12 Facts About Martin Schempp

Martin Schempp was a glider pilot and founder of Schempp-Hirth, a major manufacturer of gliders.

Martin Schempp returned 1929 to the USA to build German sailplane designs under license there at "Haller-Hirth Sailplanes" and to act as a soaring instructor at "Haller School Of Soaring Flight" in Pittsburgh.

Martin Schempp won second place in the distance competition and first place in the altitude competition.

Martin Schempp moved to California at the end of 1932, where he worked with Hawley Bowlus on his high-performance sailplane "Albatros".

In 1934, feeling that his professional prospects in the USA were too uncertain, Martin Schempp accepted an offer from Wolf Hirth, who was the head of the soaring school on the Hornberg at the time, to hire him as a soaring instructor there.

Martin Schempp proved to be an adept and circumspect head of production, who would succeed over decades in working with his employees to build high-quality sailplanes inexpensively.

Martin Schempp was relieved by an elected mayor in 1945 and devoted all of his time to the factory, now to manufacture urgently needed furniture and household goods using aircraft materials saved through the end of war.

Martin Schempp acquired the license to build the best standard-class sailplane of its time, the "Standard Austria," and put it into mass production.

Martin Schempp soon realized that the future would belong to composite sailplanes, and he therefore secured the assistance of Klaus Holighaus.

Klaus Holinghaus' first work for Martin Schempp-Hirth was to increase the wingspan of the Standard Austria to produce the SHK with 17-m wings.

Martin Schempp gave him free rein in this matter, which Klaus Holighaus used to produce the successful Cirrus, Nimbus, Standard Cirrus and Janus.

Martin Schempp died after a long illness on July 9,1984.