Minimoa

The Minimoa is a single-seat sailplane produced in Germany. It was designed by Martin Schempp and Wolf Hirth and was produced a year after their first glider.  It first flew in 1935.

It established several records, including the world altitude record of 21,939 ft. in 1938 in a thunderstorm. Richard duPont and Chet Decker flew Minimoas to win the US Championships in 1937 and 1938.

It was made out of wood and fabric with cantilevered gull wings. The undercarriage was non-retractable. It was the first glider built to carry water-ballast in a tank behind the pilot.

The only known Minimoa still in private ownership in the US is a 1938 owned by Jerry Wenger in Powell, Wyoming.

The museum's Minimoa, hanging in the Main Gallery, was donated in 1972 by Carl Groom.