Klaus Holighaus
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Klaus Holighaus (14 July, 1940 - 9 August, 1994) was a glider designer, glider pilot and entrepreneur.
Klaus Holighaus was born in Eibelshausewas in Germany. He started his career in gliding when he was an engineering student at the University of Darmstadt. Fellow students Gerhard Waibel and Wolf Lemke had already developed the revolutionary D-36 glider and he contributed to its refinement. He joined Schempp-Hirth as an employee in 1965. He became Chief Executive in 1972 and from 1977 Holighaus was the sole owner of the business. He produced some outstandingly successful designs from the Schempp-Hirth Cirrus through to the Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-4.
Holighaus flew in every German National Championship from 1968, winning six times in the Open Class. He became European Champion three times and finished in the top rankings of the nine World Championships in which he competed. He held 16 World Records in various categories.
Holighaus was killed in the St. Gotthard area when flying in the Alps from Samedan in Switzerland. The wreckage was not found for two days. The cause of the accident is not clear, but a major factor was the deteriorating weather on the day and he may have unsuccessfully tried to cross a mountain pass. He had logged 8,168 hours in gliders.
He married Brigitte. His son, Tilo, continues in the Schempp-Hirth business.
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