Fokker DVII 36"

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

The legendary Fokker DVII featured a very thick wing, even thicker than the Dr.1. There were no rigging wires which compensated for the extra drag of the deep airfoils. The power was no longer the radial engine but now the Mercedes and later the BMW water cooled in line variants. These power plants offered more horsepower and were more reliable. Castor Oil used by the radial engine was supplanted by Voltol an oil derived from coal. Castor Oil was embargoed by the allies and Voltol simply wasn't working. Shortly before von Richtofen's death, he wrote that it was his opinion that the radial engine had no place any longer in the war due to the mechanical failures caused by the new oil. He wrote that he much preferred the Fokker DVII and would take it with an supercharged engine if that was required to get rid of the Triplane. It was normally intended to be supplied with a supercharged Mercedes. There is a Swedish connection to the success of the later Fokker designs. Swedish engineer, Villehad Forrsman had been building aircraft in Germany with the SSW-Forrsman firm. Forrsman provide Fokker with patent and engineering consulting services. Another Forrsman company in Germany, Forrsman,Bruenig & Sohn, AG a large plywood manufacturer offered to produce at no charge, plywood covered wings to Fokker's specifications. The Fokker DVII had plywood covered leading edges. While the wings were strong enough to not need bracing, an interplane strut-less prototype of the DVII was tested and found to be slower and not as maneuverable. The DVII's fuselage was of steel tube construction which gave the structure great strength. It was feared for a time that there would be a shortage of steel tubing so both Albatros Werke, a DVII licensee and Fokker produced wooden, plywood prototypes. The shortage did not occur. von Richthofen flew the DVII in prototype form against an Albatros DVa in the fighter trials and won. He liked the aircraft but said it handled poorly. Still it was good enough to beat the fastest German fighter of the time. Fokker immediately modified the DVII prototype and rectified the deficiencies. Upon flying this aircraft von Richthofen was very impressed and had two of his Jasta pilots test it as well. The report was that it was very good but didn't climb as well as expected. When fitted with the more powerful 200 hp BMW engine the aircraft was spectacular. Pilots on both sides remarked about the fighter's excellent flying qualities. Interestingly, von Richthofen was supplied with a new Fokker DVII at the time of his death but on that fateful day, he chose to fly his old Triplane.

Fokker DVII 36"		Short Kit & Plans: $65 0Buy It
		Plans: $250Buy It
Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate More than 200 laser cut parts	SPECIFICATIONS
	Scale: ~1/9	Prop: 10x6
	Channels: R/E/A/T or R/E/T	Wheels: balsa and plywood with Neoprene foam tires
	Wingspan: 36"	Airfoil Type: flat bottomed, nearly scale shape
	Wing Area: 318 sq in	Cowl: built up balsa
Designer: M.K. Bengtson	Weight: 25 oz ready to fly	jSpinner: N/A
	Power System: Speed 400 with Mini-Olympus 2.33:1 gearbox	Shipping Weight: 3 pounds


More Images in the Gallery	Decals Available	Instruction Manual
FEATURES One piece construction Top and bottom wing alignment is built into model Two wing setups, Semi-scale with dihedral but no ailerons needed or Scale layout with ailerons Airfoils are semi-scale and follow thicknesses of original top wing taper Box front fuselage, built up rear Bass or spruce carbane struts are fit into laser cut pockets in side balsa for perfect alignment Balsa dummy engine and dummy Spandau machine gun kit Laser cut tail parts included Balsa and plywood wheel kit with Neoprene foam rubber tire material included
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE The legendary Fokker DVII featured a very thick wing, even thicker than the Dr.1. There were no rigging wires which compensated for the extra drag of the deep airfoils. The power was no longer the radial engine but now the Mercedes and later the BMW water cooled in line variants. These power plants offered more horsepower and were more reliable. Castor Oil used by the radial engine was supplanted by Voltol an oil derived from coal. Castor Oil was embargoed by the allies and Voltol simply wasn't working. Shortly before von Richtofen's death, he wrote that it was his opinion that the radial engine had no place any longer in the war due to the mechanical failures caused by the new oil. He wrote that he much preferred the Fokker DVII and would take it with an supercharged engine if that was required to get rid of the Triplane. It was normally intended to be supplied with a supercharged Mercedes. There is a Swedish connection to the success of the later Fokker designs. Swedish engineer, Villehad Forrsman had been building aircraft in Germany with the SSW-Forrsman firm. Forrsman provide Fokker with patent and engineering consulting services. Another Forrsman company in Germany, Forrsman,Bruenig & Sohn, AG a large plywood manufacturer offered to produce at no charge, plywood covered wings to Fokker's specifications. The Fokker DVII had plywood covered leading edges. While the wings were strong enough to not need bracing, an interplane strut-less prototype of the DVII was tested and found to be slower and not as maneuverable. The DVII's fuselage was of steel tube construction which gave the structure great strength. It was feared for a time that there would be a shortage of steel tubing so both Albatros Werke, a DVII licensee and Fokker produced wooden, plywood prototypes. The shortage did not occur. von Richthofen flew the DVII in prototype form against an Albatros DVa in the fighter trials and won. He liked the aircraft but said it handled poorly. Still it was good enough to beat the fastest German fighter of the time. Fokker immediately modified the DVII prototype and rectified the deficiencies. Upon flying this aircraft von Richthofen was very impressed and had two of his Jasta pilots test it as well. The report was that it was very good but didn't climb as well as expected. When fitted with the more powerful 200 hp BMW engine the aircraft was spectacular. Pilots on both sides remarked about the fighter's excellent flying qualities. Interestingly, von Richthofen was supplied with a new Fokker DVII at the time of his death but on that fateful day, he chose to fly his old Triplane.