The Lippisch–Espenlaub E 2 belongs to the earliest chapter of Alexander Lippisch’s exploration of tailless flight. Associated with aircraft builder Gottlob Espenlaub, it represents an important starting point for understanding a design approach that would become central to Lippisch’s career: an aircraft without the conventional horizontal tail.
An early exploration of tailless flight
Conventional aircraft normally use a horizontal tail to help provide longitudinal stability and control. A tailless design must address those same requirements through a different combination of wing geometry, aerodynamic characteristics, balance and control surfaces.
The attraction is easy to understand, but the engineering is demanding. Removing the horizontal tail does not remove the need for stability. Instead, it makes the relationship between the wing, the centre of gravity and the control system particularly important.
Lippisch and Espenlaub
The E 2 brings together two names from the pioneering world of German gliding: Alexander Lippisch and Gottlob Espenlaub. Their association illustrates how early aircraft development depended on both aerodynamic ideas and practical construction. Experimental gliders offered a way to explore unconventional layouts without the added complexity of a powered installation.
Rather than viewing the E 2 as a mature solution, it is more useful to see it as an early experiment in a continuing investigation. The significance lies in the question it explored: how could a wing-based aircraft achieve controlled flight without relying on a separate horizontal stabilising surface?
Watch: Lippisch–Espenlaub E 2
The accompanying video introduces the aircraft under the title Lippisch Espenlaub E 2 — Lippisch’s First Tailless Design.
What to look for
When studying an early tailless aircraft, start with its overall layout. Consider the wing planform, the placement of the pilot and the arrangement of any visible control surfaces. These features help frame the design problem, although images alone cannot establish the aircraft’s stability, handling qualities or performance.
It is also worth distinguishing tailless from flying wing. The terms are related, but they are not interchangeable: an aircraft can lack a conventional horizontal tail while retaining a distinct fuselage or vertical surfaces.
A beginning, not the finished answer
Lippisch’s later work would explore a variety of tailless and delta-wing configurations. The E 2 is interesting precisely because it belongs to the beginning of that story, before the later designs for which his name became widely known.
For the aviation historian, such experimental aircraft are valuable reminders that an influential design direction rarely arrives fully formed. It develops through questions, practical trials and successive changes. The Lippisch–Espenlaub E 2 deserves attention as part of that formative process.
Historical note: “Lippisch’s First Tailless Design” follows the title of the supplied video. It refers to Lippisch’s early design work, not to a claim that the E 2 was the world’s first tailless aircraft. This article is historical commentary, not flight or airworthiness guidance.