Focke-Wulf A 17
The Focke -Wulf A 17 " Seagull" was a commercial aircraft, the Focke- Wulf Flugzeugbau AG, as the most economical aircraft ever was to the late 1920s.
History
Due to the good experience with the small airliner A 16 Focke-Wulf also saw good sales opportunities for a larger aircraft. Even with the A 17 were a high efficiency and low cost in the foreground. It first two versions were made , these were the A 17 (420 -hp Gnome - Rhone Jupiter radial engine ) in 1927 and 1928, the A 17 (480 hp Jupiter engine with gearbox).
The first A 17 was used by the pattern test flights at the German Research Institute for Aviation in Adlershof of the North German air traffic AG in the North Sea Baths service. In 1928 the German Luft Hansa awarded a contract for the construction of ten machines version A 17a. These were still made in the same year in service and after the north-west German cities ( Emden, Osnabrück, Münster, etc. ) named. 1929 Luft Hansa began this type also on the international routes Berlin- Zurich and Berlin- Paris and put up to August 1929 over 1 million air miles back. In the first 2 1/2 years of service, the A 17 and A 17 mastered about 12 % of the total scheduled air transport of Luft Hansa.
1932 A 17a was converted to the so-called children's gull and for sightseeing flights that were offered for 2.50 Reichsmarks used. Only in the year 1936, the last two A 17a Lufthansa (D - UNIK " Münster " and D- UTOS "Hannover" ) have been exploited.
Construction
The cantilevered wing monoplane was carried out in mixed construction made of steel and wood. The shaftless suspension was supported on both sides with a vertical strut for the wing and an inclined strut to the fuselage. The outer parts of the wings had the typical early Focke- Wulf designs Zanonia form to improve the lateral stability. The placed in the wing tanks formed part of the wing leading edge and provided for a maximum flying time of about four hours.
The enclosed cabin could accommodate up to eight passengers. The crew of two sat in an enclosed cockpit with dual controls. The two luggage compartments were housed under the cockpit and at the end of the fuselage next to the toilet.
Developments
In four other 1929 given by Lufthansa in order copies, the installation of the BMW VI engines were required with 650 hp. Along with improvements to the cell, this led to a significant increase in weight, whereupon this variant, the new designation A received 29. The outward differences to A 17 were limited to the engine, the front cooler, the horizontal stabilizer and a modified cockpit glazing. Two copies of the A 29 (D -1757 " Friesland " and D- 1867 "Westfalen" ) were to 1933, the Luft Hansa in use.
Another aircraft of this series was used by the German Research Institute for Aviation as a test vehicle for aircraft engines and designated as A 26.
The latest version of the gull was the A38, from the Luft Hansa in 1931 ordered four copies for cargo and passenger flights. The fuselage layout was changed here radically, between the cockpit for the three -man crew (pilot, board Wart and radio operator ) and the passenger cabin for ten passengers a freight room was built. Furthermore, there was also a freight-only execution, even the wing roots were included as auxiliary cargo holds with. The A-38 flew from 1931 to 1933 on the routes of Luft Hansa.