wonwinglo
SMF Supporter
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2004
- Messages
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- First Name
- Barry
Many years ago there was a small plan in 'Model Airplane News' magazine for a Fokker D.7,I fell in love with the classic lines of this world war one fighter and set about scaling it up on a sheet of plain wallpaper,the span was around 57 inches and with the various wire fittings it worked out a bit on the heavy side with not a very good power to weight ratio,anyway I fitted a trusty old diesel engine and put in some single channel radio equipment,that was all there was back then and the escapement was rubber driven,you wound it up just before flying and the simple rudder banged hard over as you gave a signal input,there was no in-between but with judicious use the model banked,admittedly this system was best for stable high winged designs but it was time to try the Fokker out on my tiny little flying field flanked by woods on one side and a field full of crops on the other ! after waiting for a calm evening I ventured out with a can of model diesel fuel in one hand,a few tools and the tiny Fokker,after wrestling with a stubbon engine it eventually fired up into life and I held the model in my left hand and the transmitter in my right,launched it into the sky and watched as she climbed gracefully out,after a while and at height I attempted a gentle turn,she wagged her wings and headed straight for the trees,another few blips and she was banking the other way with the nose quite high,the model was so stable and graceful in flight and I was sold on her,after a while the engine quit and she glided in at a rather alarmingly steep angle,touched downand knocked off the undercarriage,so what at least she had flown and proved what a first class design the Fokker D.7 was to prove as a model subject.
Over the years I have seen many different models of this design some of which were very large indeed,but that little scaled up model was special.
She eventually got sold off as part payment for a galloping ghost radio outfit but there lies another tale !
So lets learn a little about this classic aircraft-
FOKKER D.7
Span, upper
Span, lower
7,00 m
Weight of aircraft
Mercedes D.III (160 h.p.)
or Mercedes D.IIIau (180 h.p.)
or BMW IIIa (185 h.p.)
Armament
January 1918 a competition open to single-seater fighters powered by the 160 hp Mercedes engine was held at Johannisthal, near Berlin. It was won outright by an angular little biplane with thick cantilever wings, the Fokker D.VII, designed by Reinhold Platz. Unquestionably the best all-round German fighter of the First World War, it was a development of Platz's experimental V.II, built late in 1917.
Its engine was either the 160/180 hp Mercedes or the 185 hp BMW, neatly cowled and fitted with a frontal radiator. BMW D.VIIs had the better performance and were much sought after. The 200 hp Benz was experimentally fitted without great success. The exhaust system was either the usual external horizontal pipe on the starboard side, or separate internal pipes connected to a large main pipe which protruded through the starboard cowling.
D.VII wings had two spars with plywood ribs; the leading-edges were of ply, the rest of the structure fabric covered. Unequal chord ailerons framed in steel tubing, were fitted to the upper wing only, which had a slight curved cutout in its trailing-edge. The lower wing was housed in a recess in the fuselage bottom; both planes had wire trailing-edges, giving *em a 'scalloped' appearance. Interplane and center section struts were of streamlined steel tubing.
The fuselage was constructed of wire-braced welded steel tubing with a three-ply top decking behind the cockpit; the whole being fabric-covered, except for the engine cowlings. Fin, balanced rudder, tailplane and balanced elevators were also of fabric-covered steel tube. Two struts braced the tailplane from below. The undercarriage was of streamlined steel tube and its axle was enclosed in a large fairing which gave some extra lift.
Following its success at Johannisthal, the type was ordered in large quantities; not only was it built by the Fokker concern (Fok. D.VII F), but also by its rivals, the Albatros Werke (Fok. D.VII (Alb.)) and the Ostdeutsche Albatros Werke (Fok. D.VII (OAW)). Mercedes and BMW engines appear to have been distributed impartially to all three companies.
While not especially fast, the D.VII's strong point was its great maneuverability at high altitudes. It was extremely easy to fly and had no terrors for the beginner. Jagdgeschwader Nr. 1, the Richthofen 'Circus', received the first D.VIIs in time for the Second Battle of the Aisne in May 1918, and soon found that the new type gave them a good margin of advantage over their opponents. By the autumn the majority of the Jastas had been reequipped with D.VIIs. So highly did the Allies esteem the machine that their Armistice terms specifically ordered the surrender of all Fokker D.VIIs.
As a safeguard against a possible shortage of steel tubing and competent welders, the Albatros company built a D.VII with a plywood fuselage, but it was not found necessary to produce this variant. When the war ended, production of the type for Austro-Hungary had begun at the Hungarian Engineering Factory, Budapest (MAG).
Paul Mantz rebuilt this Fokker D.7 part of his large collection of flyable WW.2 replicas.
The colourscheme is red and black.
Delightful little rubber driven flying model of the Fokker D.7.
Over the years I have seen many different models of this design some of which were very large indeed,but that little scaled up model was special.
She eventually got sold off as part payment for a galloping ghost radio outfit but there lies another tale !
So lets learn a little about this classic aircraft-
FOKKER D.7
Span, upper
8,93 m
Span, lower
7,00 m
757 kg
Take of weight
959 kg
Time of 2000 m altitude reaching
4,0 min
Service ceiling
6000 m
Engine
Mercedes D.III (160 h.p.)
or Mercedes D.IIIau (180 h.p.)
or BMW IIIa (185 h.p.)
two fixed LMG 08/15 Spandau
January 1918 a competition open to single-seater fighters powered by the 160 hp Mercedes engine was held at Johannisthal, near Berlin. It was won outright by an angular little biplane with thick cantilever wings, the Fokker D.VII, designed by Reinhold Platz. Unquestionably the best all-round German fighter of the First World War, it was a development of Platz's experimental V.II, built late in 1917.
Its engine was either the 160/180 hp Mercedes or the 185 hp BMW, neatly cowled and fitted with a frontal radiator. BMW D.VIIs had the better performance and were much sought after. The 200 hp Benz was experimentally fitted without great success. The exhaust system was either the usual external horizontal pipe on the starboard side, or separate internal pipes connected to a large main pipe which protruded through the starboard cowling.
D.VII wings had two spars with plywood ribs; the leading-edges were of ply, the rest of the structure fabric covered. Unequal chord ailerons framed in steel tubing, were fitted to the upper wing only, which had a slight curved cutout in its trailing-edge. The lower wing was housed in a recess in the fuselage bottom; both planes had wire trailing-edges, giving *em a 'scalloped' appearance. Interplane and center section struts were of streamlined steel tubing.
The fuselage was constructed of wire-braced welded steel tubing with a three-ply top decking behind the cockpit; the whole being fabric-covered, except for the engine cowlings. Fin, balanced rudder, tailplane and balanced elevators were also of fabric-covered steel tube. Two struts braced the tailplane from below. The undercarriage was of streamlined steel tube and its axle was enclosed in a large fairing which gave some extra lift.
Following its success at Johannisthal, the type was ordered in large quantities; not only was it built by the Fokker concern (Fok. D.VII F), but also by its rivals, the Albatros Werke (Fok. D.VII (Alb.)) and the Ostdeutsche Albatros Werke (Fok. D.VII (OAW)). Mercedes and BMW engines appear to have been distributed impartially to all three companies.
While not especially fast, the D.VII's strong point was its great maneuverability at high altitudes. It was extremely easy to fly and had no terrors for the beginner. Jagdgeschwader Nr. 1, the Richthofen 'Circus', received the first D.VIIs in time for the Second Battle of the Aisne in May 1918, and soon found that the new type gave them a good margin of advantage over their opponents. By the autumn the majority of the Jastas had been reequipped with D.VIIs. So highly did the Allies esteem the machine that their Armistice terms specifically ordered the surrender of all Fokker D.VIIs.
As a safeguard against a possible shortage of steel tubing and competent welders, the Albatros company built a D.VII with a plywood fuselage, but it was not found necessary to produce this variant. When the war ended, production of the type for Austro-Hungary had begun at the Hungarian Engineering Factory, Budapest (MAG).
Paul Mantz rebuilt this Fokker D.7 part of his large collection of flyable WW.2 replicas.
The colourscheme is red and black.
Delightful little rubber driven flying model of the Fokker D.7.
