The Ente (German: duck) was the world’s first rocket-powered full-size aircraft. It was designed by Alexander Lippisch as a sailplane and first flown under power on June 11, 1928, piloted by . During the late 1920s, Fritz von Opel had undertaken a variety of publicity stunts involving rocket-powered vehicles for the Opel company. He was assisted in these endeavours by pyrotechnics manufacturer Friedrich Sander and rocketry advocate Max Valier. In March 1928, the three men visited the Wasserkuppe, a mountain that had become the focus of German gliding, to investigate the possibility of fitting rockets to an aircraft. There, they encountered some of Lippisch's revolutionary gliders, which because of their tail-less designs suggested themselves to rocket propulsion. Lippisch was able to demon