7 “Rhönadler”, tandem-two-seater, successor of the Ka 2 88 with fabric covered wooden wings and steel tube fuselage К 8, training sailplane, the single seated К 7 for 92 advanced students and performance flights К 9, Rudolf Kaiser's simple sailplane for home-building 98 completely in wood, forerunner of the К 11 Ka 11, single seat motor glider, developed by Rudolf Kaiser 100 for his personal use. Also served as feasibility study for the К 12/ASK 14 series К 12/ASK 14, Kaiser's motor glider with tractor propeller and 101 retractable landing gear, a self launching “Rhönsegler" for fun flying With Gerhard Waibel into the composite area 106 ASW 12, Gerhard Waibel’s entry: A stunning world-record 108 sailplane in monocoque construction ASK 13, Kaiser’s mid-wing sailplane of mixed structure 116 with a large blown canopy, superseding the К 7 and Ka 2 ASW 15, WaibeTs composite standard class sailplanes sets 120 new records in characteristics and performance ASK 16, touring motor glider with side-by-side seating and 126 retractable undercarriage, user-friendly and comfortable ASW 17, pilots of the ASW 17 reached new dimensions in 132 long distance flights; greater distances at higher speeds and world cup glories ASK 18, a sailplane in the club-class and successor to the 139 legendary К 8, a single-seat training sailplane for the two-seater ASK 13 ASW 19, world champion sailplane in the standard class 142 and test aircraft for airfoil research and winglets ASW 20, Waibel's answer to the new FAI 15m-class rules, 150 immediately successful in competition and distance flights ASK 21, Rudolf Kaiser gave his composite training two-seater 162 the usual gentle flight characteristics ASW 22, a third generation high performance sailplane 175 with 24 to 26,4 m span, a top scorer for decades ASK 23, composite training single-seater, Rudolf Kaiser’s last 192 design is his legacy with respect to good flight characteristics ASW 24, competition single-seater for the standard class with 196 outstanding gliding performance and flight handling and also exceptionally strong cockpit shell construction With Martin Heide into the next millenium 208 From the AS 22-2 to the ASH 25, Martin Heide’s first work 209 exceeded all expectations, a two-seater with incredible performance ASH 26, Martin Heide’s next design for the 18meter-class 222 equipped with the most environmentally friendly engine for a high performance sailplane with retractable propeller ASW 27, 15m sailplane with plain flaps by Gerhard Waibel 235 with maximum passive security features Karl Striedieck and his World Records with Schleicher sailplanes 245 Propeller and Jets, Schleicher gliders with engine 248 for launching and sustaining World Record dreams 254 Dreamflights, with ASH 25 256 ASW 28, a superior standard-class sailplane with regards 268 to performance and also active and passive safety features. The last design of Gerhard Waibel and its 18 meter version ASW 22 DB “The ETA-biter” and Concordia 274 Dick Butler's conversion and new superior open class sailplane With Michael Greiner in the third generation 284 ASG 29, success worldwide in the 18m-class, as well as sustainer - 284 Michael Greiner’s first work ASH 30, the new Schleicher flagship by Martin Heide 298 ASH 31, the handy single seater by Martin Heide, with the 312 performance level of the open class, well accepted by the market ASG 32, the long yearned 20m two-seater for competition and 3 2 6 cross country soaring enjoyed by two, by Michael Greiner Bibliography 342 Acknowledgements 343 Epilogue to the first edition 344 Epilogue to the second edition 346 Epilogue to the third edition, Acknowledgements 347 Epilogue to the English edition 349 Captions to the color photo plates 350.