Fokker F.VII
The Fokker F.VII, also known as the Fokker Trimotor, was an airliner produced in the 1920s by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker, Fokker's American subsidiary Atlantic Aircraft Corporation, and other companies under licence.
Design and development
In 1925, while living in the US, Anthony Fokker heard of the inaugural Ford Reliability Tour, which was proposed as a competition for transport aircraft. Fokker had the company's head designer, Reinhold Platz, convert a single-engined F.VII A airliner (a 1924 Walter Rethel design) to a trimotor configuration powered by 200 hp Wright Whirlwind radial engines. The resulting aircraft was designated the Fokker F.VII A/3M. Following shipment to the US, it won the Ford Reliability Tour in late 1925. The Trimotor's structure comprised a fabric-covered steel tubing fuselage, and a plywood-skinned wooden wing.[1]
The Fokker F.VII B/3M had a slightly increased wing area over the A/3M, with power increased to 220 hp per engine, while the F.10 was slightly enlarged, carrying 12 passengers in an enclosed cabin. The aircraft became popularly known as the Fokker Trimotor.[2]
Operational history
The 8- to 12-passenger Fokker was the aircraft of choice for many early airlines, both in Europe and the Americas. Along with the similar Ford Trimotor, itself having an all-metal design based on the World War I aircraft designs of German engineer Hugo Junkers, it dominated the American market in the late 1920s. However, the popularity of the Fokker quickly came to an end after the 1931 death of Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne in the crash of TWA Flight 599, a Fokker F.10. The subsequent investigation, which revealed problems with the Fokker's plywood-laminate construction, resulted in the banning of the aircraft on commercial flights, and the rise of all-metal aircraft such as the Boeing 247 and Douglas DC-2.[3]
Pioneers and explorers
The F.VII was used by many explorers and aviation pioneers, including:
- Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic on 17 June 1928, as a passenger aboard the Fokker F.VIIb/3m Friendship.[4]
Variants
- F.VII
- Single-engined transport aircraft, powered by a 360 hp (268.5 kW) Rolls-Royce Eagle piston engine, accommodation for two crew and six passengers; five built.
- F.VIIa (F.VIIa/1m)
- Single-engined transport aircraft, slightly larger than F.VII with new undercarriage and wing. Flown on 12 March 1925. First aircraft had 420 hp (310 kW) V-12 Packard Liberty engine but remaining 39 F.VIIa had mostly radial Bristol Jupiter or Pratt Whitney Wasp engines.
- F.VIIa/3m
- Version with two additional underwing engines, flown on 4 September 1925. The first two aircraft were identical to the F.VIIa. From the third aircraft, the fuselage was 31 in (80 cm) longer and was powered by with 200 hp (149 kW) Wright J-4 Whirlwind radial engines. Probably only 18 were built while many F.VIIas were upgraded to the F.VIIa/3m standard.
First two Fokker F.VIIAs were converted into three-engined transport aircraft.
- F.VIIb/3m
- Main production version with greater span; 154 built including built under licence.
- F.9
- American built version of the Fokker F.VIIB-3m; built by the Atlantic Aircraft Corporation in the United States.
- Fokker F.10
- Enlarged version of the Fokker F.VII airliner, able to carry up to 12 passengers; built by the Atlantic Aircraft Corporation in the United States.
- C-2
- Military transport version of the Fokker F.9, powered by three 220 hp (164 kW) Wright J-5 radial piston engines, accommodation for two pilots and 10 passengers; three built in 1926 for the US Army Air Corps.
- C-2A
- Military transport version for the US Army Air Corps, with greater wingspan, powered by three 220 hp (164 kW) Wright J-5 radial piston engines, accommodation for two pilots and 10 passengers; eight built in 1928.
- XC-7
- One C-2A fitted with three 330 hp (246 kW) Wright J-6-9 radial piston engines. Redesignated C-7 when four C-2A examples were similarly reconfigured.
- C-7
- Military transport conversion of C-2A for the US Army Air Corps by re-engining with 300 hp (220 kW) Wright R-975 engines. XC-7 prototype and four C-2As redesignated in 1931.
- C-7A
- Six new production C-7 (Wright R-975) aircraft with larger wings, new vertical fin design, and fuselages patterned after the commercial F.10A.
- XLB-2
- Experimental light bomber version of the C-7, powered by three 410 hp (306 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1380 radial piston engines; one built.
- TA-1
- Military transport version of the US Navy and Marine Corps; three built.
- TA-2
- Military transport version for the US Navy; three built.
- TA-3
- Military transport version for the US Navy, powered by three Wright J-6 radial piston engines; one built.
- RA-1
- Redesignation of the TA-1.
- RA-2
- Redesignation of the TA-2.
- RA-3
- Redesignation of the TA-3.
Licenced copies
Operators
Civilian operators
- Belgium
- Denmark
- France
- CIDNA operated seven F.VIIa aircraft.
- STAR operated one F.VIIa aircraft.
- Hungary
- Malert operated two F.VIIa aircraft.
- Netherlands
- KLM received all five F.VII aircraft and 15 F.VIIas.
- Poland
- Aero operated six F.VIIa aircraft for a short period in 1928. Since 1 January 1929, all aircraft were handed over to PLL LOT airline.
- Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT operated six F.VIIas and 13 F.VIIb/3ms between 1929 and 1939.
- Portugal
- Switzerland
- United States
Military operators
- Belgium
- Independent State of Croatia
- Czechoslovakia
- Finland
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Polish Air Force operated 21 F.VIIb/3m (20 of them were licence-built) aircraft as bombers and transports between 1929 and 1939.
- 1 Pułk Lotniczy
- 211 Eskadra Bombowa
- 212 Eskadra Bombowa
- 213 Eskadra Bombowa
- Spanish Republic
- United States
- Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Specifications
Fokker F.VIIb/3m; Atlantic-Fokker C-2A
Data from [10]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Capacity: 8 passengers
- Length: 47 ft 11 in (14.60 m)
- Wingspan: 71 ft 2 in (21.70 m)
- Height: 12 ft 8 in (3.90 m)
- Empty weight: 6,725 lb (3,050 kg)
- Loaded weight: 11,570 lb (5,200 kg)
- Powerplant: 3 × Wright J-5 Whirlwind radial engines, 220 hp (164 kW) each
Performance
See also
- Related development
- Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
- Related lists
References
- Notes
- ^ Thurston, David B. (2000). The World's Most Significant and Magnificent Aircraft: Evolution of the Modern Airplane. SAE. pp. 127-128. ISBN 9780768005370.
- ^ "Fokker F-VII." Aeronautics Learning Laboratory. Retrieved: 20 December 2010.
- ^ Mola, Roger. "CAA investigation of Flight 599." centennialofflight.gov, 2003. Retrieved: 20 December 2010.
- ^ a b c Baaker, Leo. "Famous Fokker Flights." tiscali.nl.Retrieved: 20 December 2010.
- ^ "The Trans-Atlantic Flight of the 'America'." check-six.com, 19 October 2010. Retrieved: 20 December 2010.
- ^ Naughton, Russell. "The Pioneers - Charles Kingsford Smith." monash.edu.au. Retrieved: 20 December 2010.
- ^ "Question Mark." USAF Historical Studies Office. Retrieved: 20 December 2010.
- ^ Baugher, Joe. "Cargo Aircraft Designations." US transports, 11 August 2007. Retrieved: 20 December 2010.
- ^ Painter, K.M. "Help From The Skies." Popular Mechanics, November 1929.
- ^ "Fokker." Aero Favourites. Retrieved: 20 December 2010.
- Bibliography
- Bowers, Peter and Ernest McDowell. Triplanes: A Pictorial History of the World's Triplanes and Multiplanes. St. Paul, Minnesota: Motorbooks International, 1993. ISBN 0-87938-614-2.
- Dierikx, Marc. Fokker: A Transatlantic Biography. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1997. ISBN 1-56098-735-9.
- Molson, K.M. Pioneering in Canadian Air Transport. Winnipeg: James Richardson & Sons, Ltd., 1974. ISBN 0-919212-39-5.
- Nevin, David. The Pathfinders (The Epic of Flight Series). Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1980. ISBN 0-8094-3256-0.
- Postma, Thijs. Fokker: Aircraft Builders to the World. London: Jane's, 1979. ISBN 0-531-03708-0.
- Weyl, A.R. Fokker: The Creative Years. London: Putnam, 1965.
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