Fokker V.1
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The Fokker V.1 was a small German
sesquiplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a ...
experimental fighter prototype built in 1916 by the Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. Sporting a
parasol wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
, it was the first Fokker aircraft purportedly designed by
Reinhold Platz Reinhold Platz (16 January 1886 – 15 September 1966) was a German aircraft designer and manufacturer in service of the Dutch company Fokker. Platz was hired by Fokker in 1912 as a welder. His first hands-on projects were to weld the frame pa ...
—the respective roles played by Fokker himself, Platz, and possibly others in the conceptual design of Fokker airplanes are a matter of dispute among historians—and was an early experiment in
cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...
wing construction, eliminating the bracing wires typical of aircraft design at the time, something that had already been achieved with metal materials in
Hugo Junkers Hugo Junkers (3 February 1859 – 3 February 1935) was a German aircraft engineer and aircraft designer who pioneered the design of all-metal airplanes and flying wings. His company, Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG (Junkers Aircraft and Mo ...
' own pioneering
Junkers J 1 The Junkers J 1, nicknamed the ''Blechesel'' ("Tin Donkey" or "Sheet Metal Donkey"), was an experimental monoplane aircraft developed by Junkers & Co. It was the world's first all-metal aircraft. Manufactured early on in the First World War, ...
in 1915.


Design

The Fokker V.1 principal innovation was its unbraced cantilever wings. These were built around a pair of wooden box-girders, the upper and lower members of which were built up from several thin strips of
pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
, with connecting webs of
birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...
plywood. The entire wing was covered in plywood, an innovation probably suggested to Fokker by a Swedish aeronautical engineer, Villehad Forssman, who had previously designed one of Germany's earliest multi-engined military aircraft; the V.1 upper wing's smooth surface, thick airfoil and tapered planform gave it a remarkably modern appearance. The depth of spar needed for adequate strength necessitated a wing whose root thickness was around 20% of the chord, in contrast to a typical value of around 6% for aircraft of the period and 12 to 15% for modern aircraft of comparable performance. The spars of the upper wing were parallel but those of the lower wing converged to meet at the wingtips. The intention of this was to provide a well for the fitting of a retractable undercarriage at a later date.
Ailerons An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in Flight dynamics, roll (or ...
were fitted to the upper wing only and these were unusual in that the entire wing-tip being a separate component, and was pivoted, much like the French
Blériot VIII The Blériot VIII was a French pioneer era aeroplane built by Louis Blériot, significant for its adoption of both a configuration and a control system that were to set a standard for decades to come. Design and development The previous year, ...
of 1908 had done, to provide a control surface. To further Platz's desire for an aerodynamically clean aircraft, all control actuators were buried within the wing, so that there were no drag-creating control horns. The upper wing was mounted on a system of
cabane struts 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 c ...
consisting of a pair of tubular steel tripods between the fuselage and mainspar and a pair of steel struts connected to the aft spar, all basically similar to the cabane strut design for the later, likewise Platz-designed
Fokker D.VI The Fokker D.VI was a German fighter aircraft built in limited numbers at the end of World War I. The D.VI served in the German and Austro-Hungarian air services. Design and development In late 1917, Fokker-Flugzeugwerke built two small biplane ...
and
Fokker D.VII The Fokker D.VII was a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII qu ...
biplane descendants — each of which also used one "N-pattern" interplane strut set per side — and the
Fokker D.VIII The Fokker E.V was a German parasol-monoplane fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz and built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The E.V was the last Fokker design to become operational with the ''Luftstreitkräfte,'' entering service in the last mon ...
parasol-wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...
monoplane descendant of the V.1. Unlike the later D.VI and D.VII, there were no interplane struts on the outer areas of the V.1's wing panels. Since Platz was using a novel and thick
aerofoil An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is the cross-sectional shape of an object whose motion through a gas is capable of generating significant lift, such as a wing, a sail, or the blades of propeller, rotor, or turbine. ...
, much like the contemporary cantilever-winged
Junkers J 1 The Junkers J 1, nicknamed the ''Blechesel'' ("Tin Donkey" or "Sheet Metal Donkey"), was an experimental monoplane aircraft developed by Junkers & Co. It was the world's first all-metal aircraft. Manufactured early on in the First World War, ...
all-metal monoplane pioneered nearly a year earlier, he was unsure about the correct incidence for the wing with respect to the fuselage. Lacking a
wind tunnel Wind tunnels are large tubes with air blowing through them which are used to replicate the interaction between air and an object flying through the air or moving along the ground. Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft ...
, he therefore made it adjustable during flight. The fuselage structure was the usual Fokker wire-braced rectangular section box girder made from welded steel tubes. This was then enclosed within circular wooden formers bearing longitudinal stringers and covered with fabric. The tail surfaces were all-moving, without a fixed fin or horizontal stabiliser. The aircraft was powered by a 75 kW (100 hp) Oberursel U.I rotary engine. In the case of the V.1 the V did not stand for ''Versuchs'' (experimental), but for ''Verspannungslos'' (literally "without struts"), or cantilever. The aircraft was so small it was nicknamed "''Floh''" or flea, like a similarly small, DFW-built prototype airframe of the era.


Variants

It was Fokker's practice to develop rotary and inline engined variants of the company's designs. Accordingly, a second similar aircraft powered by a 120 hp (90 kW)
Mercedes D.II The Mercedes D.II was a six-cylinder, SOHC valvetrain liquid-cooled inline aircraft engine built by Daimler during the early stages of World War I. Producing about 110 to 120 hp, it was at the low-end of the power range of contemporary eng ...
was constructed, the
Fokker V.2 The Fokker V.2 and V.3 aircraft were developed from the Fokker V.1, but utilized an 89 kW (120 hp) Mercedes liquid-cooled inline engine instead of the rotary. This is similar to the Fokker V.6 being tested as the Fokker V.5 was being ...
. The aircraft differed principally in having an increased wing area to compensate for the increased weight of the engine and
Albatros D.III The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service (''Luftstreitkräfte'') during World War I. A modified licence model was built by Oeffag for the Austro-Hungarian Air Service ( ''Luftfahrtruppen''). T ...
-outline shape open structure, fabric-covered conventional tail surfaces.


Specifications


Notes


References

* Weyl, A.J. ''Fokker: The Creative Years''. London: Putnam, 1965. {{Fokker aircraft 1910s German fighter aircraft V.01 Single-engined tractor aircraft Sesquiplanes Rotary-engined aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1916