Johannes is an aerospace passionate from childhood on. He made his sailplane pilot license at the age of 17. He is a mechanical Engineer with a Ph.D. (Dr.–Ing.) from TU München. In his studies, he focused on numerical simulation and optimization.
Besides the theoretical education, he satisfied his drive to make ideas reality as a member of the Akaflieg München. He had been project manager for four years. During this time, he gathered a great team to push the design and the manufacturing of the wing and fuselage structure of the high performance sailplane Mü 31. Successful full scale structural tests of the 15 meter span wing and the fuselage were conducted. His time at Akaflieg culminated in his selection as a pilot for the maiden flight of the Mü 31, which was successfully done in 2017.
He then became a research scientist at the Chair of Lightweight Structures and at the Chair of Aircraft Design at the TU München, where he contributed to high precision satellite antennas and morphing wing components of transport aircraft. Simultaneously he initiated the project MILAN (Morphing Wings for Sailplanes), which aimed to push the limits of sailplane performance with an ultra high aspect ratio wing with a morphing leading edge section. The four year project culminated in the successful technological feasiblility demonstration with a full scale wing section. His desire to shape the future of lightweight design and aviation let him finally found Achleitner Aerospace.
Florian began his engineering career in 2016 by pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at the TU München. During his studies, he developed a strong passion for aerospace engineering. In his third semester, he joined Akaflieg Munich, where he obtained his sailplane pilot license, including aerobatics certification.
As part of his bachelor’s thesis, he designed the wing of the aerobatic glider Mü 32 and soon took on the role of project leader. Under his leadership, he and his team went on to design the fuselage and conduct a dynamic crash test, which was successfully completed in 2022. Following this milestone, he oversaw the manufacturing of the wing for the structural breaking test and the planning of the test setup, while simultaneously completing his Master’s degree.
After his education Florian was working as a Systems Installation Engineer at Deutsche Aircraft. Over the course of two years, he was responsible for the design of the flight and engine control systems for the D328eco. After this highly formative experience, he joined Achleitner Aerospace, where he is now responsible for structural analysis and design-related topics.