Sailplanes
DFS-Olympia-Meise
In 1939 the „Meise“ won an international design competition for a standardized sailplane.
The call tenders originated from Germany’s suggestion to include gliding as a new discipline in the Olympic Games of 1940. A standard sailplane would guarantee that all participants have the same chance. The 1940 Olympic Games were cancelled due to the outbreak of the Second World War.
The “Meise”, designed by Hans Jacobs at the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug DFS, Darmstadt, is a small, light-weight and still efficient plane of wooden construction which can also be assembled and built in sport plane groups. It was still being produced in many countries well into the 1950s on an industrial basis.
The airplane on display here was built by Martin Dorfner and Franz Unfried in 3500 hours between 1956 and 1959. After 16 years of flying, the “Meise” was rejected in favour of a more modern craft made of fibre reinforced plastic.
Technical specifications:
- Manufacturer: Martin Dorfner und Franz Unfried, Regensburg, 1959
- Wing span: 15.0 m
- Aspect ratio: 15
- Empty weight: 160 kg
- Best glide ratio: 25 at 70 km/h
- Minimum sink rate: 0,7 m/s at 60 km/h