Wasserkuppe
From 1920 onwards, annual gliding competitions were held, leading to records being set and broken for height, distance and duration of unpowered flight.In 1922 Arthur Martens [de] became the first glider pilot to use an updraft rising along a mountain slope to stay aloft for a lengthy period.This started the Rhön-Rossitten Gesellschaft and as a result, the Wasserkuppe now had a gliding school, workshops for building gliders and a funded research facility.Virtually every German aeronautical engineer and test pilot of note during the 1920s and 1930s spent time building, testing, and flying aircraft at the Wasserkuppe, including the Günter brothers, Wolf Hirth, the Horten brothers, Robert Kronfeld, Hans Jacobs, Heini Dittmar, Alexander Lippisch, Willy Messerschmitt, Hanna Reitsch, Peter Riedel, and Alexander Schleicher.The inscription on the memorial is Lilienthal's famous last words: "Opfer müssen gebracht werden" roughly meaning: "Sacrifices must be made."In 1970, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first competition, the Deutsches Segelflugmuseum (German Sailplane Museum) was opened on the plateau, with Neil Armstrong a guest of honour at the ceremony.
Elevationsea level (NN)ListingCoordinatesLandkreis FuldaHessenGermanyParent rangeMountain type(s)BasaltBuntervolcanoEasiest routeGermanplateauRhön Mountainssailplaneinterwar periodGerman nameGersfeldPoppenhausenWüstensachsenEhrenberg, HesseRhön Biosphere ReserveLütterAbtsrodaer KuppePferdskopfhumid continentalKöppenTrewarthasubarctic climateprecipitationrelative humiditysunshine hoursDarmstadt University of TechnologyglidersglidingTreaty of VersaillesupdraftOskar UrsinusRhön-Rossitten GesellschaftAlexander LippischGünter brothersWolf HirthHorten brothersRobert KronfeldHans JacobsHeini DittmarWilly MesserschmittHanna ReitschPeter RiedelAlexander SchleicherBeverley ShenstoneSpitfireflying wingsrocketOtto LilienthalNazi GermanyHitler YouthLuftwaffeDeutsche Forschungsanstalt für SegelflugWorld War IIUS Air Forcesurveillancehang glidingSoviet UnionNeil ArmstrongsailplanesParaglidingSnowkitingRRG FafnirRRG ProfessorRRG Urubu ObsStratobowlNational Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationHighest natural points of the German statesFeldbergZugspitzeGroßer MüggelbergKutschenbergHasselbrackWurmbergHelpt HillsLangenbergErbeskopfDollbergFichtelbergBrockenBungsbergGroßer BeerbergCentral UplandsAnterior Bavarian ForestEinödriegelBlack ForestBohemian ForestGroßer ArberBavarian ForestDeisterBröhnEbbe MountainsNordhelleEgge Mountains(Prussian) VelmerstotHohe AchtVolcanic EifelErnstbergElbe Sandstone MountainsGroßer ZschirnsteinEilumer HornElster MountainsKapellenbergFichtel MountainsSchneebergSteinwaldPlatteFranconian ForestDöbrabergFranconian JuraDürrenbergGladenbach UplandsAngelburgGoshawk ForestHohes GrasBrocken (Blocksberg)Hildesheim ForestGriesberg