Overview of Groundbreaking Light Aircraft Manufacturer Grob Aerospace

Overview of Groundbreaking Light Aircraft Manufacturer Grob Aerospace

With popular models of aircraft to their credit like the Grob G 103 Twin Astir sailplane and Grob G109B motor glider, Grob Aerospace is a popular German-based aircraft manufacturer with nearly four decades of aviation experience.

Grob doesn't turn out luxury private jets or huge jumbo liners like other companies, but they have been ahead of the game for a while. They first started using the strong and lightweight carbon fiber reinforced polymer way back in the 1970s, when other companies were still using inferior materials that added weight, drag and price to their aircraft.

The Grob line started back in 1926, when Ernst Grob first started producing internal combustion engines and other parts for the automobile industry. Ernst's son, Dr. Burkhart Grob, wanted to follow in his father's footsteps in terms of manufacturing. However, the world was going in a new direction. Air travel was becoming popular and the rush was on to personalize it.

Burkhart founded Grob Aerospace in 1971 and started to become involved in various forms of motorized gliders. Schempp-Hirth contracted Grob to build the Standard Cirrus, and with Burkhart's expertise as a glider pilot, the company successfully completed the construction and delivery of over 200 gliders from 1971 to 1975.

To that date, Grob had constructed inexpensive gliders for the competitive market. In 1974, they decided that it was far more lucrative to go with building for the club market. Their first big project in this new market was the successful G-102 Astir, soon followed by the G-103 two-seater. By 1978, Grob again wanted to expand its horizons.

In 1981, the first ever all-composite motor glider was certified, the G-109. They continued to produce similar models of aircraft in the years to come, including the G-115 in 1987 and even more risqué high-altitude models like the G-520, which established and broke multiple world records for its class.

By the 1990s, Grob Aerospace had a working formula and a large market to compete in. However, in 1996, Grob decided to get away from the glider world altogether. The company was attempting to set its sights solely on powered aircraft models. These would be more costly to build, but they would also bring in more money.

The design and testing phase for their powered line took nearly a decade. In 2005, the first flight of the Grob G-180 SPn took off, but before it could really be picked up as an effective aircraft, the second prototype crashed in Germany in 2006, killing the plane's pilot.

After the crash, it was increasingly difficult to find investors to back Grob in their production of light-jet aircraft. The company filed for insolvency in 2008, releasing most of its employees and failing to finish the Learjet 85 model they had been contracted to build.

H3 Aerospace purchased Grob Aerospace in 2009 and renamed the company Grob Aircraft. They hit the ground running and their small aircraft production immediately picked back up.