Special Projects

Albatros

A project started by Hanko and Christian Streifeneder in 1994, a dream to create a new Standard Class glider without compromise in terms of performance, safety and appearance. After spending too long on the backburner, we are working hard on flying this soon.

Nimeta

With the Nimeta, we helped fulfilled Bruno Gantenbrinks wish to have a single seater ETA when he was left with an extra set of wings. Bruno was interested to get even more performance by having a smaller fuselage for only himself. We discussed the options to use a modified Nimbus 4 fuselage with a new tail and the ETA wing and so Bruno performed the maiden flight of the Nimeta (the name is from Nimbus + ETA) on the 21/07/2009 after a 2 year of developing time.
The next step in the development was a new outer wing panel without the for the original ETA typical extended cord between the inner and outer aileron. The control system in the wing had been redesigned for better handling and stiffness. The first flight with the new wing was done on the 29/6/2017 from the airfield Mengen, again by Bruno.

Electric Libelle

The wish to have a self-launcher is not new but to use an old glider to do this is a bit unusual . With the Standard Libelle we had a well known platform and as the TC holder we have all the documents and rights to start this interesting project. To keep the development simple we decided to use as many well tested parts as possible and use a standard configuration with a retracting motor and propellor. After having the controller overheating on longer climbs and with a bigger controller expiring radio interference problems we are changing the controller and electrical installation at the moment and will hopefully continuing with the flight test program again soon.

Concordia

The Concordia is an open class glider developed by a group of engineers and Dick Butler and built by Dick in Tennessee USA. In addition to producing the wing moulds, we supported this project at various stages of construction through assistance and technology transfer. The first flight took place in 2012 and Dick still flies it from home and competitions every chance he gets.

The Concordia Story
Soaring Cafe – Concordia
Soaring Cafe – Much more reading
omega tau podcast – Concordia

Airbus BLADE (“Breakthrough Laminar Aircraft Demonstrator in Europe” )

After having done various gloves for laminar projects, Airbus approached us to be part of the BLADE project. The first stage was to reprofile the right hand wing panel to make it laminar up to 60 % on the upper surface. Some gloves had special imperfections added with tolerances of 0.1 mm over the complete surface to check the possibility of laminarity in flight. Gloves were manufactured in Grabenstetten and installed on an Airbus A340 at Trabes, France.

BLADE Explained – YouTube
First Flight – YouTube
First Flight report by Airbus

Skyrace GP - Leeton, Australia

We are very proud to be a sponsor, supporter and participant in the Skyrace GP since its inception in 2017.

They have a great Website and Facebook page. The next competition starts January 3, 2023 at Leeton, NSW, Australia.  Make sure you check out their state of the art live tracking with the GP format.

Votec

The Votec was a private project for Christian and Hanko Streifeneder. After several Extra 300’s came through their workshop, the desire grew to own such an aircraft, but it should be affordable and not have the weak points in the construction. In the beginning, the drawings of the DR107 One Design were studied and contact with Max Vogelsang was made, who brought in valuable changes to the original design, developed by chance. By consistently revising the design and construction, such as the manufacture of the wing and tail unit in carbon fibre, an empty weight of only 425 kg instead of 490 kg was achieved. This results in a weight/performance ratio of an Extra but with a significantly more economical 4-cylinder engine with the same flight performance and fun. The aircraft is based in Tannheim in the Bravo-Lima formation hangar.

BMW Z1

The plastic parts for the prototype of the BMW Z1 were made in Grabenstetten in 1986-87. A complete body and 3 floor groups were made of GRP. The plastic parts for the prototype weighed only 57 kg. This project had to be completed in a very short timeframe as it was to be presented at the 1987 Frankfurt Motor Show