Focke-Wulf Fw 47 Höhengeier

what is it?

The Focke-Wulf Fw 47 Höhengeier (German: "Vulture"), known internally to Focke-Wulf as the A 47, was a meteorological aircraft developed in Germany in 1931. It was a parasol-wing monoplane of largely conventional design, unusual only in the expansiveness of its wing area. Tested first by the Reichsverband der Deutschen Luftfahrtindustrie, and then the weather station at Hamburg, the type was ordered into production to equip ten major weather stations around Germany.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 17.8 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 190 km/htop speed
• range 640 kmwithout refuelling
• seats 2passengers
• size 1,580 kgmax take-off weight
• built 36made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 95 years ago, in 1931.
• 🚗Wingspan of 17.8 m: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1931-06

introduced

1932

number built

36

role

weather plane

origin

Weimar Republic

makers

Focke-Wulf

engines

1× Argus As 10C / Argus As 10

passengers

2

length

10.6 m

wingspan

17.8 m

height

3 m

max take-off weight

1,580 kg

top speed

190 km/h

range

640 km

ceiling

5,600 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.