Akaflieg München Mü17 Merle
Akaflieg München · Germany · first flew 1938 · glider
The Akaflieg München Mü17 Merle is a single-seat, 15 m span glider designed and built in Germany from 1938.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | High-mounted, tapered |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × none, embedded-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Fabric-covered welded steel-tube fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Shoulder-mounted wing, trapezoidal in plan with swept leading edges and straight trailing edges
- Fabric-covered welded steel-tube fuselage
- Spoilers at mid-chord at about half span and ailerons over the outer half of the trailing edge
A small wooden shoulder-wing glider with a steel-tube fuselage and a swept-leading-edge trapezoidal wing, nicknamed Kleiderbügel (coat hanger).
Specifications
- The Akaflieg München Mü17 Merle has a length of 7.5 m (25 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 15 m (49 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 200 km/h (124 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
It was offered as a candidate for the 1940 Olympic glider in Rome in February 1939 and came second to the DFS Olympia Meise. About 60 were built before and after the Second World War.
Variants
The Mü19 was a proposed 19 m span version that was not completed because of the war. Two prototypes of the Mü17 were built before series production.
Where you'll see it
A Mü17 built in 1961 (D-1740) is still used as an intermediate single-seater by the Akaflieg München gliding club.
Related aircraft
- Akaflieg München Mü10 Milan
- Akaflieg München Mü30 Schlacro
- Aeronca 50 Chief
- Arado Ar 79
- Bücker Bü 182 Kornett
- Caproni Ca.164
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