Gottlob Espenlaub's Overlooked Works

[teut...@aol.com]

Gottlob Espenlaub was one of aviation's best pioneers and yet is
almost relatively unknown.

The son of a shepherd began with early hang gliders, then sailplanes
and helped Alexander Lippisch (his friend) construct the E-2 flying
wing, moved on to solid rocket powered sailplanes and a/c, built
streamliner cars pre- and- postwar, constructed barrage war kites of
various construction (even an armed powered one), repaired captured
Allied and production German a/c, worked with the Luftwaffe's KG-200
on clandestine a/c, worked on solid-fuel rocket research for the SS,
built an experimental fighter out of seperate a/c components,
experimented with an autonomous war kite for factory defense, and
helped the Heer with proposals for streamlined transports.

Postwar, he consulted with NASA and met Neil Armstrong while returning
to streamliner cars and commercial kites.

Yet he died in relative obscurity in the 1970s.

His life and works (including the war):
http://strangevehicles.greyfalcon.us/Espenlaub%20Experimental.htm

Rob