This is how the Luftwaffe aces learnt to fly. In this case the Schulgleiter (training glider) was towed to 1500 ft by a plane, but in the old days, as the expert commentator at Hahnweide explained, it rarely flew over treetop height because it was usually launched by a bunch of boys pulling on a bungee cord. Apparently construction of this airframe was begun by a Hitler Youth group in Leverkusen in 1944, but not completed until 1953.

This photo is copyright © Peter de Jong, and may not be used or published in any way without permission.

It was added on 16 September 2019, and has since been viewed 546 times.