Skykits Corporation

Fieseler Storch

There has been much finger pointing by Zenith Aircraft, makers of the CH701, who have a section on their web site titled 'Copies' http://www.zenithair.com/stolch701/7-photo-copies.html  They list  various aircraft that they claim are copies of their CH701, which they say is a unique design. 

Nothing could be further from the truth.  The photos below say it all.  This is the Fieseler Storch  designed in 1935 by Fieseler, Mewes and Bachem, in response to a contest for a general utility airplane by the RLM, the German Reich Aviation Ministry.  The Storch flew for the first time on May 24th, 1936.  The Storch incorporated fixed, full-span leading edge slats on the wings and ailerons that drooped when the flaps were lowered. The cabin roof dropped down below the top of the wing. 

The Fieseler Storch gained notoriety for two events during World War II.  On September 12, 1943, a Storch was used in a daring rescue of deposed Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.  The Storch was able to land in a 150 clearing on the boulder strewn top of a 9000 foot mountain in the Gran Sasso range.  The Storch is also known as the last dogfight victim of the Western Front and the only aircraft to be shot down in WWII by pistol fire.   Zenith Aircraft began manufacturing the CH701 kit in 1986 - 50 years later - claiming it is an original design. 

Skykits Corporation salutes the German engineers who designed the Fieseler Storch and gave us the inspiration for our Savannah.  If not a copy, our Savannah is certainly a derivative of that remarkable airplane.