Photograph:
Focke-Wulf Fw 44 N141FW / TQ + BC at the Fantasy of Flight Museum in Florida, USA (David C Eyre)
Country of origin:
Germany
Description:
Two-seat military biplane trainer
Power Plant:
One 112 kw (150 hp) Siemens-Halske Sh 14A seven-cylinder air-cooled radial engine
Specifications:
- Wingspan: 9 m (29 ft 6½ in)
- Length: 7.3 m (23 ft 11½ in)
- Height: 2.7 m (8 ft 10¼ in)
- Wing area: 20 m² (215.29 sq ft)
- Max speed: 184 km/h (115 mph)
- Cruising speed: 172 km/h (107 mph)
- Landing speed: 74 km/h (46 mph)
- Initial rate of climb: 246 m/min (807 ft/min)
- Service ceiling: 3,900 ft (12,795 ft)
- Range: 675 km (419 miles)
- Empty weight: 525 kg (1,157 lb)
- Loaded weight: 900 kg (1,985 lb)
History:
The Focke-Wulfe Fw 44 Stieglitz (Goldfinch) was designed for the German Luftwaffe as a basic trainer. The prototype first flew in 1932 piloted by Gerd Achgelis. Fitted with a 104 kw (140 hp) Siemens-Halske Sh 14A radial engine, the type was a single-bay biplane with a welded steel tube fuselage covered with fabric, and had a wooden wing with fabric and plywood covering. Early flight trials found some handling problems, but these were sorted out by the time it entered production, some input into these problems being applied by Kurt Tank, who later designed the Fw 190.
The design became very popular due to its outstanding aerobatic abilities, and notable amongst its pilots was Ernst Udet. Examples were supplied to the air forces of Bolivia, Chile, China, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Romania, Switzerland and Turkey. Licence production occurred in Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria and Sweden. It was built in substantial numbers for the Luftwaffe. The Siemens radial engine was usually fitted but two prototypes, and a small production series known as the Focke-Wulf Fw 44B and Fw 44E, were operated by the Luftwaffe with 101 kw (135 hp) Argus As.8 eight-cylinder engines.
Construction was of welded steel tube with fairing stringers of steel tube with fabric covering. The wing was a single-bay braced biplane type with equal span wings with two spars with laminated pine flanges and plywood webs on the undersides covered with plywood, the rest covered with fabric.
In 2002 an example was imported to Western Australia, becoming VH-FBU (c/n 2786 – ex SE-BEW, OH-SZG, SZ-32). Built in 1941, it was delivered to the Finnish Air Force before going to Sweden where it remained until imported to Australia. It has been finished in a Swedish Air Force colour scheme and has been based at Serpentine.