UP International

UP International GmbH, formally Ultralite Products – UP International GmbH, is a German aircraft manufacturer focused primarily on the design and production of ready-to-fly paragliders. The company is based in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and traces its origins to a hang-glider business established in Pasadena, California, by American industrial designer Pete Brock. Although its early identity was rooted in the United States, the company’s product development and corporate organization progressively shifted toward Europe, ultimately making Germany its principal base. Brock entered the business after working in automotive design, including work associated with the Shelby Daytona racing car. His interest in hang gliding led to the Brock Redtail and, with designer Roy Haggard, the UP Dragonfly. The Dragonfly was notable because it departed from the conventional Rogallo-style wing configuration. Another early product, the UP Condor, achieved a widely reported duration-flight record of 16 hours and 4 minutes in 1979. In 1980, Japanese investor Yuseke Yamazaki supported the company’s expansion into Asian markets. Around the same period, Haggard designed the UP Comet, a highly influential hang-glider model that achieved strong sales, set records, and was copied by other manufacturers. During the mid-1980s, Brock and Haggard left the business, and Yamazaki assumed control. The company adopted the UP International name and became a wholly owned subsidiary of Isomura, Inc. Its activities broadened beyond hang gliders to include windsurfing equipment, ultralight aircraft, apparel, and related sporting goods. It also operated or supported multiple locations, including the UP Soaring Center in Salt Lake City, where the UP TRX hang glider was developed. UP entered the paraglider market in 1990, hiring South Korean designer Gin Seok Song to create the UP Flash, its first paraglider. The model sold successfully, but Song subsequently moved to Edel Paragliders and later founded Gin Gliders. A major European phase began in 1992, when Ernst Schneider established UP Europe in Sindelsdorf, Germany. Paraglider development then shifted to Germany under designer Rasso von Schlichtegroll, whose work included the UP Katana, UP Vision, and UP Pickup tandem. Competitive success helped strengthen the brand: Ernst Strobl won the 1992 European Paragliding Championships on a Katana, and UP pilot Uli Wiesmeier won the first Paragliding World Cup series on the same model. The company continued to develop both performance equipment and apparel. Wiesmeier designed the Skywear clothing line, while UP’s competition team included prominent pilots such as Richard Gallon and Stephan Stiegler. UP Europe also maintained a hang-glider design operation managed by Bernd Weber, producing the UP Speed and Speed TL. After further ownership changes in the late 1990s, the hang-gliding business was discontinued in 1999 and the paragliding division was sold to Swedish pilot Christian Rönning. Reorganized as UP International, the company consolidated its operations and developed products including the Pulse, Makalu, Summit, Gambit, Sherpa Bi, Targa, and Trango. Since 2010, the design organization has included Czech designers Frantisek Pavlousek, Michal Sneiberg, and Jirik Dlask, together with German aerospace engineer Matthias Hartmann and Stefan Bocks. UP International’s present identity is therefore centered on specialized free-flight aircraft, particularly paragliders, while its historical portfolio encompasses hang gliders, tandem wings, ultralight aircraft, clothing, and windsurfing equipment.

UP International began as a California hang-glider manufacturer founded by Pete Brock in Pasadena. Brock’s background in industrial and racing-car design informed his early aircraft work, including the Brock Redtail. Working with Roy Haggard, he developed the UP Dragonfly, an unconventional hang glider that did not use a Rogallo-style wing. The UP Condor later achieved a 16-hour-and-4-minute duration-flight record in 1979, while Haggard’s UP Comet became one of the company’s most influential early designs. Japanese investment in 1980 helped the company expand in Asia. After Brock and Haggard departed in the mid-1980s, Yuseke Yamazaki took control, renamed the business UP International, and placed it under Isomura, Inc. The company broadened its range to windsurfing equipment, ultralight aircraft, and clothing, while continuing to develop hang gliders through operations such as the UP Soaring Center in Utah. The company entered paragliding in 1990 with the UP Flash, designed by Gin Seok Song. In 1992, Ernst Schneider established UP Europe in Germany, moving the center of paraglider development to Europe. Rasso von Schlichtegroll developed models such as the Katana, Vision, and Pickup. The Katana achieved notable competition results, including wins associated with Ernst Strobl and Uli Wiesmeier. UP’s pilot and design network also included Richard Gallon, Stephan Stiegler, and Uli Wiesmeier, whose work helped connect the brand with the international competition scene. UP Europe’s German operations later added a hang-glider design program under Bernd Weber, producing the Speed and Speed TL. Schneider sold UP Europe to Daiichi Kosho in 1997, after which the business expanded to approximately 20 employees and relocated to Kochel am See. Daiichi Kosho sold the company in 1999. The hang-gliding operation was closed, while the paragliding division was acquired by Christian Rönning and reorganized as UP International. Under the reorganized company, Torsten Siegel, Georg Maier, and former world champion Stephan Stiegler contributed to a series of paraglider designs, including the Pulse, Makalu, Summit, Gambit, Sherpa Bi, Targa, and Trango. Since 2010, the design team has included Frantisek Pavlousek, Michal Sneiberg, Jirik Dlask, Matthias Hartmann, and Stefan Bocks. The company is now organized as a German Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung and is primarily identified with paragliders and other specialized free-flight aircraft.

• 2010

  New design team formed

  [1]UP Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  The company’s design team came to include Czech designers Frantisek Pavlousek, Michal Sneiberg, and Jirik Dlask, German aerospace engineer Matthias Hartmann, and Stefan Bocks.

• 1999

  Paragliding division reorganized

  [1]UP Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  After Daiichi Kosho sold the company, the hang-gliding business was wound up and the paragliding division was reorganized as UP International under Christian Rönning.

• 1997

  UP Europe sold to Daiichi Kosho

  [1]UP Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  Daiichi Kosho acquired UP Europe, invested in the business, and supported its European expansion and relocation to Kochel am See.

• 1992

  UP Europe established

  [1]UP Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  Ernst Schneider established UP Europe in Sindelsdorf, Germany, shifting paraglider development toward Europe.

• 1990

  Entry into paragliding

  [1]UP Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  UP hired Gin Seok Song to develop the UP Flash, its first paraglider.

• 1980

  Asian expansion

  [1]UP Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  Japanese investor Yuseke Yamazaki supported expansion into Asian markets.

• 1980

  UP Comet introduced

  [1]UP Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  Roy Haggard designed the UP Comet, a widely sold and influential hang-glider model.

• 1979

  UP Condor duration record

  [1]UP Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  The UP Condor was used for a reported world-record duration flight lasting 16 hours and 4 minutes.

• Company founded in Pasadena

  [1]UP Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  Pete Brock established the predecessor business in Pasadena, California, initially as a hang-glider manufacturer.

A specialist free-flight aircraft brand combining competition-oriented paraglider and hang-glider development with recreational and tandem products.

• Hang glider · 1980

  UP Comet

  Introduced around 1980 and designed by Roy Haggard, the UP Comet was one of the company’s landmark hang-glider products. It set performance records, sold in substantial numbers, and became influential enough to be widely copied. Its reputation helped establish UP as a significant name in the early hang-gliding market.

• Hang glider

  UP Condor

  The UP Condor was an early hang-glider model associated with a reported world-record duration flight of 16 hours and 4 minutes in 1979. It represents the company’s early emphasis on flight performance and record-setting development.

• Hang glider

  UP Dragonfly

  Designed by Pete Brock and Roy Haggard, the UP Dragonfly was notable for departing from the Rogallo-style wing configuration used by many earlier hang gliders. It was an important early technical expression of the company’s design-led identity.

• Paraglider · 1990

  UP Flash

  The UP Flash was the company’s first paraglider, designed by Gin Seok Song after UP entered the paraglider market in 1990. The model sold successfully and marked the transition from a primarily hang-gliding manufacturer toward the paragliding specialization that later defined UP International.

• Paraglider

  UP Katana

  Developed during the company’s UP Europe period by Rasso von Schlichtegroll, the Katana was a performance paraglider associated with major competition results. Ernst Strobl won the 1992 European Paragliding Championships on a Katana, and Uli Wiesmeier used one to win the first Paragliding World Cup series.

• Hang glider · 1995

  UP Speed

  The UP Speed was part of the hang-glider design program operated through UP Europe under Bernd Weber’s management. It was followed by the Speed TL in 1997 and formed part of the company’s final European hang-gliding development before that business was later discontinued.

• Paraglider

  UP Makalu

  The UP Makalu was one of the paraglider families developed after the 1999 reorganization of the company as UP International. It belongs to the post-ownership-change generation that also included the Pulse, Summit, Gambit, Sherpa Bi, Targa, and Trango.

• Paraglider

  UP Trango

  The UP Trango was developed during the consolidated UP International period by the company’s post-1999 design organization. It is part of the brand’s performance-oriented paraglider portfolio.

• 1999

  Concentrate on paraglidingStrategy

  Background

  Following the sale of the company by Daiichi Kosho, the business was reorganized and its activities were reassessed.

  Action taken

  The hang-gliding business was wound up, while the paragliding division was sold to Christian Rönning and consolidated under the UP International name.

  Aftermath

  The company became principally identified with paraglider development and production rather than its earlier diversified ultralight portfolio.

  Source

• 1990

  Enter the paraglider marketProduct launch

  Background

  UP sought to extend its free-flight business beyond hang gliders.

  Action taken

  The company hired Gin Seok Song to design the UP Flash, its first paraglider.

  Aftermath

  The Flash sold well and established paragliding as an important part of the company’s future direction.

  Source

• 1980

  Expand into Asia and diversify the product rangeStrategy

  Background

  Japanese investor Yuseke Yamazaki supported international expansion at a time when the company was principally associated with hang gliders.

  Action taken

  The business expanded into Asian markets and broadened its activities to windsurfing equipment, ultralight aircraft, and clothing.

  Aftermath

  The move gave the company a more diverse international product and operating profile before it later concentrated on paragliding.

  Source

1. 1UP Internationalen.wikipedia.org