During the mid-1920s, the recently formed German aircraft manufacturer
Focke-Wulf commenced limited production of their first civil-orientated aircraft, such as the
Focke-Wulf A 16. The Fw 44 was a single-bay
strut-and-wire-
braced twin-seat biplane intended for use as a primary trainer and sporting aircraft. It had equal span wings which had slight
sweepback,
stagger, and
dihedral. The lower wings attached directly to the bottom of the fuselage, the upper wings were connected to the upper fuselage via struts, and a set of N-shaped struts ran between the upper and lower wings on either side of the aircraft. Both of the aircraft's two cockpits, which were open, were compatible with seat-type
parachutes. Just aft of the rear cockpit was a luggage locker that was accessed by folding down the seat. Much of the early demand for the type came from flight schools and flying clubs; the order numbers were such that Focke-Wulf was able to establish a second factory to produce the type. Customers were not only confined to the German market; numerous nations in
South America,
Europe, and
Asia would purchase the type, some opting to establish
local production of the Fw 44 in order to meet their needs. Multiple variants of the aircraft were developed, many of which were for these export customers. The
Fw 44B was the second production version of the aircraft; it was powered by an
Argus As 8 four-cylinder inverted
inline air-cooled engine, capable of producing up to 90 kW (120 hp). The
cowling for this engine gave the plane a more slender and aerodynamic nose. The definitive version of the aircraft was the
Fw 44C, which was powered by a
Siemens-Halske Sh 14 radial engine instead. The last series version was the
Fw 44J, which was sold or built under license in several countries around the world. ==Operational history==