Fokker F.VII variant
Fokker F.VII F.VIIa (F.VIIa/1m)
Improved single-engined version seating eight, with a simplified sprung undercarriage and aerodynamic refinements. It flew on 12 March 1925.
- March 12, 1925
- First flight
- 39
- Units built
- 8
- Passengers
History
A refined F.VII
The F.VIIa raised capacity to eight passengers and introduced a new, simpler undercarriage with suspension. The aerodynamic changes were notable: the ailerons were contained within the wing profile, which ended in rounded tips, and the aircraft received an adjustable stabiliser. It flew on 12 March 1925.
Engines
The first aircraft had a 420 hp Packard Liberty V-12, but the 39 F.VIIas that followed mostly carried Bristol Jupiter or Pratt & Whitney Wasp radials. The move to the air-cooled radial was decisive: it lightened the installation and paved the way for the trimotor conversion.
In the hands of the pioneers
Several F.VIIas featured in record attempts during the heroic age of the Atlantic. The St. Raphael (G-EBTQ), carrying Dan Minchin, Leslie Hamilton and Princess Anne of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg, disappeared on 31 August 1927 attempting the east-to-west Atlantic crossing. Old Glory (NX703), flown by James DeWitt Hill and Lloyd Bertaud, was lost in the North Atlantic in September that year en route to Rome.