After reading the books of Prof. Ahlborn about flying seeds, in 1903 he developed his first gliders (called Zanonia) inspired by the flying seed of Zanonia macrocarpa.
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This reverse side of the coin shows the “Etrich-Taube” as well as the “Zanonia” glider and a waving Igo Etrich sitting in the open cockpit of a plane.
The aircraft was named after the Zanonia tropical flowering plant, the seeds of which are good gliders.
Zanonia |
The wings, which could be folded upwards for transport and had no wire bracing, were made of wood covered with varnished paper and were of a complex design probably inspired by the seeds of the Zanonia tree.