Conversations With Dr Reimar Horten and His All-Wing Designs-Ho 1 to Ho 229 Part 1

Book excerpt: In February of 1982, I flew to Buenos Aires then on to Cordoba, Argentina to meet with Dr Reimar Horten, (1915-1994) the designer of a series of sail and powered all wing flying machines. He lived in retirement on a ranch 15 to 20 miles from the small town of Villa General Belgrano. After an over night flight from Miami,Florida I arrived at the Cordoba. Reimar Horten, with a full head of white hair, met me and we drove off to his ranch in a white Ford pickup truck. Reimar had total recall. I have met only two such people in my life. We spoke only in English and our conversations were recorded on cassette tapes...which several years later I donated to the National Air & Space Museum library. After several days of speaking only English, Reimar was speaking English to everyone, his wife, helpers on his ranch, shop keepers in Villa General Belgano, and families he'd meet walking on the road into town when he offered them a ride in the back of his truck. Few English-speaking people ever visited this remote area of Argentina at the foot hills of Andes Mountains. His wife, Gisela ,frequently had to remind her husband that all these Argentines had no idea of what he was saying to them so please speak Spanish. I lived at the Horten ranch for one month recording my conversation with Reimar Horten. I returned the following year (1983) for another month. Our two month conversation resulted in 86 two hour taped cassettes. The material presented in this volume (a second volume contains conversations with Walter Horten over numerous visits to his home in Baden Baden, West Germany) has been used in my five copyrighted books on the Horten Brothers. I thank them immensely and now the world hears their voice, their personal struggles, failures, as well as their successes in seeking to perfect the performances of the all-wing aircraft.