Bitterwasser is a familiar name to all glider pilots, but what about Waghäusel? It’s a small town between Karlsruhe and Mannheim where, every fall for a few days, the concentration of high-performance gliders rises astronomically: specifically in early September, when shipping containers are packed with gliders and equipment using a sophisticated system reminiscent of Tetris, ready to be shipped to Namibia. They’re transported by truck for a few hours to Antwerp, from there by freighter to Walvis Bay on Namibia’s Atlantic coast, then back onto trucks, and after about 450 km of gravel roads, the journey finally ends in Bitterwasser after a total of seven weeks. It’s nearly 12,000 km by land and sea—ironically, the gliders don’t travel through the air.
Seven containers set off a few days ago; Bitterwasser Chairman Rainer Hog expects a total of 30 gliders at the lodge this year: “More than half are Arcus M models—they’re simply perfect for gliding in Namibia. Two of them are brand-new; they were delivered just this past August. The rest are two-seaters like the Nimbus 3DM, EB 28, and ASG 32, plus a few single-seaters—including some Ventus, JS 3, and ASH 31 models—and even an ASW 22 will be on site.” The loading team is well-coordinated; every move is precise, ensuring the aircraft can be loaded quickly and securely packed for the long journey to Africa: “Our loading supervisor, Lothar Wittig, organizes the entire loading and customs clearance process with the utmost professionalism; we can rely on him 100 percent.” Rainer himself will be on site starting in late October for final preparations; before that, he’ll present the Bitterwasser Cup to the winner of the Junior Challenge at the WeGlide finale on October 10.
In November, the season in southern Africa will finally begin. With these well-traveled gliders, pilots from all over the world will once again set out from the Bitterwasser Flying Lodge until the end of January to chase 1,000-km flights and experience gliding from a whole new perspective — on the other side of the equator.
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Early October is the ideal time to prepare the runways for flight operations. You can land at the Bitterwasser Flying Lodge in every which direction—depending on how you look at it, on 8 runways (plus one emergency runway), each in two directions. Jeremias carefully levels the landing area over the course of several weeks.
In early September, the containers holding the gliders for the 2026/27 season were loaded in Waghäusel. Transported by trailer, truck, and cargo ship, the gliders are now on their long journey to Namibia, to the Bitterwasser Flying Lodge.