DG Flugzeugbau

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DG Flugzeugbau GmbH is a manufacturer of sailplanes based in Bruchsal near Karlsruhe, Germany. It was founded in 1973 by Gerhard Glaser and Wilhelm Dirks as Glaser-Dirks Flugzeugbau GmbH.

In 1978 an alliance was made with the Elan Company of Slovenia to increase production capacity. Older DG models such as the 505 are produced there. The Glaser-Dirks company ran into financial trouble in 1996 due to the engine planned for the DG-800B no longer being available and no replacement being found. The bankrupt company was bought by Karl Friederich Weber and his wife Eva-Marie Weber in partnership with an accountant Gerhard Wolff. Dirks stayed on as chief designer.

Glaser-Dirks and DG Fluzeugbau have produced the following gliders:

DG-100 (Standard Class)
DG-200 (15 metre Class)
DG-300 (Standard Class)
DG-400 (Self-launching motor glider)
DG-500 (Two seater)
DG-600 (15 metre and 18 meter Class)
DG-808 (15 metre and 18 meter Class)
DG-1000 (Two seater)

In 2003 DG took over the assets of Rolladen Schneider including the LS brand name and designs. Consequently, DG Flugzeugbau has also taken on the production of the Rolladen-Schneider LS8, a Standard Class glider with optional wing-tips increasing the span to 18 metres. The Rolladen-Schneider LS10 (15 metre and 18 metre Class) still needs considerable investment for production development, but its future seems to be assured after the remarkable competition results recently achieved in the prototype.

External link

[DG Flugzeugbau company website]

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