1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Schempp-Hirth Nimbus 4 D-KHXX: Juergen Lehle· CC BY-SA 3.0
what is it?
The Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-4 is a family of high-performance FAI Open Class gliders designed by Klaus Holighaus and manufactured by Schempp-Hirth Flugzeugbau GmbH in Kirchheim, Germany. The Nimbus-4 first flew in 1990.
How to recognise it: 2 engines · 26.5 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 36 years ago, in 1990.
- Top speed is 2.2× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 26.5 m: about 6 cars parked nose to tail.
no engine: No engine: it glides on rising air.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1990
- number built
- 144
- role
- high-performance fai open class glider
- origin
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- makers
- Schempp-Hirth
- engines
- none (glider)
- crew
- 1
- passengers
- 2
- length
- 7.8 m
- wingspan
- 26.5 m
- max take-off weight
- 820 kg
- top speed
- 285 km/h
- cruise speed
- 142 km/h
- range
- —
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q3475327, Wikipedia: Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-4 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.