The NVI F.K.34 was a three-seat

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...

built in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 1925 as a private venture in the hope of a Dutch Naval Aviation Service order; two accidents during testing meant that it did not go into production.

Design and development

The F.K.34 was a private venture, a floatplane reconnaissance aircraft with a crew of three. It was a parasol wing

monoplane 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 ...

with a wing that was almost constant in plan out to the ailerons where the trailing edge began to curve in towards rounded tips. The wings were braced on each side by a pair of parallel struts from the lower

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

; these bracing struts were actually of N-form but the diagonal member was notably thinner than the others. The fuselage was flat sided and topped but the underside sloped upwards towards the tail. Here, the

tailplane A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplane ...

was located on top of the fuselage and also braced on each side with elevators had rounded tips which served as balanced rudder">horn balances. The rudder">elevator (aircraft)">elevators had rounded tips which served as balanced rudder">horn balances. The rudder was rectangular and extended downwards below the bottom of the fuselage. The pilot sat in an open cockpit under the wing trailing edge where there was a rectangular cut-out for enhanced visibility. In the nose the three cylinder banks of the 520 hp (387 kW) W engine, W-12 Hispano-Suiza 12G engine were neatly enclosed in a drum and dome-like aircraft fairing#engine cowling, cowling. It drove a two blade propeller (aircraft), propeller. The Float (nautical), floats were flat topped, square in plan and wedge shaped in profile at the bow, tapering to the rear. They were mounted to the lower fuselage with N-form struts; two cross braces linked the pair of floats. The first flight was made on 31 October 1925, piloted by Joop van Vloten, followed by test flights which led to several modifications. After this the FK.34 was extensively tested by the MLD (the Marine Luchtvaart Dienst or Dutch Naval Aviation Service), to whom NVI looked for an order. At one stage the sale of nine aircraft seemed possible; however there were two accidents caused by the failure of the float undercarriage and no such order was placed. The aircraft was then scrapped.

Specifications

References

{{Koolhoven aircraft 1920s Dutch military reconnaissance aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Parasol-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1925 F.K.34

Design and development

Specifications

See also

References