The Hütter Hü 17, is a German

high-wing 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 wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing config ...

strut-braced In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of struts, which act in ...

, single-seat, utility training glider that was designed by brothers

Ulrich Hütter Ulrich Hütter (18 December 1910 – 12 August 1990) was an Austro-German aeronautical engineer and university teacher who came to wider prominence through his second career as a pioneer of wind power technology. Life Ulrich Hütter was born in ...

and

Wolfgang Hütter Wolfgang is a German male given name traditionally popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The name is a combination of the Old High German words ''wolf'', meaning "wolf", and ''gang'', meaning "path", "journey", "travel". Besides the regula ...

in the 1930s.Said, Bob: ''1983 Sailplane Directory,

Soaring Magazine ''SOARING'' is a magazine published monthly as a membership benefit of the Soaring Society of America. It was first published in 1937. The headquarters is in Hobbs, New Mexico. The magazine's article topics include safety issues and accounts of i ...

'', page 86,

Soaring Society of America The Soaring Society of America (SSA) was founded at the instigation of Warren E. Eaton to promote the sport of soaring in the USA and internationally. The first meeting was held in New York City in the McGraw–Hill Building on February 20, 193 ...

November 1983. USPS 499-920 The aircraft's correct designation is unclear and various sources refer to is as the Hütter Hü 17, Hütter-17, Hütter H-17, Hutter H-17, Hütter Hü-17, Göppingen Gö 5 and Goppingen 5.

Design and development

The Hütter brothers designed the Hü 17 in

Salzburg, Austria Salzburg is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Alps mountains. The town occupies the site of the Roman settlement ...

, the designation indicating the aircraft's

glide ratio In aerodynamics, the lift-to-drag ratio (or L/D ratio) is the lift generated by an aerodynamic body such as an aerofoil or aircraft, divided by the aerodynamic drag caused by moving through air. It describes the aerodynamic efficiency under give ...

. The design was made available as plans for amateur construction and several hundred were completed. The brothers then joined the

Schempp-Hirth Schempp-Hirth Flugzeugbau GmbH is a glider manufacturer based in Kirchheim unter Teck, Germany. History Martin Schempp founded his own company in Göppingen in 1935, with the assistance of Wolf Hirth. The company was initially called "Sport ...

company which constructed about five of the aircraft under the designation Göppingen Gö 5. The aircraft is of wooden construction, using a D-tube wing with a single strut and doped

aircraft fabric covering Aircraft fabric covering is a term used for both the material used and the process of covering aircraft open structures. It is also used for reinforcing closed plywood structures. The de Havilland Mosquito is an example of this technique, as are ...

. The wing employs a Göppingen 535

airfoil An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is a streamlined body that is capable of generating significantly more Lift (force), lift than Drag (physics), drag. Wings, sails and propeller blades are examples of airfoils. Foil (fl ...

at the

wing root The wing root is the part of the wing on a fixed-wing aircraft or winged-spaceship that is closest to the fuselage,Peppler, I.L.: ''From The Ground Up'', page 9. Aviation Publishers Co. Limited, Ottawa Ontario, Twenty Seventh Revised Edition, 1 ...

and a

NACA The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency that was founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its ...

M-6 at the

wing tip A wing tip (or wingtip) is the part of the wing that is most distant from the fuselage of a fixed-wing aircraft. Because the wing tip shape influences the size and drag of the wingtip vortices, tip design has produced a diversity of sha ...

. The

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

plywood Plywood is a composite material manufactured from thin layers, or "plies", of wood veneer that have been stacked and glued together. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured boards, which include plywood, medium-density fibreboa ...

covered.

Operational history

In the 1980s a number of aircraft were still flying in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In July 2011 one example was registered with the American

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

in the ''Experimental - Exhibition'' category, having been constructed in 1990.

Variants

;Hü 17 :Initial model with a wing span ;Hü 17B :Improved model, introduced after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

with increased wing span and higher empty and gross weights ;Göppingen Gö 5 :Model built by

;TG-24 :USAAF designation for one impressed Gö 5 (serial number ''42-57185'')https://usmilitaryaircraft.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/airf-tg.pdf ;CAT 20 :Italian licence build, 1938. Over 20 produced.

Aircraft on display

National Soaring Museum The National Soaring Museum (NSM) is an aviation museum whose stated aim is to preserve the history of motorless flight. It is located in Big Flats Town, New York, on top of Harris Hill near Elmira. The NSM is the Soaring Society of America's ...

Technisches Museum Wien The Vienna Museum of Science and Technology () is a museum in Penzing, Vienna, Austria, on Mariahilfer Straße. The museum showcases the history and development of technology, industry, and science, with a focus on Austrian involvement. It hous ...

Specifications (Hü 17b)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutter H 17 1930s German sailplanes Hütter aircraft High-wing aircraft Glider aircraft Aircraft with skid landing gear