Horten Parabola

Reimar Horten designed this concept with the claim that the "parabola" shape is theoretically the most efficient and has the minimum induced drag, so he decided to build an entirely parabolic glider. He got actually this idea from a flying seed, Zanonia Macrocarpia, which is found in Southeast Asia. When mature, the seed drops from the vine and glides to a new location to reproduce itself. The seed was well known by flying win engineers and has already inspired kites and gliders as early as 1904.

The Horten parabola had no motorization, and was designed only for high altitude flights. Because of the curved shape, it was very difficult to construct it, so only one prototype was finished, The aircraft warped severely during winter storage, and was burned and scrapped without ever being flown.

Specifications