Heini Dittmar

Heini Dittmar (March 30, 1912 in Bad Kissingen – April 28, 1960 near Mülheim an der Ruhr, West Germany) was a record-breaking German glider pilot.

Inspired by the example of his glider flying brother Edgar, Dittmar took an apprenticeship at the German Institute for Gliding (DFS).

In 1934, he, Hanna Reitsch, Peter Riedel, and Wolf Hirth were members of Professor Georgii's South American Glider Expedition,[1]: 65  where in Argentina he achieved a new world gliding altitude record (about 4,350 metres (14,270 ft)).

Later, on 6 July 1944, he reached a speed of 1,130 km/h (700 mph) in the Me 163B V18 bearing the Stammkennzeichen code of VA+SP, nearly losing the complete rudder surface in the process to flutter.

[citation needed] Dittmar died in a crash in 1960 while test-flying a light aircraft of his own design, the HD-153 Motor-Möwe, near Essen/Mülheim airport.