A $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the recovery of Gerhard Finkenbeiner and his airplane. Click here for more information.

Click here for the NTSB record of Gerhard's last flight.

It is difficult to put into words the talents of Master Glassblower and ASGS member Gerhard Finkenbeiner. So spirited and creative was his personality, that many considered him their best friend. Gerhard was born on April 11th, 1930 in Konstanz, Germany. Only a teenager during W.W.II, he was chosen for his abilities in electronics and was involved in the development of guidance systems (and the fabrication of the necessary glass components) for the V1 rockets. At the end of the war, he was snatched up at age 16 by the French Navy to help with the development of infrared technology. He later completed his apprenticeship under Hugo May in Konstanz, Germany and obtained his Master Certificate from Wertheim in 1953. He also graduated from the Arts and Metier Electronics School in Paris and worked as a designer of photoelectric components for the Paris Observatory. In 1961, he came to work in the U.S. at Itek as a Glassblower. In 1963, he worked at Brandeis University and founded G. Finkenbeiner, Inc. in Waltham, MA, and the company is still going strong under the leadership of Thomas Hession. Gerhard was also a father, a mountain climber, a highly certified pilot of 35 years, and an organist and composer. Gerhard’s inventions combined his glassblowing skills with his knowledge and lifelong love of music. In 1950, he invented his "Infrared Organ" and made a recording on a "78" phonograph record entitled "L’Orgue Photoelectrique." He also invented the Finkenbeiner Glass Bells; these consist of hand-drawn Quartz thread supported inside an outer glass housing coated with gold and connected to a special circuit that amplified the sound of the thread being struck by a small hammer. Hundreds of units were installed and sold to churches all over Europe and the United States. In 1982, Gerhard produced his first prototype of this Quartz Glass Harmonica (or Glass Armonica). This beautiful instrument was originally invented by Benjamin Franklin in 1761. G. Finkenbeiner, Inc. has since produced over 140 harmonicas more or less true to Gerhard’s original design. A founding member of Glass Music International (GMI), he was a central figure in all of the organization’s events. Gerhard was a Master of what is known as European Flame working. Often he could rotate and repair large, awkward apparatus on the bench without the aid of rollers, a stand, or even a blow hose. He was able to produce clean seals, precision tolerances, large sweeping bends and lifelike medical models with crude equipment and excellent speed. Over the span of his 36 years as President and Master Glassblower at G. Finkenbeiner, Inc., Gerhard designed and fabricated complex Borosilicate and Quartz apparatus for virtually every university Chemistry, Physics, and Semiconductor lab in the Boston area. His knowledge of application was extraordinary. He was one of the first to employ torches made of Quartz to solve contamination problems. The unresolved final chapter of Gerhard’s life unfolded with his disappearance on May 6th, 1999. That day he told his workers he was going "home for a moment" around lunchtime, but sometime shortly afterwards, he went to Norwood Airport. Gerhard made an impulse flight that day, his presumed direction being towards New Hampshire where he had a small dwelling and glass shop. He went south instead, and radar contact was lost over Carver, MA. Still unaware of his flight, he is concerned co-workers reported Gerhard missing the next day. Poor weather and misinformation hindered the air and ground search that followed for nearly two weeks with no results. A $10,000 reward is being offered for the whereabouts of Gerhard Finkenbeiner and his plane, a Piper Arrow N8235Z. Gerhard is survived by three sons, Bertrand, Stephan and Pascal, and many grandchildren. He is also mourned and dearly missed by his "work family" comprised of Thomas & Diane Hession, as well as former co-workers Lisa Allen, Julie Malchow and Don Sellar. As is so often the case, we appreciated those who are truly extraordinary only after they are gone. Gerhard was one of those people for whom there will never be an equal or a replacement.