Fokker F.III

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fokker_F.III

The Fokker F.III was a single-engined high-winged monoplane aircraft produced in
the 1920s by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It could carry five
passengers. The aircraft was also built under licence in Germany as the
Fokker-Grulich F.III.

The Fokker F.III was a straightforward development of the F.II. A widened cabin
allowed all five passengers to sit within; in the earlier aircraft, one
passenger sat alongside the pilot in his exposed cockpit. The pilot now sat
alongside the engine, which was offset laterally by about 100 mm (4 in); whether
to port or starboard depended on the type of engine installed. Although this
unusual arrangement meant that pilots were "burned on one side and frozen on the
other," they had a much better view than from the F.II. The view was further
improved by a cut-out in the wing leading edge for the pilot's head, allowing
his seat to be raised. The external wing struts of the F.II were removed,
leaving a clean cantilever wing. The trapezoidal windows seen in the Grulich
built F.IIs were standard on the F.III.

Like its predecessor, the F.III was initially powered by a readily available,
war surplus 138 kW (185 hp) BMW IIIa engine, but once again KLM re-engined
theirs with the 172 kW (230 hp) Armstrong Siddeley Puma.


Role
Passenger transport

Manufacturer
Fokker

Designer
Reinhold Platz

First flight
April 1921

Primary users
Deutsche Aero Lloyd
KLM

Number built
c.66

Developed from
Fokker F.II

The F.III was first used by KLM when they reopened their Amsterdam-London
service on 14 April 1921 (they did not, at this time operate over winter). Soon,
F.IIIs were also flying on routes to Bremen, Brussels, Hamburg, and Paris. They
proved to be very reliable aircraft. KLM received 14 F.IIIs from Fokker's German
factory at Schwerin during 1921 and built two more itself from spares in the
following year. This final pair used 268-kW (360-hp) Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII
engines, with the pilot on the left.

Another operator of new F.IIIs was Deutsch-Russiche Luftverkehrs Gesellschaft
(Deruluft) which used nine aircraft on their Berlin-Königsberg-Moscow route from
May 1922. These machines, partially built in Schwerin and finished in the
Netherlands at Veere, had Eagle engines. One was a Fokker-Grulich.

Later F.IIIs changed ownership frequently as airlines went bankrupt or merged.
They were still flying commercially in Germany until about 1936.

Specifications

General characteristics
Crew: 1
Capacity: 5 passengers
Length: 11.07 m (36 ft 4 in)
Wingspan: 17.68 m (36 ft 4 in)
Height: 3.20 m (10 ft 6 in)
Wing area: 45.65 m² (491.4 ft²)
Empty weight: 1,200 kg (2,650 lb)
Loaded weight: 1,905 kg (4,200 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Armstrong Siddeley Puma, 170 kW (230 hp)

Performance
Cruise speed: 135 km/h (84 mph)
Range: 1,000 km (621 mi)




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