Fokker Atlantic F.32 (Model 12)

The Fokker Atlantic F.32 (Model 12)

The four-engine F.32 was the largest passenger aircraft from the Atlantic factory, the aircraft had a length of over 21 meters.

It was the first four-engine aircraft designed and built in the United States.

The first flight took place on September 13, 1929.

Of the 12 examples built, only 7 were operational, the last 5 examples were not completed on the production line at the Atlantic factory in Hasbrouck Heights.

It could carry 32 passengers, or 16 in a 16-berth overnight configuration.

Under the wings, on either side, were two 575 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1860 Hornet engines in a tandem arrangement: one engine with a pull propeller and the other with a pusher propeller.

The first F.32 was fitted with two keel surfaces with a stabilising surface between them.

Later this was changed to three keel surfaces without the upper stabilizing surface.

Of the 7 operational aircraft, two flew at Westeren Air Express/TWA.

The other five have never operated for a commercial airline.

The aircraft was not a commercial success, as the airflow from the front propeller disrupted the pusher propeller, causing cooling problems with the rear engine.

The USAAC tested one F.32 as type YC-20 but the aircraft was not purchased by the USAAC.

On 27-11-1929 an F.32 crashed during a demonstration in which the aircraft was to start under the power of three engines.

The plane burned out completely, the two occupants escaped unscathed.

Click on the photo to enlarge the photo

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FOKKER F-32 1929 The last Fokker airliner built in America was the enormous four-engine F-32, designed to a specification by Western Air Express. The four 575 hp Pratt & Whitney Hornet engines were mounted in tandem nacelles beneath the large wooden wing. Cooling problems with the rear engine were never fully resolved. A total of ten F-32 aircraft were built in the United States, most of which were used by WAE on the San Francisco-Los Angeles route. Western Air Express would later become TWA. An F-32 was tested by the US Army Air Service under the type designation YC-20; however, no order was placed for a series of this, at the time the largest airliner, which could carry a total of 32 passengers.
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CN 1201: The prototype of the F.32 as a demonstrator in the Universal Airlines System livery, for which it never flew. The prototype here had the registration 124-M and two additional vertical stabilizers, without the stabilizer between them.
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Beautiful colorized photo of the 124-M.
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The 124-M in full flight.
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CN 1201 Now in a Westeren Air Express livery, but CN 1201 never actually flew for WAE. Here CN 1201 also has an experimental registration: X-124-M.
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Here you can clearly see the tandem engine arrangement with a push and pull propeller. This design was certainly not a success due to cooling problems with the rear engine.
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Cn 1202 The 130-M also flew in a Westeren Air Express outfit, but never flew operationally for that aircraft.
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Cn 1203 Now with the modified three keels and registration, NC333N.
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Cn 1203 The NC333N at an airfield.
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Cn 1203 The wings of the NC333N of WAE could easily handle this festive dance parade.
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Cn 1204 The WAE NC-334N at an airfield.
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Cn 1204 A number of mannequins on board for a so-called “Flying house party”.
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CN 1204 WAE F.32 with registration NC-334-N in front of the Terminal at Glendale Airport, California in 1930.
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Cn 1204 After its short life as an airworthy aircraft, here is the NC-334-N in 1933 as an eye-catcher at a gas station.
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Cn 1207 In comparison to the rather colossal NC-342-N, Anthony Fokker, at the front under the nose, pales somewhat.
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Cn 1207 Luxurious, comfortable seats in the cabin of the F.32 NC-342-N.
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There was also room for a sofa and a bed in the then enormous NC-342-N.
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Cn 1207 An office also fitted in the F.32 NC-342.
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A standard version for 32 passengers in the F-32 cabin.
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The instrumentation in the cockpit was very simple.
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The bare, welded fuselage of the F.32.
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At the Glendale factory, ladies are covering the hull with linen.
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The enormous wing of the F.32.
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To overview Fokker Atlantic series

The Fokker Atlantic F.32 (Model 12)

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