06/30/2010. Remarks by Johan Visschedijk: "Ferdinand Schulz (1892-1929) of Germany, produced the Besenstiel (Broomstick) in 1922, using bed sheets and broomsticks. When he wanted to participate in the Rhön gliding contest at the famous Wasserkuppe gliding field near Gersfeld, his apparatus was banned as being too fragile.

Schulz made history when he flew the Besenstiel over the 31 mls (50 km) between Königsberg and Memel, east of Frankfurt, on July 12, 1923, while the following year he stayed aloft with the Besenstiel for 8 hr 24 min 9 sec. In 1929 Schulz was killed in a motor plane crash due to wing failure.

The pictured aircraft is a replica produced in 1975 by Klaus Heyn and Erich Kranig, using balloon fabric instead."