Hutter H-17

M.Simons The World's Vintage Sailplanes 1908-45

THE HUETTER H-17

  The brothers Ulrich and Wolfgang Huetter were Austrians, living in Salzburg. When they took up gliding it seemed to them that the huge, slow-flying sailplanes built in Germany were not suitable for the conditions they found in their mountainous country. They decided to produce some small, manoeuvrable types. The first was Ulrich's H-17. The figure was to indicate the expected glide ratio.
  It had a span of less than 10 metres with a relatively high wing loading but low structural weight. Ulrich thought from the start that it would lend itself to amateur construction. There were no new principles in design or structure. The wing had a single 'I'-sectioned mainspar with plywood-covered leading edge, large ailerons of the simplest design, and a light rear spar to stiffen the wing ribs laterally. The planform was rectangular with rounded tips, whilst the aerofoil was Goettingen 535 at the root, changing to the M-6 reflexed section at the tip. The fuselage was hexagonal in cross-section, consisting of a plywood covered box with the wing, strut braced, mounted high on a pylon. The pilot’s back rested against the main frame, his head below the leading edge. The cockpit was open, without a windscreen, and the undercarriage was a skid on rubber blocks. After successful test flights, plans were marketed. About a dozen sets were sold fairly quickly. The brothers flew their little aircraft in the Austrian National Competition at Gaisberg in 1934.
  About 18 months later the brothers joined the recently formed Schempp-Hirth company to work as designers and brought with them the plans of the Huetter 17. The type henceforth became the Goeppingen 5. Schempp-Hirth built about five, adding a landing wheel and a canopy with a windscreen.
  With the revival of gliding in Germany after 1951, the Huetters marketed plans for the H-17B, improved by the addition of an enclosed cockpit. The fuselage was lengthened and simplified, the span was slightly increased and airbrakes were fitted. All this necessitated some increase in weight. Quite a lot of plans were sold and several H-17s still survived in 1980.

  Technical data:
   H-17, (Goeppingen 5): Span. 9.69 m. Wing area. 9.2 sq m. Aspect ratio. 10.2. Empty weight. 65 kg. Flying weight, 158 kg. Wing loading. 17.2 kg/sq m. Aerofoils. Goettingen 535 at root with NAG A M-6 at the tip.
   H-17B: Span, 9.96 m. Wing area 9.47 sq m. Aspect ratio 10.48. Empty weight, 107 kg. Flying weight. 210 kg. Wing loading. 22.1 kg/sq m. Best glide ratio. 1:18. Minimum sinking speed. 0.98 m/sec. Maximum permitted speed. 160 km/h.

The Huetter H-17, restored to perfection by Ken Fripp, seen at Sutton Bank in 1980. Although many of the type were built by amateurs throughout the world, very few remain in flying condition.

Ken Fripp's restored H-17 in 1980. Most H-17s had ailerons of greater span than those shown on the drawing, which is based on the earliest plans. The ailerons were later extended by two rib bays.

H-17