DFS Reiher  The DFS Reiher (in English "Heron") was a single seat competition glider designed in Germany by Hans Jacobs and first flown in 1937. The type won the last two German Rhön gliding championships before the start of World War II. Six were factory produced. In 1935 Hans Jacobs had been asked by Alexander Lippisch to become chief designer of sailplanes at the nationalised Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug (DFS) at Darmstadt, after the closure of the RRG (Rhön-Rossitten Gesellschaft) on the Wasserkuppe in 1933. In 1936 there was more recognition of the need for fast gliders with high wing loading and low camber to fare better in competitions by moving quickly between strong thermals; the hope was that camber-changing flaps would enhance lift in the climb. The Reiher was Jacobs' attempt to build these qualities into a new sailplane, using all the DFS design and prototype production facilities and skills. It was an all-wood aircraft with a mid-mounted cantilever gull wing, the wing position chosen to simplify the blending of the wing root into the fuselage. This fairing was most noticeable on the trailing edge. The wing was divided into three sections, a centre part which had a full span of about 12 m (39 ft 4 in) and strong (10°) dihedral and two outer sections with no dihedral. In plan it was doubly straight tapered, though mostly on the trailing edge, ending in semi-elliptical tips. The wing was built around a single, narrow, 188 mm (7.4 in) high spar of spruce, rather than the more usual, but heavier pine, which was part of a torsion-resisting D-box formed by the plywood skin forward of it and around the leading edge. The plywood skin continued aft, though the trailing edge and ailerons were fabric covered. Airbrakes were fitted at mid-chord on the innermost position on the outer panels, opening both above and below the wing but unusual in having a longer span lower blade. Camber changing flaps were mounted on the centre section. All of the fuselage and empennage apart from the rear control surfaces was ply skinned. The forward cross section was minimised with a long, low canopy, which extended from the nose to beyond the leading edge; limited by the plastics technology of the time, the Reiher's canopy was made from twelve separate framed sections.