Helmut Reichmann

Like Barron Hilton, Helmut Reichmann is perhaps best known for sharing his love of soaring with other pilots around the world. Of course Reichmann will always be remembered as Germanys as first three time world soaring champion and co founder of the Barron Hilton Cup. He was killed in the mid - air accident 1991 at age 40, but not before he had built the Barron Hilton Cup into one of the most prestigious flying competitions in the world. For Helmut, every mile was a new mile, said Hannes Linke, a respected soaring official who succeded Reichmann as competition director of the Barron Hilton Cup. He wanted every soaring pilot to experience the satisfaction that comes from increasing their knowledge of cross country flying. It became his lifes work. Reichmanns intensity was obvious in his steely gaze and determined jaw. Yet his delight in teaching and fliyng shown brightly through a twinkle in his eye. His devotion to soaring, and education was never more apparent than his final flight. On holiday from the Academy of Arts in Saarbrueken, he spent three days in the south of France flying with young pilots of the German Junior National Team. Returning from a successful cross-country flying lesson, the team rendezvoused with four pilots from another gliderport. The mid-air occurred with one of the pilots that had just joined them as all eight planes circled in the same thermal. As much as Reichmann would want other pilots to learn from the miscalculations involved in the incident, none of the other pilots flying that day actually saw the impact occur. Both Helmut and Lars Goetz were lost. Reichmann leaves a legacy of education and personal achievement which will long be remembered by the soaring community around the world. His early successes were inspired by his longtime friend, Hartmut Lodes, who first encouraged him to attempt competitive cross-country flying. He became German Junior Champion in 1965, then won the German National Championship in 1968, 1971 and 1973. He seemed to breeze to his Standard Class win in an LS1 at the 1970 World Championships in Marfa, Tex., but had a tougher time winning in 1974 at Waikerie,
1

Australia, flying in the one and only LS2 ever built. In 1978, he won the first-ever 15Meter Class World Championship in an SB-11 in a similarly hard-fought competition at Chateauroux, France Reichmann's book, "Cross Country Soaring," is still regarded as one of the most authoritative works on the subject yet written, and his second book, "Flying Sailplanes," provides an informative look at the sport of soaring in general. In "Silence on the Wind," the book he co-authored with Frank Franke, Reichmann captures the beauty of soaring, and the deep friendships that exist within the sport. "I've seldom met anyone so dedicated to his sport, and so generous in sharing his knowledge and experience," said Franke. "He was a teacher, and at the same time, an artist -- in the air and on the ground." While Reichmann understood aerodynamic and navigational advances as well as anyone, he felt more comfortable flying with basic instrumentation. "His doctoral thesis explored and explained the mathematical resolution of 'speed to fly,' and he was the master at assessing climb rate, altitude, wind and distance, particularly for his final glide," Linke said. "He had a great feel for the abilities of his ship, and he could squeeze more performance out of a machine than anyone I know." Barron Hilton first met Reichmann in 1979. "When you flew with Helmut, he was part flight instructor and part tour guide," said Hilton. "He seemed to study every inch of the terrain under him. He especially enjoyed introducing European pilots to the area around the ranch, taking them up and down the cloud streets over the White Mountains or down the slope of 'Rabbit Run' west of the ranch." On a particularly good weather day during Hilton's 1986 soaring camp, Reichmann forfeited his turn to fly an ASW 22 so Linke could use it to make a long flight of his own, rather than spend the day towing or handling other chores. Reichmann had encouraged everyone to take a shot at a 1,000 kilometer multiple turnpoint flight, but was left with the last plane available in the draw, a Twin Astir, which seemed to "list to starboard" when it sailed through the air. "I had to take care of a minor repair, so I couldn't take off with the others," Linke recalled. "I just flew locally that day, and after I landed, I followed Helmut's progress with Barron and the others on the radio. It was quite a vigil." Reichmann took off at 11 a.m. with his sister, Sus, in the back seat, and headed south with two other pilots for the Whites. Even though Sus was airsick in the back seat during most of the flight, she encouraged him to take up the chase with the others. Of course, Reichmann wasn't able to keep up with Klaus Wedekind's Pegase or Peter Fischer's Nimbus 3. But after nine hours and fifteen minutes -- and more than 1,000 kilometers -- he nursed the last bit of glide out of the Twin Astir and landed back at the Flying M Ranch in the deepening twilight tired, triumphant, and relieved. "It was probably one of the most remarkable flights of his career, yet it will never show up in the record books," Linke lamented. "All three had photographic evidence of their flights, but only single-seater aircraft are included in the classes specified for official documentation." The Barron Hilton Cup continues under Linke's stewardship, dedicated to the spirit of Reichmann's career in aviation and education. His wife, Annette, continues to process documentation for the 5,000+ flights submitted for each Hilton Cup competition period. His home gliderport, Marpingen in Saarland, has been renamed in his honor. "He persuaded the U.S. Air Force to use its heavy equipment to fill the gap between two hills to create the airport," Linke said. "It is only fitting that it should bear the
2

name of the man who made it available for so many pilots to learn and enjoy the sport of soaring."