Fieseler Fi 97

The Fieseler Fi 97 was a German four-seat cabin touring and competition monoplane of the 1930s, designed by Kurt Arnolt after the success of the two-seat F5. The Reich Aviation Ministry encouraged Fieseler to build it for the European touring plane championship Challenge 1934. It was a mixed-construction low-wing cantilever monoplane with a fabric-covered steel tube fuselage, wooden wings that folded aft, a fixed tailskid undercarriage and an enclosed cabin for pilot and three passengers. Five were built, three with the Hirth HM 8U inverted V8 and two with the Argus As 17A inverted six. Leading-edge slats and a Fowler-type flap let it fly as slowly as 58 km/h, features later used on the Fi 156 Storch. All five finished Challenge 1934, Hans Seidemann taking third place.