Hippie by Start+Flug

Thanks to Koen Van de Kerckhove (hey, that's me. Now i remember how i met Stewart Midwinter by email  :)   ) for the following information:

The Hippie is a simple ultralight glider built by Start+Flug, also builders of the Salto. It first flew in 15 August, 1974. Some time later, there were already examples flying in five countries apart from Germany. The glider had three-axis controls through rudder pedals and an overhead stick. The glider's basic structure was made of fiberglass, with carbon-fiber reinforcements; the wings were plastic-covered, while the tail surfaces were fabric-covered. Later, a second version was built, with honeycomb-construction wings, a longer tail structure of aluminum tubing, an enlarged rudder, quick-connect fittings for the controls, and an enlarged seating area for the pilot. The glider could be broken down and carried in a box measuring 5 x 1.1 x 0.6m (a little shorter than a Swift box).

The design could be foot-launched, car-towed, aerotow-launched, or with some other assistance. (Rolling off a hill like the BUG was apparently not thought of). After a foot-launch, the pilot would draw up his legs into the hoop-like fiberglass seat fairing at the nose of the aircraft (see photo above), though's it not known how often the glider was ever foot-launched. The fairing also served as the landing skid (again, no wheel is mentioned). The designers recommended that for foot-launching, the following guidelines should apply:

Hill angle (in degrees) x Wind speed (in m/s) > 80

Applying this guideline, here are some examples of minimum wind suggested for foot-launching. On a shallow slope, the values seem a bit extreme!

Hill Angle Required Wind Speed
L/D ratio   Degrees   km/h    mi/h   m/s
1:1            45             6.5       4.0    1.8
2:1            27             11         7      3.0
3:1            18             16        10     4.4
4:1            14              21       13     5.7
5:1             11             26        16     7.3
7:1            8.1             36        22     9.9
10:1          5.7             50        31      14
15:1          3.8             76        47      21

Specifications

Airfoil Wortmann FX S 02
Area 9.0 m2
Aspect Ratio 11.1
Weight 48 kg.
Max take-off weight 135 kg.
Wing loading 14.8 m2 / 3.0 ft2
Span 10.0 m

Folded length 2.4 m
L/D max. about 12:1 at 45 km/h
Min. sink 1.3 m/s at 40 km/h
Max speed (smooth air) 32 knots; 60 km/h; 37 mph

Pictures