DR.1
Fokker DR.I
The Dr.I triplane is perhaps the most famous aircraft in Fokker history.
That fame is partly due to the well-known German aviator, Manfred von Richthofen, who achieved 19 victories with the Dr.I during aerial combat in the First World War.
Unfortunately, a flight with a Dr.I in 1918 would also kill him.
Manfred von Richthofen flew in red painted Dr.I's, which gave him the nickname "Red Baron".
Dr.I, designed by Reinhold Platz, only entered service in August 1917.
The Dr.I, officially a V.4, was re-emerged from its design, the V.3.
The V.3 had no styles between the wings, because this gave quite a bit of vibration during the flight, it was decided to place styles between the three wings.
The final type designation "Dr" was created because the German army called the V.4, "Dreidecker".
After a number of wing breaks during flight operations, all Dr. I wings were reinforced.
The two most used rotary engines were the 9-cylinder 110 hp Le Rhône or the 9-cylinder 110 hp German Oberursel UR II, a copy of the Le Rhône.
The Dr.I was fast and agile, which was a major advantage in aerial combat.
The first three Dr.I's (test planes) had the designation F I followed by the number combination 101-17, 102-17 and 103-17.
The F designation meant that these first three aircraft were tested at the German Flugzeugmeisterei in Adlershof.
A total of 320 Dr.I's were built, not a single original has been preserved, but dozens of replicas of the Dr.I are flying around the world.
Two airworthy copies of the Dr.I are also present in the Netherlands.
Click on the photo to enlarge the photo
That fame is partly due to the well-known German aviator, Manfred von Richthofen, who achieved 19 victories with the Dr.I during aerial combat in the First World War.
Unfortunately, a flight with a Dr.I in 1918 would also kill him.
Manfred von Richthofen flew in red painted Dr.I's, which gave him the nickname "Red Baron".
A feature film has even been made about the Red Baron and his Dr.I.
The Dr.I, officially a V.4, was re-emerged from its design, the V.3.
The V.3 had no styles between the wings, because this gave quite a bit of vibration during the flight, it was decided to place styles between the three wings.
This solved the vibration problem, also increased the wingspan, added ailerons to the top wing, and gave the stabilizer a triangular shape.
The addition of the “r” came about because the single “D” already stood for Doppeldecker.
The two most used rotary engines were the 9-cylinder 110 hp Le Rhône or the 9-cylinder 110 hp German Oberursel UR II, a copy of the Le Rhône.
Several Dr.Is have flown rotary engines with Siemens-Halske and Goebel.
The armament of the Dr.I consisted of 2 Spandau synchronized machine guns of 7.92 mm.
The first three Dr.I's (test planes) had the designation F I followed by the number combination 101-17, 102-17 and 103-17.
The F designation meant that these first three aircraft were tested at the German Flugzeugmeisterei in Adlershof.
A total of 320 Dr.I's were built, not a single original has been preserved, but dozens of replicas of the Dr.I are flying around the world.
Two airworthy copies of the Dr.I are also present in the Netherlands.
Click on the photo to enlarge the photo
