Brunswick, Lower Saxony, Germany
Since 1996, Dr. Reiner Kickert has built up Leichtwerk AG, a company for the development of special aircraft positioned between science and industry, which, as a systems house, has the knowledge base for overall design and prototype construction (www.leichtwerk.de). Dr. Kickert is the CEO and majority shareholder of Leichtwerk AG, Head of the EASA Design Organisation 21J.332 and a CVE for aircraft structures, designer of the 'eta', the world's largest sailplane, a member of OSTIV, DGLR and various national aeronautical working groups, chairman of the German Glider Manufacturer's Association and lectured composite structures for 20 years at the Technical University Braunschweig. With the foundation of Leichtwerk Research GmbH in 2018, Dr. Kickert initiated an incubator for new technologies and qualification of specialists through collaboration with universities and research institutions (www.leichtwerk-research.de). With the akquisition of SFL GmbH in Stuttgart additional expertise in aircraft design, solar powered flight and unmanned systems was taken on board (www.sfl-gmbh.de). Dr. Kickert is currently strongly committed to make High Altitude Platform Stations to become a reality, as great hopes have been associated with the use of satellites or HAPS for the ubiquitous, worldwide availability of broadband communications for more than two decades. Success depends not only on technological feasibility, but equally on the economic viability of the chosen technical solution. Read more on Leichtwerk's approach on www.leichtwerk.de and www.haps-broadband.org. Dedicated to aircraft design, Dr. Reiner Kickert started his professional career in 1982 as a student in Braunschweig and member of the Academic Flying Group. During this time he was part of the team designing and building the all flying wing research sailplane 'SB 13' which flew first in 1988. He received his PH.D. on "Crack Propagation Analysis of complex bonded Fibre reinforced Structures“ from the University of Braunschweig in 1995.