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Aviation History
1922
1922 - 0772.PDF
DECEMBER 21, 1922 THE NEW FOKKER AMPHIBIAN FLYING BOAT 450 H.P. Napier "Lion" Engine • THE FOKKER AMPHIBIAN : Front view. Note how machine floats on an even keel. iNJjSeptember of this year the N.V. Nederlandsche Vliegtuigen - fabriek (Fokker) of Amsterdam launched a new machine of somewhat unusual design. This machine, an amphibian flying boat with Napier " Lion " engine, haS recently been tested over the Ij, and is said to have given a very good ' performance. It appears probable that, had the French authorities responsible for the Paris Aero Show not decided to debar the N.V. Nederlandsche Vliegtuigenfabriek from exhibiting this year, the Fokker Amphibian might now have been at the Grand Palais. It may jiot, therefore, be out of place if we publish in this issue a brief description and some photographs of the machine. In general arrangement the Fokker Amphibian is a biplane " pusher " flying boat, with a Vee-bottom hull built entirely of Duralumin. To a certain extent it may be said that the hull form resembles that of a Vickers " Viking" but the construction is, of course, entirely different, and The rest of the machine is totally dissimilar. Thus the engine,. instead of being mounted between the planes as is usual practice in British flying-boat design, is mounted in the top plane. By choosing a lower plane of small chord it has been possible to keep the overall height down to a minimum, and as the hull is of fairly large beam the machine possesses a considerable degree of stability on the water. Thus it will be noticed that in one of our photographs, showing the machine at rest on the sea, there is no list, and neither wing-tip float touches the sea. The boat hull, as already mentioned, is built entirely of Duralumin, having a girder of this metal running along inside and forming a keelson. The hull is covered with sheet Duralumin, and is divided into n watertight compartments, formed partly by the keelson and partly by transverse bulk heads. As in the Vickers " Viking," there are two steps, of which the front one occurs approximately under the centre of gravity, while the rear step is nearly half-way between main step and stern post. The steps are of the open type so as to allow the water to run out easily on taking off. Although the Fokker Amphibian can be supplied either as a commercial machine or for military purposes, the accom panying photographs show the latter form. There are four seats, arranged as follows :—In the nose is a cockpit for the front gunner ; between this and the wings is a second cockpit, THE FOKKER AMPHIBIAN : View showing amphibian gear and mounting of Napier *' Lion " engine. THE FOKKER AMPHIBIAN : Three-quarter rear view of machine on land. 772
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