Der Dessauer landed on a single skid with a pneumatic shock absorber, assisted by a spring tail skid. Operational history The Der Dessauer was a competitor at the 1923 Rhön (Wasserkuppe) competition; though it did not win it, pilot Otto Thomsen used its manoeuvrability, particularly in circling, to advantage. On the last day of the contest, 30 August, a crowd of about 30,000 people gathered to observe the dedication of a memorial to those glider pilots who had died on the Wasserkuppe. Despite very gusty conditions, several gliders flew and some crashed; amongst these was Der Dessauer. Violent wing oscillations set in and although Thomsen was able to bring the aircraft down before the wings broke away, the impact very seriously damaged it. The accident was blamed upon resonances caused by the elastic wing struts. Thomsen was not seriously hurt. Despite the damage, the Der Dessauer was rebuilt by a small group at the Frederick Polytechnic at Cöthen, not far from Dessau, this time with standard rigid lift struts, and re-christened Der Alte Dessauer. It flew at the 1924 Rhön event, though not until 26 August, near the end of the competition. Whilst on the Wasserkuppe it was flown by the Akaflieg Darmstadt student Otto Fuchs (the 1924 Rhön winner) to an altitude of and covered . It then went to a competition on Monte Sisemol near Asiago and Fuchs brought it home as the only glider undamaged by the rough terrain. In February, Fuchs and Der Alte Dessauer were rope-launched from a snow and ice-covered site near the Zugspitze, going on over Garmisch-Partenkirchen to much applause. Later that year he flew it for 7.75 hours at a competition at Rossitten. It continued to fly competitively for three more years, attending all the Rhön events from 1925 to 1928, frequently flown by Akaflieg Dessau students, one of whom irreparably damaged it there in 1928. Specifications See also List of gliders References External links Göttingen 289 airfoil 1920s German sailplanes Aircraft first flown in 1923 High-wing aircraft