Tuesday, November 26, 2019

First glider tow


Fokker patented the idea of an "airplane trailer" in 1912 but it was not till 15 years later that the idea was actually acted upon. In March of 1927 Gottlab Espenlaub, a German glider specialist attempted a launch using an E5 glider and a 35hp E12 as a towplane. Unfortunately the tailplane was torn off in the attempt (which aircraft is not clear) and the idea was abandoned. 
He went on to experiment with rocket-powered launches.

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