PHILOSOPHY

For well over 75 years ALEXANDER SCHLEICHER GmbH & Co. has been one of the worlds leading sailplane manufacturers. Almost 10000 of our aircraft are operating throughout the world and bear testimony to our commitment, engineering creativity and enthusiasm for the sport.

We are unashamedly proud to be the world's oldest Sailplane manufacturer - a fact underlined by our location right next to the birthplace of gliding. Even at the very beginning pilots and customers have been the centrepiece of our endeavours. Over the years this helped forming a special relationship with glider pilots around the globe and has resulted in a large percentage of repeat orders. But more than that, pioneering series production of gliders and developing many highly sought after models has led to a special bond with gliding enthusiasts around the world. This bond remains in place today and is the driving force behind our unrelenting move towards better and even safer designs.

Company tradition and company philosophy are very simple indeed - not only make the fastest racers but build the best gliders in general and include features which go well beyond those contributing to competition scores. Pioneering many new technologies and developing innovative solutions has formed the centrepiece of our success and made us the largest of the German sailplane builders, both in terms of production capacity and number of employees.

A total of 115 staff members hand craft almost 100 aircraft annually of which approx. 65% are exported. Manufacturing all components at our Poppenhausen factory means that we not only achieve maximum flexibility but also retain continuous control over production quality. This approach has earned us a worldwide reputation for safe and premium class sailplanes and powered sailplanes. The many top places in international competitions and the numerous world records, underline this concept impressively.

Founded by Alexander Schleicher in 1927 the company still remains a family enterprise and is now owned and operated by his grandsons Peter and Ulrich Kremer. Long time owner Edgar Kremer continues to serve the company in an advisory role. Designers like Rudolf Kaiser, Gerhard Waibel, Martin Heide and Michael Greiner are internationally recognized and highly respected development engineers. Their names guarantees that right from concept design through to detailed development, prototype & mould building, production, quality control and after sales service our ongoing customer support can always be relied on.

Spanning the entire breadth of the sailplane market our production program features not only trainers but also includes models for all four FAI classes with top designs in every category. We are not aiming to produce low cost aircraft, but we pride ourselves on quality and attention to detail second to none in the industry. Internationally recognised high safety standards are built into every design - outstanding efforts for which two of our designers received OSTIV awards in the past.

Owners of SCHLEICHER aircraft can regard their aircraft as a first class investment knowing that only high quality gliders maintain their value for a long time to come. Close contacts to research institutes and universities all over the world are a guarantee that pilots will not only enjoy the maximum possible performance standards but also "QUALITY MADE IN GERMANY".

SCHLEICHER sailplanes are not only highly competitive, but are also renowned for superior active and passive safety, better landing ability, the most reliable engines, better ergonomics, better factory sealing, and better "fit and finish". But have a closer look at the following pages and see for yourself why our sailplanes stand out from the crowd. If you require any additional information please don't hesitate to contact our worldwide network of distributors and sales representatives. They would only be too happy to discuss further details with you and/or arrange for an obligation free evaluation flight.