DG Flugzeugbau GmbH is a manufacturer of sailplanes based in Bruchsal

Bruchsal

Bruchsal is a city at the western edge of the Kraichgau, approximately 20 km northeast of Karlsruhe in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany...

 near Karlsruhe

Karlsruhe

The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. The business was founded in 1973 by Gerhard Glaser and Wilhelm Dirks as Glaser-Dirks Flugzeugbau GmbH.

The Glaser-Dirks company produced the following gliders:

• DG-100
  Glaser-Dirks DG-100
  |-Serial Numbering:WERKNUMMERN-SYSTEN FÜR SEGELFLUGZEUGE UND MOTORSEGLERSystem of Serial Numbers for Glider and MotorgliderExample Serial Number: E.102.G.72E - ELAN Manufacturer102 - 102nd DG-100 builtG - DG-100G series72 - 72nd built with damped elevator...
  
   (Standard Class)
• DG-200 (15 metre Class)
• DG-300
  Glaser-Dirks DG-300
  The DG-300 is a Standard Class single-seat high-performance glider built of glass-reinforced plastic. The DG-300 was designed by Wilhelm Dirks and manufactured by Glaser-Dirks Flugzeugbau's Slovenian partner company Elan . A total of 511 of all versions were built since production started in 1983...
  
   (Standard Class)
• DG-400 (Self-launching motor glider)
• DG-500
  Glaser-Dirks DG-500
  |-References:*...
  
   (Two seater)
• DG-600 (15 metre and 18 meter Class)

In 1978 an alliance was made with the Elan Company of Slovenia

Slovenia

Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

 to increase production capacity. Older DG models such as the 505 are still produced there.

The Glaser-Dirks company ran into financial trouble in 1996 because the engine planned for the DG-800B was no longer available and no replacement could be found. The assets of the bankrupt company were bought by Friedel Weber and his wife Eva-Marie Weber in partnership with the accountant Gerhard Wolff. They founded the new company "DG Flugzeugbau GmbH". Dirks stayed on as chief designer.

In 2000 DG Flugzeugbau built a new factory and moved to the Bruchsal airfield. In 2003 DG took over the assets of Rolladen Schneider including the LS brand name and designs. In 2009 the company proposed an annual charge to the owners of aircraft that had been built by the bankrupt predecessor companies. This charge would be for the documentation that is needed to maintain the airworthiness of aircraft that DG Flugzeugbau had never built themselves.

DG Flugzeugbau currently produces:

• DG-808
  DG Flugzeugbau DG-800
  |-References:***...
  
   (15 metre and 18 metre)
• DG-1000 (Two seater)
• Rolladen-Schneider LS8
  Rolladen-Schneider LS8
  The Rolladen-Schneider LS8 is a Standard and 18 metre class single-seat glider developed by Rolladen-Schneider and in series production since 1995. Currently it is manufactured by DG Flugzeugbau.-Development:...
  
  , (Standard Class with optional wing-tips to increase the span to 18 metres.)
• LS10 (15 metre and 18 metre Class)

External links

• DG Flugzeugbau company website