Peter Riedel

Peter Riedel (August 1905 – November 6, 1998) was a German gliding champion, and served as air attaché for the Nazi government in Washington, D.C., before and during World War II.

In 1920, at the age of 15, Riedel attended the first gliding championship held at the Wasserkuppe, taking with him a half-built glider of his own design, which he completed and flew with the help of other attendees at the meet.

With the assistance of philanthropist Karl Kotzenberg [de], who had taken an interest in the gliding movement, Riedel was able to attend the Darmstadt University of Technology, where he studied engineering.

In 1934, he accompanied Professor Georgii on a tour of Brazil and Argentina to help promote the sport in Latin America, along with Wolf Hirth and Heini Dittmar.

Over the next few years, they lived and worked in Canada and South Africa, until they could finally return to settle in the U.S., where Riedel flew for TWA and Pan Am.

In his retirement, Riedel wrote an extensive and detailed history, in three volumes, of the German gliding movement between 1911 and 1937, titled Erlebte Rhöngeschichte.