The Airdrome Fokker DR-1 is an American
amateur-built aircraft
Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...
, designed and produced by
Airdrome Aeroplanes
Airdrome Aeroplanes is an American aircraft manufacturer, founded by Robert Baslee, that offers a large selection of kit aircraft for amateur construction. The company is based in Holden, Missouri.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's ...
, of
Holden, Missouri
Holden is a city in western Johnson County, Missouri, Johnson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,252 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census.
History
Holden was laid out in 1857. It was named for Major Nathaniel Holden, a ...
. The aircraft is supplied as a kit for amateur construction and is available in two versions, a full-sized and a 3/4 scale replica.
[Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 92. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X][Vandermeullen, Richard: ''2011 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide'', Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 39. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851][Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 96. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. ]
The aircraft is a replica of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
German
Fokker Dr.I
The Fokker Dr.I (''Dreidecker'', "triplane" in German), often known simply as the Fokker Triplane, was a World War I fighter aircraft built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The Dr.I saw widespread service in the spring of 1918. It became famous as the ...
Triplane, built from modern materials and powered with modern engines.
Design and development
The Airdrome Fokker DR-1 features a
strut-braced
In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of strut, which act in ...
triplane
A triplane is a fixed-wing aircraft equipped with three vertically stacked wing planes. Tailplanes and canard foreplanes are not normally included in this count, although they occasionally are.
Design principles
The triplane arrangement may ...
layout, a single-seat open cockpit, fixed
conventional landing gear
Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...
and a single engine in
tractor configuration
In aviation, the term tractor configuration refers to an aircraft constructed in the standard configuration with its engine mounted with the propeller in front of it so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. Oppositely, the pusher c ...
.
The aircraft is made from bolted-together
aluminum
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...
tubing, with its flying surfaces covered in
doped aircraft fabric
Aircraft fabric covering is a term used for both the material used and the process of covering aircraft open structures. It is also used for reinforcing closed plywood structures. The de Havilland Mosquito is an example of this technique, as are ...
. Both aircraft kits are made up of twelve sub-kits. The dimensions and the engines recommended vary depending on which variant is being constructed. Building time for either version is estimated at 400 hours by the manufacturer.
Variants
;Airdrome Fokker DR-1 Triplane - Full Scale Replica
:This version has a standard empty weight of , a wingspan of and is powered by a
Volkswagen air-cooled engine
The Volkswagen air-cooled engine is an air-cooled, gasoline-fuelled, boxer engine with four horizontally opposed cast-iron cylinders, cast aluminum alloy cylinder heads and pistons, magnesium-alloy crankcase, and forged steel crankshaft and co ...
. Five had been completed by the end of 2011.
;Airdrome Fokker DR-1 Triplane - 3/4 Scale Replica
:This version has a standard empty weight of , a wingspan of and is powered by a
Rotax 582
The Rotax 582 is a two-stroke, two-cylinder, rotary intake valve, oil-in-fuel or oil injection pump, liquid-cooled, gear reduction-drive aircraft engine manufactured by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG. It is for use in non-certified aircraft operating ...
two-stroke
A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a Thermodynamic power cycle, power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being comple ...
or a
Volkswagen air-cooled engine
The Volkswagen air-cooled engine is an air-cooled, gasoline-fuelled, boxer engine with four horizontally opposed cast-iron cylinders, cast aluminum alloy cylinder heads and pistons, magnesium-alloy crankcase, and forged steel crankshaft and co ...
. Twenty-seven had been completed by the end of 2011.
Specifications (3/4 scale DR-1)
References
External links
*
{{Airdrome Aeroplanes
Homebuilt aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Replica aircraft