Fokker F.VII (American Model 5?)
At a meeting of the Board of Atlantic Aircraft Corporation on August 7, 1925, it was decided to purchase two F.VII aircraft.
These were an ‘improved F.VII’ with a Liberty engine and a three-engined ‘improved F.VII’ (later the F.VIIA/3m). Msn 4899 arrived in New York around September 8, and msn 4900 on September 21. Both were entered in the ‘Ford Tour’ and departed for Detroit on September 25.
After an engine failure, the single-engined aircraft made an emergency landing near Towanda, Pennsylvania. This ruled out its participation in the Ford Tour.
Shortly afterwards, a second ‘improved F.VII’ arrived in America, msn 4909. It was demonstrated at the National Air Races at Mitchel Field, LI, NY, from October 8–10, 1925.
After some time, both types were assigned a model number. The three-engined aircraft became Model 6, and the single-engined aircraft was probably Model 5.
It is not known whether the first two ‘improved F.VIIs’ were also given numbers 500 and 501.
Msn 4909 was purchased in December 1925 for Wilkins’ Detroit Arctic Expedition; only the fuselage later returned from Alaska.
Msn 4899 was salvaged after its emergency landing and taken to the factory in Hasbrouck Height.
In June 1927, an msn 501 came out of that factory: the F.VII Jupiter ‘Old Glory’, destined for a flight to Rome. The fuselage of msn 4899 may have been used for it.
Around the same time, a former KLM F.VII (H-NACK) was also brought to America. Fokker sold it to Reynolds Airways, and it was registered as 776. This aircraft was registered with the Dutch factory number 4840.
Several F.VII/3m aircraft were sold in America (see Model 6), but only one more single-engined F.VII. Msn 5094 was intended to be the first of a fleet of seven aircraft for Standard Air Lines of California. These were to be fitted with P&W Wasp engines. Before delivery, it was replaced with the more powerful P&W Hornet. In America, this aircraft was assigned msn 617 in the Model 6 series. It had a short life, crashing into a mountain peak in the fog on March 29, 1929.
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