Fokker

Introduction

Fokker nowadays does not exist anymore as an independent organization, it has become part of the Stork Aerospace Division. This combination now focusses on the production of parts for other aerospace manufacturers^[1].

In the past Fokker was a renowned Aerospace manufacturer with various own designs, both for the civil market as well as for the military market. Between 1911 en 1928, Anthony Fokker developed his company to what once was the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world with factories in Europe and America. However, Fokker lost ground when Boeing and Douglas increasingly applied aluminum in their new aircraft instead of wooden structures ^[2].

Fokker, the man

Anthony (Tony) Fokker was born in Kediri, East Java (then Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia), son of Herman Fokker, a Dutch coffee plantation owner. Four years later the family returned to the Netherlands and settled in Haarlem in order to provide Tony and his older sister Toos with a Dutch upbringing. Just like his father, Tony was not studious but rather played with model trains and steam engines, and did not complete his high school education. He devised a leak-proof tire but this was not an original invention and was already patented.

In 1910, at age 20, Fokker was sent by his father to Germany to receive training as a mechanic. Yet his interest was in flying, prompting him to change schools. That same year Fokker built his first aircraft "de Spin" ("the Spider"), which was destroyed by his business partner who flew it into a tree. He gained his pilot license in his second "Spin" plane. In his own country, he became a celebrity by flying around the tower of the Sint-Bavokerk in Haarlem on August 31, 1911, with the third version of the "Spin". He also added to his fame by flying on the birthday of Queen Wilhelmina.

In 1912, Fokker moved to Johannisthal near Berlin where he founded his first own company, Fokker Aeroplanbau. In the following years he constructed a variety of airplanes. He relocated his factory to Schwerin where it was renamed Fokker Flugzeugwerke GmbH, and later shortened to Fokker Werke GmbH.

At the onset of World War I, the German government took control of the factory. Fokker remained as director and designed many aircraft for the Imperial German Army Air Service (Luftstreitkräfte), including the Fokker Dr.I, the triplane made famous in the hands of aces such as Manfred von Richthofen (the Red Baron). He also designed the synchronization gear that allowed the machine gun to be fired through the propeller blades, resulting in a phase of German air-superiority known as the Fokker Scourge. In all, his company delivered about 700 military planes to the German air force.

On March 25, 1919, Fokker married Sophie Marie Elisabeth von Morgen in Haarlem. This marriage lasted only four years. In 1922, he moved to the United States and later became an American citizen. Here he established the American branch of his company, the Atlantic Aircraft Corporation. In 1927, Fokker married Violet Austman in New York City.

He died in New York in 1939 of complications of sinus surgery. He was just 49 years old ^[3]

Fokker, the start

The heritage of Anthony Fokker started with the 'Spin' in 1911. Although the 'Spin' was actually designed by Jacob Goedecker, Anthony Fokker further improved and commercialized the aircraft, causing it to be remembered as the first Fokker plane ^[4].

Fokker, Worldwar 1

The German government forced Fokker and Hugo Junkers to work together. This collaboration resulted in some famous early Fokker planes such as the Fokker E.III, Fokker Dr.I, and Fokker D.VII. These were all built for the German army to be used during World War I. Fokker gained further fame with his synchronization gear invention that allowed the machine gun to be fired through the propeller, resulting in an air-superiority briefly known as the Fokker Scourge. The famous Fokker Dr.I triplane was used by Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron, towards the end of his career, who achieved over a quarter of his 80 air combat victories in Fokker aircraft.

Yet some of Fokker's early monoplanes were insufficiently tested and had a tendency to warp and come apart under hard maneuvering. Fokker had managed to cure these problems by the time the Dreidekker entered service ^[5].

Fokker, in the interbellum

After the war's end, the terms of the Treaty of Versailles forbade Germany to build any aircraft or aircraft engines. In 1919 Fokker returned to the Netherlands and started a new aircraft company, the Nederlandse Vliegtuigenfabriek (Dutch Aircraft Factory), predecessor to the Fokker Aircraft Company. Despite the strict disarmament conditions in the Treaty, Fokker did not return home empty-handed: he managed to smuggle an entire train's worth of D.VII and C.I military planes and spare parts across the German-Dutch border. This initial stock enabled him to quickly set up shop, but his focus shifted from military to civil aircraft. ^[6]

As from 1919 Anthony Fokker started making inroads into civil aviation with the four-seat F.II; Fokker's first plane specifically built for passenger transport. Other passenger aircraft followed. Particularly the eleven-seat F.IV was very successful in achieving many spectacular world records at that time. Fokker's best selling aircraft in this period between the two World Wars was the three-engined F.VII; a three-engined passenger plane with the world's first air-cooled engine of which 230 were built.

By 1930, 172 out of the 596 aircraft operated by European airlines were Fokkers, worldwide 54 airlines had Fokker planes and in 22 countries Fokker aircraft were manufactured under license. Many of today's global airlines started or expanded their air transport with Fokker aircraft in their early years, like KLM but also Lufthansa which started its first (and international) flight with a Fokker-Grulich F.ll on April 6, 1926. Other known airlines in those days operating Fokker aircraft are PanAm, TWA, Mexicana, and Alitalia amongst many other known airlines ^[7].

Fokker, Worldwar 2

German Occupation

Fokker, 1945 - 1979

After WW II, Fokker restarted its activities in aviation with the help of the Netherlands government and some industrialists. It is here where the relationship between Stork and Fokker is being formalized as Stork is asked to appoint a seat in the Advisory Board of Fokker. Stork has done so till 1996.

In November 1958 Fokker delivered its first turboprop aircraft after the War, the Fokker F27 Friendship to Aer Lingus. The F27 became the world's best selling turboprop aircraft till today. A total of 786 F27s were built, 581 by Fokker and 205 aircraft by Fairchild under a license agreement. The aircraft still is a real 'workhorse' among many airlines around the globe. After the F27 Fokker delivered its first jet aircraft, the Fokker F28 Fellowship to LTU in Germany in February 1969. A total of 241 were built and finally the Fokker 100 superceded the F28 in 1986.

After already having built 100s of other military fighters like the Gloster Meteor and the F104 Starfighter, Fokker assembled 300 F-16 fighter aircraft for the Netherlands Airforce, and also for the Airforces in Denmark and Norway in the seventies. Also Fokker was asked to become an associated manufacturer for the Airbus A300, the first aircraft from Airbus. Fokker today still manufacturers the moveable parts of the A300 wing, which in total represent about 6% of the aircraft's total value ^[8].

Fokker, 1980 - 1996

In 1983 Fokker simultaneously launched the successors of the F27 and the F28, the Fokker 50 and the Fokker 100. The Fokker 50 made its first flight in December 1985, The aircraft, like the Fokker 100, was an all-new technology plane of which a total of 212 were manufactured. In August 1987, the first Fokker 50 was delivered to Ansett Australia. A year later than the Fokker 50, the Fokker 100 made its maiden flight in November 1986 with Swissair as the launching customer taking delivery of the first aircraft in February 1988. A total of 278 Fokker 100s were manufactured. Later two family derivatives were developed. First the Fokker 70, a shortened version of the Fokker 100 of which a total of 47 were built. Second, the Fokker 60 utility was launched as a stretched military variant of the Fokker 50 for the Netherlands Air Force ^[9].

The worldwide airline crisis of the 1990s, fierce competition and a wobbly dollar unfortunately put an end to Fokker in March 1996 ^[10]. On January 22, 1996, the Board of Directors of Daimler-Benz decided to focus on its core automobile business and cut ties with Fokker. The next day an Amsterdam court extended temporary creditor protection. On March 15 the Fokker company was declared bankrupt. Those divisions of the company that manufactured parts and carried out maintenance and repair work were taken over by Stork N.V.; it is now known as Stork Aerospace Group. Stork Fokker exists to sustain remarketing of the company's existing aircraft: they refurbish and resell F50s and F100s, and converted a few F50s to transport planes. Special projects included the development of a F50 Maritime Patrol version and a F100 Executive Jet. For this project Stork received the 2005 "Aerospace Industry Award" in the "Air Transport" category from Flight International magazine ^[11].

Fokker, as Stork subsidiary

In 1996 Stork acquired Fokker and the company succesfully changed from aircraft integrator into a specialist for structures, wiring and services with an impressive portfolio. In 2002 Stork Aerospace receives the Flight award for the development of Glare, in 2003 Stork Aerospace opens a new facility for Glare. Glare is a revolutionary new FML (Fibre Metal Laminate) material of which 500m2 is applied in the Airbus A380. In 2003 Stork Aerospace is seclected by Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman as a main supplier of wiring, inflight opening doors and arresting gear for the Lockheed Martin JSF (Joint Strike Fighter). In 2005 Stork Aerospace receives the Flight award for the succesful re-marketing programs of the the Fokker Aircraft. The Future 50 and the Future 100 programs. In 2006 Stork Aerospace takes over AIRINC in the USA. In 2007 Stork Aerospace is selected as supplier for the Boeing 747-800 Flaps. this order is considered a break-through in the relationship with Boeing Commercial Airplanes ^[12].

Fokker, Rekkof

Rekkof Aircraft is a Dutch company dedicated to restarting the production of upgraded versions of the Fokker F70 and Fokker F100 regional jets as production of those stopped when Fokker was declared bankrupt in 1996. They first announced their plans in late 2003 and intend to first re-launch the Fokker F70NG (NG standing for Next Generation) and if enough orders are placed later also the Fokker F100NG. Notable changes on the NG models will be winglets and different engines. A possible third as of yet unnamed stretched version of the aircraft has also been mentioned. Rekkof believes there is a sufficient market for the aircraft and that the design can still compete with similar modern regional airliners from manufacturers as Embraer and Canadair. However, while the announcement of a launch customer and the production re-start have been called "imminent" by Rekkof a number of times between early 2004 and mid-2005, none of Rekkof's plans have materialised to date. KLM, a current user of Fokker aircraft and suggested as a launch customer, has denied that they are in negotiations with Rekkof ^[13]. Though Rekkof has stated that it prefers to assemble the aircraft in the Netherlands, with Lelystad Airport and Enschede Airport Twente mentioned as possible assembly locations, Bangalore in India has now also been mentioned as a possible location with Indian engineering firm Cades Digitech planning to invest 300 million US dollars in an assembly plant ^[14].

Rekkof Aircraft is a part of Panta Holdings BV, which also owns VLM Airlines and Denim Air, both airlines using Fokker 50 aircraft.

Fokker Aircraft, Overview

D-I (D1)
D-VII (D7)
S11 - Trainer
S14 - Jet Trainer
F27 Friendship - Turboprop Airliner
F28 Fellowship
F50
F100

References & Citations

Books

Hegener, Henri (1961); Fokker - The man and the aircraft. Harleyford Publications ltd, Letchworth, Herts, England. Library of Congress Card No. 61-10595

External Links & Related Organizations

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[1] ttp://www.stork.com/eCache/DEF/1/190.html

[2] ttp://www.fokker.nl/eCache/DEF/5/814.html

[3] ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Fokker

[4] ttp://www.fokker.nl/eCache/DEF/5/814.html

[5] ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fokker

[6] ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Fokker

[7] ttp://www.fokker.nl/eCache/DEF/5/814.html

[8] ttp://www.fokker.nl/eCache/DEF/5/814.html

[9] ttp://www.fokker.nl/eCache/DEF/5/814.html

[10] ttp://www.fokker.nl/eCache/DEF/5/814.html

[11] ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fokker

[12] ttp://www.fokker.nl/eCache/DEF/5/814.html

[13] ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rekkof_Aircraft

[14] Cades Digitech will make Fokker aircraft, article from Daily News & Analysis, India

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