The M 17 was a German single-engine high-wing sports

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

. It was designed by

Willy Messerschmitt Wilhelm Emil "Willy" Messerschmitt (; 26 June 1898 – 15 September 1978) was a German aircraft designer and manufacturer. In 1934, in collaboration with Walter Rethel, he designed the Messerschmitt Bf 109, which became the most important ...

in 1925 in

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castle. C ...

. This aircraft won many competitions and allowed Willy Messerschmitt to build his first factory. Messerschmitt M17

Development

The design of the M 17 could be traced back via the powered

S 16 S16 may refer to: Automobiles * Chery QQme, a Chinese city car * Peugeot 306 S16, a French family car * Proton S16, a Malaysian subcompact car Aviation * Copalis State Airport, in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States * Letov Š-16, ...

and S 15 aircraft to the Messerschmitt-Hirth S 14 glider. The aircraft was a two-seater almost completely made of wood and weighed only 198 kg (437 lb). The engine was a 22 kW (29 hp) Bristol Cherub II. The pilot had no forward visibility. In September 1926, pilot Eberhard von Conta, and the writer Werner von Langsdorff flew in an M 17 from

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. This marked the first time the central Alps were crossed with a light aircraft. The flight lasted more than 14 hours and they had to refuel every three hours, since the tank could hold only 28 L (7 US gal). They reached an altitude of 4,500 m (14,760 ft).

Survivors/Replicas

Only one of the six-eight machines built survived and is today in the

Deutsches Museum The Deutsches Museum (''German Museum'', officially (English: ''German Museum of Masterpieces of Science and Technology'')) in Munich, Germany, is the world's largest museum of science and technology, with about 28,000 exhibited objects from ...

in Munich.Deutsches Museum
/ref> A replica was built by the Messerschmitt Foundation (first flight April 14, 2004) and makes regular appearances at the International Aerospace Exhibition in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. It weighs 40 kg (90 lb) more than the original due to additional equipment (radio and rescue system) and is now at the Manching Aviation Museum in

Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an independent city on the Danube in Upper Bavaria with 139,553 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2022). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan area. Ingolstadt is the second largest city in Upper Bav ...

, Bavaria.

Specifications

References

External links

M-17 at Ugolok Neba
- photos and drawings {{Messerschmitt aircraft M 17 1920s German sport aircraft Articles containing video clips Single-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1925

Development

Survivors/Replicas

Specifications

See also

References

External links