Manfred Reinhardt began gliding at the age of 15, obtaining his A and B badges in a SG38. While studying for his doctorate in atmospheric physics at Stuttgart Technical University, he was a leading member of the Akademische Fliegergruppe Stuttgart. He participated for the first time in OSTIV at the 1954 Congress held in Buxton, UK. In 1956 he was employed as an assistant to Prof. Dr. Walter Georgii, the former president of the pre-war ISTUS, forerunner to OSTIV and IGC, who had established a new institute for atmospheric research at the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt f�r Segelflug. The work of Dr Georgii and his staff contributed greatly to the sport of gliding. In 1956 Manfred Reinhardt joined DFVLR (now DLR) and worked for this organisation until his retirement in 1992. During his time with this German equivalent of NASA, much of his work had a directly benefitted the soaring community. As President of OSTIV for 20 years, Manfred Reinhardt worked tirelessly to advance the organisation�s worldwide status. His professional leadership resulted in an ever-increasing world image, greater participation in OSTIV Congresses, expanded distribution of OSTIV papers through partnership between the Soaring Society of America and OSTIV, a healthy financial position and strong OSTIV support for the Sailplane Development Panel, the Meteorological Panel and the Training and Safety Panel. He maintained OSTIV as a key organisation within FAI through his annual reports and active presence at FAI annual conferences.
Klaus Ohlmann is one of Germany�s - and the world�s - most outstanding glider pilots and instructors. He has made a special study of the use of lee-waves for long distance flights, and has provided accounts of his practical experience in the Alps, which has proved useful in many scientific gliding symposiums to substantiate and to consolidate theories. With his scientific work during the 'Mountain Wave Project' exploring the lee-waves in the Andes in Argentina, he achieved truly pioneer flights in the last two years, probing the outer limits of what can be achieved in distance flying. Klaus Ohlmann is a glider pilot who gives total personal and physical commitment to his activities, using his exceptional proficiency to achieve the highest performances, such as his successful flight in the Andes on November 26, 2000: in a 'Stemme S 10' motorglider, he flew a Free Three Turn Points Distance of 2'459 km. This record claim exceeded the previous longest world gliding distance record by 400 km. He also established the following World records: Free Out and return Distance (1412.22 km ; D-O), Free Out and Return Distance (1555.00 km ; D-O), Free Three Turn Points Distance (2459.60 km ; D-O), Speed over an Out And Return Course of 1500km (122.34 km/h ; D-O).