Akaflieg Munich Mü 17

Akaflieg Munich Mü 17 "Merle"
Type:	Glider
Design country:	German Empire
Manufacturer:	Akaflieg Munich
First flight:	1938
Number of pieces:	2 (approx. 60 replicas)

The Akaflieg Munich Mü 17 “Merle” is a glider belonging to the Akaflieg Munich student flying group , which took second place in a competition for an Olympic standard glider pilot .

history

At the end of the 1930s there were efforts to establish gliding as an Olympic discipline. In order to offer every athlete the same chance of victory, a uniform aircraft type had to be used. To this end, the International Study Commission for Motorless Flight (ISTUS) announced a competition for an Olympic standard glider pilot . In 1939 the elimination competition took place in Rome, in which the Mü 17 only had to admit defeat to the DFS Olympia Meise and achieved second place. The Olympic Games in Helsinki, in which gliding should be introduced as an Olympic discipline for the first time, did not take place due to the outbreak of war.

construction

As is usual in the Munich school , the shoulder decker has a tubular steel hull covered with fabric and wooden surfaces. The swept wings bring the 158 kg light Mü 17 into the air at a minimum speed of 45 km / h. During the construction, special attention was paid to simple flight characteristics, but also to assembly and handling. For example, it has automatic connections for the ailerons and airbrakes .

use

The two prototypes built by Akaflieg were followed by a series of around 60 Mü 17s, which were built from 1941 to 1944 at the Aviation Manufacturing Association in Prague . None of these aircraft survived the Second World War, but Akaflieg Munich built two new aircraft in 1960 and 1961, which differ slightly from the original version. The second replica of the Mü 17 “Merle” with the registration D-1740 , which was flown for the first time on July 30, 1961, is currently used as a club aircraft by Akaflieg Munich in the Königsdorf glider center. This was damaged on the fuselage in a failed landing in 2018 and was repaired by July 2019.

variants

During the war there were plans to use the Mü 19 to develop a version of the Mü 17 with an enlarged wingspan of 19 m. However, these plans were not implemented.

Technical specifications

Parameter	Data
crew	1
length	7.50 m
Wingspan (width)	15.00 m (3.00 m with folded surfaces, 1.10 m with folded surfaces and tail unit)
height	1.06 m (1.40 m with folded surfaces)
Wing area	13.30 m²
Wing extension	16.90
Arrow	5 °
V shape	3 °
Wing loading	19.15 kg / m²
Preparation mass	160 kg
Payload	95 kg
Takeoff mass	255 kg
Top speed	200 km / h
Glide ratio	26 at 58 km / h
slightest sinking	0.64 m / s at 75 km / h
Breaking load multiple	10 g

literature

Martin Simons: Sailplanes 1920–1945 . EQIP, Königswinter 2006, ISBN 3-9806773-4-6 .

Frank-Dieter Lemke, Rolf Jacob: Research - Build - Fly. The Academic Fliegergruppen (Akaflieg) in Germany until 1945. Part 1 . In: Fliegerrevue extra . No. June 29 , 2010, p. 18-31 .

Web links

Commons : Akaflieg München Mü17 Merle - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Official website of Akaflieg Munich

Individual evidence

↑ The Mü 17 on the Akaflieg Munich website , accessed on June 27, 2012
^ Frank-Dieter Lemke: Akaflieg Munich Mü 17 Merle. In: Fliegerrevue No. 3/2020, p. 61
↑ The Mü 19 on the Akaflieg Munich website , accessed on June 27, 2012
^ Helmut Schneider: Airplane Type Book. Handbook of the German aviation and accessories industry. Reprint of the original edition from 1944. Gondrom, Bindlach 1986, ISBN 3-8112-0484-X , p. 298.

[1] The Mü 17 on the Akaflieg Munich website , accessed on June 27, 2012

[2] Frank-Dieter Lemke: Akaflieg Munich Mü 17 Merle. In: Fliegerrevue No. 3/2020, p. 61

[3] The Mü 19 on the Akaflieg Munich website , accessed on June 27, 2012

[4] Helmut Schneider: Airplane Type Book. Handbook of the German aviation and accessories industry. Reprint of the original edition from 1944. Gondrom, Bindlach 1986, ISBN 3-8112-0484-X , p. 298.