Gross Sky Ghost Award

NSM Award for HHSC Junior

Dr. Frank R. Gross, born in 1905 in Württemberg, Germany, was introduced to the magic of flight while he attended the University of Darmstadt where he joined the Akaflieg Darmstadt, or Academic Flying Group. His first design was the Darmstadt 1, which won prizes in Europe and became popular in the US as well. Frank Gross first traveled to the US in May 1929 – with little money or knowledge of English, but with a portfolio of sailplane drawings. He was hired by Baker-McMillen in Akron, Ohio where he built the Akron Condor, America’s first high performance sailplane which set the American distance record of 15.75 miles, just 4 months after Gross’ arrival in the US. After a successful start in the US, Frank Gross returned to Germany in September 1930, married Herta Camerer and finished his Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering.

Frank & Herta returned to Akron as the Great Depression took hold and money for his designs ran dry. Working as a glider flight instructor, he managed to scrape together enough money to design and construct his now famous Sky Ghost, America’s first two-seat glider. The design was based on the novel principle that the student and instructor could fly in one glider together and share realtime instruction.

Between 1929-1936 Akron, Ohio became the pioneer of multi-place sailplane designs in the United States, endowed this Youth Achievement Award program at the National Soaring Museum in 1992. Kurt John Asdal of Wurtsboro, NY was the first to receive this award in 1993. He competed among a national field of nominees to receive a certificate of Recognition and a $500 scholarship. Dr. Gross himself presented this first award and spoke with passion of his desire “to give youth a hand in soaring”.

The award is named after the Sky Ghost, the first two-place training glider built in the United States and designed by Dr. Frank Gross. It flew in the first SSA sponsored National Contest which was held in Elmira in 1932. During that contest in flights off Harris Hill, it set unofficial world endurance record for two-place gliders.

In the early 1930’s the sport of soaring was just starting in the US and there was little market for sailplanes. So instead of designing and building sailplanes, Dr. Gross took a position with B.F. Goodrich and had a long and productive career in engineering ( started there in early 1930’s).

The Sky Ghost was the first glider that allowed both the instructor or the student control from either place. Later in life, Dr. Gross restored the Sky Ghost (so named because of the black color, the least expensive paint he could find in 1931), which he eventually donated to the NSM, where it still in permanent collection. Dr. Gross passed away in 1997.

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Compiled from NSM records – 2025 KAS

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