The Fokker F.V

The F.V was designed by Reinhold Platz at the initiative of the Fokker factory, with no customer involved. The aircraft was built in Veere. It was powered by a 360 hp Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII liquid-cooled V-12. Hermann Hess made its maiden flight at Schiphol on 7 December 1922. The F.V was based on the earlier F.II, F.III and F.IV (all designed by Platz) and was intended for longer flights with greater passenger comfort. Never one to shy away from experiments, Platz introduced a whole series of innovations:

1. The F.V could be used either as a biplane or as a parasol monoplane; the lower wing could be quickly removed or reattached. In the parasol configuration, the aircraft had less drag and was therefore faster, but as a biplane it could carry a heavier load. The choice could be made shortly before departure.
2. The fuselage was covered with two layers of thin plywood, not fabric. This was intended to protect passengers from engine noise.
3. The aircraft was fitted with a toilet, particularly useful on long flights.
4. The two-seat cockpit had dual controls. On longer flights, the captain could take a break and hand over control to his colleague.
5. A door connected the cockpit to the passenger cabin. This allowed the crew to come and chat with the passengers during the flight, or visit the toilet.
6. The passenger cabin was heated by the engine exhaust pipes. These were extended and routed along both sides of the fuselage. This was intended to make night flights and winter flights more comfortable in particular.
7. The stabilizer’s angle of incidence could be adjusted in flight from the cockpit. This

would make things easier for the pilot if the aircraft proved tail-heavy (or nose-heavy).

Some of these ideas worked well, others did not. Those that lived up to expectations (3, 4, 5, 7) were incorporated into subsequent F-types, while those that failed to impress (1, 2, 6) were not used again after the F.V.

 Interest in the F.V was disappointing. KLM lost interest because Fokker was asking too high a price. In June 1923, the F.V was loaned to Deruluft, a German-Russian airline. Deruluft successfully pioneered long, cold routes and had good experience with the Fokker F.III, of which it owned ten. The F.V was flown to Moscow and tested there, but rejected because of its modest service ceiling and low rate of climb. The sale fell through and the aircraft was returned to the Netherlands. In the spring of 1924, the F.V was sold to a firm in Austria. What happened after that is not known.

Only one aircraft was built (c/n 2050). The photos below show this sole example in various configurations.

Sources:

Fokker Verkeersvliegtuigen. Fokker/Van Holkema & Warendorf. René de Leeuw et al. (1989)

F.V - Fokkers vergeten verkeersvliegtuig. Luchtvaartkennis 2/2005. Harm J. Hazewinkel (2005)

Fokker - Licensed to fly for one hundred years. Fokker Technologies. Frank van Dalen (2014)

Photos and archival materials held at Aviodrome, Lelystad.

Click the photo to enlarge it