The entry at hand is not only regarding to this thread, but also to the entries cited here above, from Richard.
It is about the German engineer Walter Schlieske (or Schließke)
side-note: The rules for with the German letter ß (= sz) are not even understood by every native Geman speaker.
And: as for Schlieske, there are even more spellings of his name: Schliesske, Schlisske, Wiesske.
Alas …
The following is the translation of an excerpt from a scholarly biography (w/ sources in the footnotes) about the German engineer and entrepeneur Karl Erwin Merckle.
Merckle built the first German turbine powered helicopter which had its maiden flight in 1959. Merckle also founded the Meravo Luftreederei (air charter), which is in business still today, one of the largest privately owned German companies in the segment.
Merckle also was one of the people who got scammed by Schlieske. At least that is suggested in this section in the biography.
„Merckle let himself be inspired by the inventor Walter Schlieske for the cause of a people's helicopter (Volkshubschrauber). Schlieske, a former fighter pilot and engineer with the Reichsluftfartministerium (Nazi aviation administration), had begun constructing a "flying scooter" ("Fluro" = Flugroller) near Delmenhorst at the end of 1952, which was equipped with five windmill wings and was intended to carry two people into the air. It was powered by a Volkswagen engine. The "helicopter for everyone" was to cost about DM 4.000 to 5.000, be child's play to operate and cover about 150 km per hour. The idea met with great interest and sensational reports about his first flight went around the world.
In the mid-1950s, Schlieske founded the FLUR Flying Scooter And Helicopter Development Company in Minden. In 1956, he built the "Libelle", which was to be marketed as a single-seater for DM 8.000 and as a two-seater for DM 14.000. At that time, a helicopter that had proven itself on the market cost more than ten times as much The "Libelle", also called the "Volkshubschrauber", was equipped with a 100 cc two-stroke engine and ramjet engines. The frame construction was made of bamboo and aluminium tubes. Schlieske's ventures later turned out to be a fraud; the flights with the Volkshubschrauber were faked. Walter Schlieske flew anyway in 1957: to prison. By then he had deceived several companies with his concept and swindled DM 180.000.“
That is about $ 81.000 by exchange rate of 1952.
