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Aviation History
1948
1948 - 1804.PDF
514 FLIGHT The Fokker F.24 36-passenger transport for K.LM. Production had been commenced early in 1940. Cyclone engines were specified. scheduled for delivery in July, 1947. The first two were delivered recently but are not yet in operation. According to a statement made by the company, the original design of the F.24 was again slightly modified after the liberation and adapted to new requirements. The present main factory—there is a subsidiary at Papendrecht—is temporary, and is by no means ideal for the work. There is no airfield and all traffic must cross the water by ferry boat to the city of Amsterdam and to Schiphol airport a few kilometres to the south. With government aid a fine, new, modern factory is planned Fokke an accurate cost estimate these days without bringing in the complication of a time factor. Moreover, each new vote and estimate requires additional N.I.V. conference, and must presumably result in waste of time and effort. In the event of substantial orders from home and abroad producing good profits from any particular aircraft design, it is understood that the company might be asked to repay to the Government part of the development subsidy. As soon as facilities became available, the reorganized Fokker company started work on repairs, rebuilding and overhauls of civil and military aircraft. Large numbers of Dakotas in particular, and Skymasters have been con- verted for home and foreign use. An agreement with the Douglas company makes Fokkers the European service and • repair agent for Skymasters. Dakotas are going through for France, Switzerland, Belgium, Portugal and Finland. In addition, all Dutch Army and Navy repairs are being undertaken. More than a hundred surplus American Harvards are being overhauled for the Swiss Air Force, and a licence to manufacture spares for them has been granted. A contract rfas also been signed with the Belgian Air Force for repair work. In the works at present one may see Ansons, Harvards, Oxfords, and a Spitfire or two, in addition to the civil types. A fair amount of glider work is also being undertaken in the Amsterdam factory, and 72 gliders of four different types are being produced. They are the E.S.G. enclosed primary glider, the Dutch version of the Grunau Baby, the Dutch Olympia and the Govier side-by-side trainer. (" Flight " photographs and drawings—-copyright) The prototype of the S.I I Trainer at Schiphol (note the Grumman Mallard in the background). The second machine, differing in detail only, is now flying. The engine is a 190 h.p. Lycoming flat six. Despite a tail wheel layout, both pupil and instructor have an excellent view for taxying to be built as an extension to Schiphol, and it will prob- ably have its own main runway. The procedure for ordering and building aircraft in Holland to-day bears a slight resemblance to our own. If a subsidy is to be granted, N.I.V. approval is given to proceed one stage at a time: design study, wind-tunnel model and mock-up, complete drawings, prototypes, tooling-up, etc. Financial backing, following the sub- mission of cost estimates, is granted on an annual basis. One would have thought that a grant for each section of the work independent of the estimated time to be taken, would have been preferable. It is difficult enough to make Plans to produce this unusual seventeen-passenger post-war transport, the tw/n-Nene F.26 Phantome, haw unfortunately had to be shelved. 7 The remaining capacity is given over temporarily to motor coach construction. This work serves to keep the Fokker team—the total of employees is now about 2,000—together in useful employment and to add to experience until the new Fokker designs reach the production stage, as the first are now doing. A small section of the plant at Amsterdam is set aside for the training of works apprentices. Students spend part of their time at work in the factory and part at lectures. They are given a small wage and help to offset the cost of their training by fabricating small and simple parts in wood or metal. The Dutch are keen subscribers to the view that within the Western European Union military equipment should be uniform, and for this reason in particular, and because Dutch factories are more vulnerable in the event of an attack from the East, and their technicians less experienced in the designing and building of modern high-performance military aircraft, it is felt to be better to concentrate at this stage on the development of modern trainers. In addi- tion, small-scale production under licence of suitable British fighters is planned. These opinions are reflected in practice by the present trainer programme and the licensing agreement which has been made by the Dutch Naval and Army Air Forces for the building; as soon as possible, of Hawker Sea Furies and Gloster Meteors respectively. An initial order for twenty F.25 Promotor four-seat taxis,
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