The Fokker F.VII, AKA the Fokker Trimotor

Fokker, a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker, was founded in 1912 in Berlin, Germany, and became famous for its fighter aircraft in World War I. After the war, it moved to the Netherlands in 1919.

The Fokker F.VII was a popular 1920s twin-prop airliner that was operated in several countries around the world, including South America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, and the United States. It was also on board the planes of some of the most prominent pilots of the time, including Kingsford Smith, Amelia Earhart, and Admiral Byrd.

It can carry 8 to 12 passengers along with a two-person crew. It was made with steel tubing, fabric covering, and laminated wood-covered wings.

In the year 1924, it was released onto the market as the very first plane that utilized the Wright Whirlwind engine, Gnome-Rhone Titan engine, and Armstrong-Siddeley Lynx.

A first-generation F.VII had a single engine with a power output ranging from 260 hp to 450 hp. By 1925, an F.VIIa boasted a 400 hp Packard Liberty engine, and it was showcased in the United States that year.

Anthony Fokker promoted his aircraft to the United States during his Airbus Reliability Tour and produced a variant with three 200 hp Wright J-4 Whirlwind engines, making it the first tri-motor, which he flew for the first time on September 4, 1925.

The plane easily won the contest and aerospace enterprises constructed sixty-three F.VIIas and tri-motor F.VIIa-3m. Eighteen additional aero airplanes were brought over from the United States by Henry Ford.

With a higher wingspan and carrying at least 15 different engines, the F-VIIb was the largest and most widespread iteration of the aircraft. It almost invariably contained a variety of F-series engines as well. One such model was the FM-7 bomber and FM-7 seaplane.

1928-1929 were the years the F.10 and F-10A versions were introduced to the movement and around the world. Its engines included a 420 hp or a 450 hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp at western airplane express. The wings, designed for airplanes, were produced in the Netherlands, while the F-15 wings were based in the United States with more points and an improved wing section. About sixty F-10As were built.

Historical flights

On May 9, 1926, Richard E. Byrd claimed to have flown over the North Pole in the Fokker F.VIIa 3m Josephine Ford, a few days before Roald Amundsen accomplished the feat in the airship Norge.

Charles Kingsford Smith became the first person to fly an aircraft across the Pacific in June 1928. He returned home in September of that year flying an F.VIIb 3m, called the Southern Cross.

In the same year, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to conduct an oceanic flight across the Atlantic as a passenger aboard an F.VIIb 3m, dubbed Friendship.