Hans-Werner Grosse
Encyclopedia
Hans-Werner Grosse is a German glider
pilot who has established 46 world records approved by FAI Gliding Commission
.
His free distance world record of 1,460.80 km from his home city of Lübeck
(Germany) to Biarritz
(France) was set on 25 April 1972 in an ASW 12
. After starting in Lübeck and eleven and a half hours in flight, he landed in Biarritz in southwestern France. He held this record for more than 30 years. It was not broken until 9 January 2003 (by Klaus Ohlmann
in Argentina).
This record was far from his only success. He has held a further 46 gliding world records. Among his other world records were: the largest triangular distance (1,306 km in 1981), the fastest speed round a 1,250 km triangle (133 km/h in 1980) and the fastest speed round a 300 km triangle (158 km/h also in 1980). These record flights started from Alice Springs, Australia. He came in second in the World Gliding Championships
in 1970.
For his 75th birthday, Hans-Werner Grosse was named an honorary member of the German National Gliding Team of the FAI League due to his outstanding performance in the sport of gliding. He was presented this certificate, which is unique up to this time, by the President of the International Gliding Commission (IGC) and Director of the World Gliding Championships 1999 in Bayreuth, Professor Peter Ryder, at the birthday celebration on 29 November 1997. Hans-Werner Grosse is also an honorary member of the Deutscher AeroClub e.V. and the chief initiator of the eta project. He himself owns the first model of this glider, which has the best performance of any to date.
His commitment to gliding is also shown by the establishment of the project, "Jugendfördernde Maßnahmen Ost" (Measures to Support Youth East). In this project, Hans-Werner Grosse makes his high-performance ASH 25 glider available to young glider pilots in organisations in eastern Germany for the purpose of making it possible for the new generation of glider pilots to fly with modern equipment which would not usually be available to them.
Since his 35-year record from 1972 has not yet been broken in Europe, Hans-Werner Grosse has offered a prize for the pilot that manages to do it "on European soil".
He originally learnt to fly during WW2 as a Luftwaffe pilot.
Gliding
Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word soaring is also used for the sport.Gliding as a sport began in the 1920s...
pilot who has established 46 world records approved by FAI Gliding Commission
FAI Gliding Commission
The International Gliding Commission is a leading international governing body for the sport of gliding.It is one of several Air Sport Commissions of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale , or "World Air Sports Federation"...
.
His free distance world record of 1,460.80 km from his home city of Lübeck
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
(Germany) to Biarritz
Biarritz
Biarritz is a city which lies on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast, in south-western France. It is a luxurious seaside town and is popular with tourists and surfers....
(France) was set on 25 April 1972 in an ASW 12
Schleicher ASW 12
|-References:...
. After starting in Lübeck and eleven and a half hours in flight, he landed in Biarritz in southwestern France. He held this record for more than 30 years. It was not broken until 9 January 2003 (by Klaus Ohlmann
Klaus Ohlmann
Klaus Ohlmann, born 1952 in Neustadt, Germany is a German glider pilot who has established 36 world records approved by FAI. Among these is the record for a free distance flight with up to 3 turn-points by flying 3,009 km from Chapelco Airport at San Martín de los Andes in a Schempp-Hirth Nimbus 4...
in Argentina).
This record was far from his only success. He has held a further 46 gliding world records. Among his other world records were: the largest triangular distance (1,306 km in 1981), the fastest speed round a 1,250 km triangle (133 km/h in 1980) and the fastest speed round a 300 km triangle (158 km/h also in 1980). These record flights started from Alice Springs, Australia. He came in second in the World Gliding Championships
World Gliding Championships
The World Gliding Championships is a gliding competition held every two years or so by the FAI Gliding Commission. The dates are not always exactly two years apart, often because the contests are sometimes held in the summer in the Southern Hemisphere....
in 1970.
For his 75th birthday, Hans-Werner Grosse was named an honorary member of the German National Gliding Team of the FAI League due to his outstanding performance in the sport of gliding. He was presented this certificate, which is unique up to this time, by the President of the International Gliding Commission (IGC) and Director of the World Gliding Championships 1999 in Bayreuth, Professor Peter Ryder, at the birthday celebration on 29 November 1997. Hans-Werner Grosse is also an honorary member of the Deutscher AeroClub e.V. and the chief initiator of the eta project. He himself owns the first model of this glider, which has the best performance of any to date.
His commitment to gliding is also shown by the establishment of the project, "Jugendfördernde Maßnahmen Ost" (Measures to Support Youth East). In this project, Hans-Werner Grosse makes his high-performance ASH 25 glider available to young glider pilots in organisations in eastern Germany for the purpose of making it possible for the new generation of glider pilots to fly with modern equipment which would not usually be available to them.
Since his 35-year record from 1972 has not yet been broken in Europe, Hans-Werner Grosse has offered a prize for the pilot that manages to do it "on European soil".
He originally learnt to fly during WW2 as a Luftwaffe pilot.