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The Akaflieg Stuttgart FS-17 was a glider aircraft

Glider aircraft

Glider aircraft are heavier-than-air craft that are supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against their lifting surfaces, and whose free flight does not depend on an engine. Mostly these types of aircraft are intended for routine operation without engines, though engine failure can...

 that was designed and built in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

from 1936. Only one example of the design was constructed.

Development

Realising that aircraft form drag is directly related to cross-sectional area of bodies moving through the air, the students of Akaflieg Stuttgart (Akademische Fliegergruppe – academic flying group) investigated methods of reducing the cross-sectional area of fuselage bodies, including the prone-position pilot, where the pilot lies horizontally with his body roughly parallel to the longitudinal axis of the fuselage. They noted an additional benefit of such a configuration is the pilot's increased resistance to the effects of 'g'. With very little previous research to take advantage of Akaflieg Stuttgart designed the FS-17 glider for flight trials of prone position cockpits.
The FS-17 was an all-wood low-wing cantilever monoplane with emphasis on good low-speed flight characteristics, to reduce the risk to the pilot in stalling accidents, and a maximum load factor of 14g. The fuselage was designed with increased stiffness, to provide increased crash protection for the pilot, and the wing leading edges formed torsion boxes. The pilot lay above the wing centre section under an extensively glazed canopy.

Specifications