Tandem two-seat, folding wings, and a favourite for syndicates
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A tandem two-seat development of the RF4, with folding wingtips to ease hangar storage, built initially in small numbers at Nitray. It first flew on 22 January 1968 on frozen snow at Dahlem, with Bernard Chauvreau at the controls — but the prototype's original Rectimo engine failed after only fifty hours of test flying. Pützer turned to engineer Peter Limbach, who is said to have produced a reworked 1700cc VW-derived engine for the type in just eight days.
Certification categories hadn't caught up with the design: Germany classified the RF5 as a motorglider, but France — which had no such category yet — registered it as a high-aspect-ratio glider, under which aerobatics weren't officially permitted. Chauvreau flew aerobatic demonstrations in it regardless, including at Le Bourget, joking that the aircraft was "in good standing or in default" depending purely on which country's registration it carried on a given day.
The later RF5B "Sperber" fitted a longer wing and the Limbach engine as standard. Around 200 RF5-family aircraft were built in total before production ended in 1975, and it remains the type most often found split between several owners in a UK syndicate today.
Still flying in syndicates today. As of 2026, RF5 shares have been advertised at Usk Gliding Club in Wales and at Dunkeswell in Devon — a reminder that most surviving UK examples are kept going by small groups of owners splitting the cost, much as CFI-UK's own history describes.
The original manufacturer's RF5 flight manual is on the Resources page, hosted by CFI Germany.
Have a correction, a source, or a first-hand account of this type? The Articles Articles section and the contact page are both open for contributions.
Every individual Fournier deserves a history of its own. This type page is the starting point; verified registration, restoration and ownership milestones can be added as the archive grows.
| RF5 registered |
|---|
| G-AYME · G-AZJC · G-AZPF · G-AZRK · G-AZRM · G-BACE · G-BEVO · G-BJXK · G-CITD |
| RF5B "Sperber" registered |
|---|
| G-BPWK · G-CBPC · G-KCIG · G-RFSB · G-SSWV |
| De-registered / historic |
|---|
| G-AYAI · G-AYBS · G-AYZX · G-AZZW · G-BAPA · G-BDOZ · G-BJCG · G-BLAA · G-CIMO |
Registrations from the club's UK list revised 13 September 2026 — not a live feed. Check CAA G-INFO for current status.
Recorded UK incidents on this type (AAIB and CAA MOR records): the type's most serious accident was an unregistered RF5 that suffered a right-wing folding-joint failure shortly after takeoff at North Weald on 26 September 1997 — the wing pivoted up through 90°, the aircraft rolled inverted at low height and crashed, killing the sole occupant. AAIB examination found the wing had not been fully locked despite the locking mechanism appearing set and its fairing correctly fitted; a related non-fatal wing-fold-on-takeoff incident at Camphill in August 1994 is noted in the same investigation. Owners should treat the outer-wing locking mechanism as a pre-flight item worth real scrutiny, not just a visual check. G-AZPF, stalled while landing at Manchester Barton, October 2016; G-AZRK, accident at Berrow Airfield, June 2010 — alongside G-AYAI's 1990 fatal loss near Rattlesden noted above. See the Resources page for report links.
Owned or flown one of these? Email us a photo.
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Own or fly a RF5? Photos are added by hand — use the “Send us a photo” tile above to email yours to James, and it will be added to this gallery.
