FEATURES

• One piece construction, with scale fuselage and tail shapes
• Wing alignment is built into model
• Scale dihedral, includes in wing ailerons
• Fuselage built from laser cut formers and stringers
• Front of the fuselage is balsa box, the rear is built up
• Laser cut balsa turtle deck
• Laser cut parts for built up cowl
• Dummy Spandau machine gun kits included
• Laser cut plywood IP struts
• Laser cut tail parts included
• Scale number of ribs
• Flat bottomed scale like airfoil
• Laser cut 1/32" plywood trailing edges insure scale scalloping
• Balsa leading edges, included
• Balsa and plywood wheel kit with Neoprene foam rubber tire material included
  

 

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

The Fokker Dr.1 Triplane was introduced in late August. Rittmeister Manfred von Richtofen first flew his F.I 102/17 on September 1, 1917 and gained his first victory the next day and another the day after. As was common in aircraft companies of the period, Fokker's practice was to submit sketches to his craftsmen for prototype development of new types. After the airframe was accepted for production the official drawings would then be prepared. These drawings were developed by taking measurements of the aircraft. The development of the Fokker Triplane was requested by von Richtofen when he noticed the Sopwith Triplane's superior rate of climb and performance in combat. Idflieg responded by asking for prototypes from many manufacturers. While Pfalz and Albatros submitted adequate designs, they continued to use their characteristically thin airfoils. The Fokker design used thicker wings with internal bracing. The combination eliminated the need for rigging wires and gave the Fokker a faster rate of climb. It was this feature that von Richtofen wanted and Fokker won the contract. Pfalz also won a contract but the Pfalz Triplane suffered severe engine problems and was not produced in high numbers. von Richtofen test flew the Pfalz Dr.1 when his own Fokker Triplane was grounded due to quality problems. He found that the Pfalz was inferior in rate of climb and declined to fly it in combat.
It is interesting to note that the Sopwith Triplane was not as dominant on the Allied side. It had very good stability and did have a fast rate of climb. In fact the Sopwith's single machine gun could be cleared easily by the pilot in flight. This was possible due to the fact that the Sopwith could be flown "hands off" for short periods allowing the pilot to have the use of both hands to clear the gun. The Sopwith's service life was a short seven months, primarily due to it's single machine gun. The German standard of the time was twin machine guns.
By November of 1917, serious problems were occurring with the Fokkers. The airplanes were suffering from wing failure and collapsing in flight. Lothar von Richtofen's brother was flying his Triplane and lost the top wing in combat. He was able to nurse his crippled ship to the ground. He was amazed that he was not attacked by his pursuers as he could barely turn his aileron-less craft. Several machines crashed. The whole fleet was grounded until the problems cold be fixed by Fokker. The roots of the problem have been laid by many at the feet of Fokker but to be fair, there were many extenuating circumstances. One was that Idflieg felt that the Triplanes were urgently needed and put tremendous pressure on Fokker to produce them in quantity very quickly. Being in business, Fokker would have had to purchase large amounts of raw materials and needed to pay for them with funds on hand. The Fokker company was not as well funded as the larger Albatros and Pfalz companies. The would have added considerable pressure to deliver the airplanes on time so Fokker could pay his vendors. In any company, when extreme production pressures are applied to the workers, quality suffers. Glues were thinned to apply faster, they were not allowed to dry as long. Casein glue made from milk was the primary glue used and it needed sealing with lacquer to weatherproof the joint. Nails were Dr.1ven in poorly as the workers scrambled to finish the work. When materials of sufficient quality were not available, poorer quality substitutes were used. The alternative to delay production until everything was perfect was not possible. It was war after all.

The Fokker Triplane fleet was grounded and production was halted until early December. Fokker was required to fix 20 areas of contention on each aircraft and was to do this at his expense. When the factory was able to supply the new models, it was January and Feburary of 1918. By that time, the needs of the air war had changed. The Triplane's time had passed. It was designed for close in dog fighting against small numbers of opponents. Now the air war was characterized by massive waves of new faster Allied fighters overwhelming the German defenses. Still many units had to use these aircraft against faster more capable allied fighters. It was not over though, Fokker had other ideas and two more fighters to deliver.