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Benedict Arnold

Ever seen a real Fokker before?

Posted - April 14, 2017
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  • 44614
    Only in WWI documentaries.
      April 14, 2017 8:21 AM MDT
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  • Yep. .. But I like yours more This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at April 15, 2017 2:02 PM MDT
      April 14, 2017 8:32 AM MDT
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  • Seen a couple over the years at some of the big air shows.
      April 14, 2017 8:40 AM MDT
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  • Don't think so.   I've seen a few biplanes but hell if I know what kind they were.   The old rotary engines were pretty cool to see running.
      April 14, 2017 8:46 AM MDT
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  • That they are. Saw a couple at a big airshow in Texas for the Commemorative Air Force.
      April 14, 2017 8:51 AM MDT
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  • Such an novel design.   Spewed oil everywhere though.
      April 14, 2017 8:59 AM MDT
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  • Not the ones at the airshows! Those owners were fanatics with them. Even more than me with my BF-109G.
      April 14, 2017 9:01 AM MDT
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  • Oh both the ones I saw were meant to.  Losing oil was how the lubrication systems worked on the types I seen.  One was exposed valve and rocker the other wasn't but both were oil loss systems.
      April 14, 2017 9:06 AM MDT
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  • Yes they were but some of these guys had upgraded the engines to quit doing that.
      April 14, 2017 9:12 AM MDT
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  • Didn't even know there was a way of converting them like that.   Sweet.
      April 14, 2017 10:13 AM MDT
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  • These guys have the bucks to do almost anything to them and yet they are still realistic.
      April 14, 2017 11:46 AM MDT
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  • 6988
    So weak they needed 3 wings.
      April 14, 2017 10:31 AM MDT
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  •  In those earlier aircraft, however, the triplane format was simply a matter of expediency-an attempt to compensate for the low-powered engines of the period by building the greatest possible wing area, and consequently the maximum lift, into a reasonably compact airframe.
      April 14, 2017 11:49 AM MDT
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  • 7280
    Never was especially interested in airplane design, so your comment about power vs wing area was really interesting.
      April 14, 2017 12:01 PM MDT
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  • Rooster, I have never seen a Fokker other than photos.

    I learned of them because my neighbor on Mt. Baker had a grove of virgin Sitka spruce on his parents' original 1890's homestead...one of the last virgin groves, only survived WWI logging because it was so high on the mountain the war ended before logging crews got up that far.

    So I learned about the Sopwith Triplane, which required the Sitka's strong straight-grain wood. And from there I read of Germany's Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the World War One ace who flew the Fokker on his last nineteen missions, and I am quite certain he was flying a Fokker when he was killed in 1918.

    * * *
    I don't know if this is true, but I also read they were never quite certain who brought the Red Baron down, because that pilot never took the credit...his way of honouring the skill and courage of a noble enemy.

    Even at age 80, my friend Jake was six feet tall...so you can see how massive this spruce is. I am sure they must have used wood in the Fokkers, maybe even spruce?

    This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at April 15, 2017 2:05 PM MDT
      April 14, 2017 10:41 AM MDT
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  • 6988
    Everyone knows it was Snoopy that brought down the Red Baron.
      April 14, 2017 12:37 PM MDT
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  • Eight men died trying to end that spree, of the Bloody Red Baron of Germany.  In the nick of time a hero arose.  A funny looking dog with a big black nose.
      April 14, 2017 12:42 PM MDT
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  • Oh ty, bhwilson...that settles THAT question for all time!  ;)
      April 14, 2017 3:14 PM MDT
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  • No I haven't but I heard a story that, long after the war, a BBC journalist was interviewing a German pilot who had been shot down during the Battle of Britain. 

    "Herr Schneider," he said, "I understand you were shot down by one of your own planes." 
    "Ja. Zis iss korrect." 
    "How did that happen." 
    "I vas on a bombing run when zis fokker..." 
    "Ah, ladies and gentleman, I should explain that Fokker is a make of aircraft. Isn't that so, Herr Schneider?" 
    "Zis is also korrect, but zis fokker was flying a Heinkel..." 
      April 14, 2017 2:41 PM MDT
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  • That mean old fokker!
      April 14, 2017 3:01 PM MDT
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  • Oh Dozy...no matter how many of your posts I read, you ALWAYS catch me unawares...I am always just going along believin' you...
      April 14, 2017 3:16 PM MDT
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  • You should know better, Virginia. Did you forget about my licence to tell lies? 
      April 14, 2017 3:23 PM MDT
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  • There's a small airport near my house, and a lot of hobbyists rent hangars to work on vintage planes. Not sure if any of them are Fokkers; they all seemed nice enough.
      April 14, 2017 3:07 PM MDT
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  • 6124
    I've gone to a few air shows in the past and there was always a Fokker.  The shows were a lot of fun to watch.  There was always one purposeful near miss.
      April 15, 2017 2:12 PM MDT
    1