Fokker F.II

Design

The F.II is a high-wing monoplane featuring an enclosed cabin for 4 passengers and was the first to do so. The cockpit is semi-enclosed with a place for 2, originally intended for a pilot and a navigator.

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History

The F.II was the first Fokker airliner. It was designed by Reinhold Platz, who had previously designed various WW1 Fokker fighters. This prototype (designated V.45 by Fokker) first flew in 1919.

Plane Heist?!

In 1919, after World War I, Anthony Fokker decided to relocate to the Netherlands. Subsequently, Anthony Fokker asked his close friend Bernard de Waal to steal the F.II from his own company. With help from personnel, he flew the plane directly out of the Fokker factory hangar and took off for the Netherlands.
This did not go flawlessly, as he had to make several emergency landings due to engine issues. The first time, de Waal managed to restart the engine himself, but the second time, he was interrupted by two German police officers, who felt something was off. One of them, therefore, went to get instructions from the 'Landrat' (the highest municipal official in Germany). De Waal asked the other officer to help him turn the propeller to "test-run the engine". When the motor was running, however, de Waal just took off whilst the police officer could only watch in bewilderment.
He had to make a third emergency landing where the landing gear finally gave out, but luckily, they were already on Dutch soil.

De Waal called Anthony Fokker, who rushed there by car. The plane was subsequently dismantled and transported first by train and then by boat to Amsterdam.

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Operations

The F.II turned out to be a success, as various airlines flew the F.II, with KLM (yes they existed already) ordering the first 2 F.IIs.
The prototype was used by RSL (Rijks Studiedienst voor de Luchtvaart) as an experimental plane.

Fun fact: the first F.IIs carried both a Dutch and German construction number.

In 1936, it was given a "fake" registration H-NABC (the real one was the first F.II from KLM). This was done for the 25th anniversary of Anthony Fokker as a pilot. You can still see the remnants of the old registration on the wings in the picture below.

It was planned to eventually put the plane in a museum, but that unfortunately didn't happen, as the Germans likely destroyed the plane in the opening days of the Second World War.

Replica

There is a replica built between 1994 and 1996 that is on display in the Aviodrome museum in the Netherlands

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Engine options

The F.II prototype was equipped with a BMW motor. However, it was regarded as underpowered, and thus KLM opted to re-engine their aircraft with the Armstrong-Siddeley Puma engine, but not before trying a Mercedes engine first.
In Germany, Deutsche Aero Lloyd built modified versions which increased weight, requiring stronger engines. These were powered by the BMW IV and Va engines. The engine options actually decided the shape of the nose. The prototype has a longer, round nose, whereas other planes have more squared fronts, as seen in the replica.

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The F.II in JNO

Part count

Sadly, this plane does not include a detailed structure, control surfaces and interior due to the 60-part limit of the monthly challenge. I hope the limit is upped to somewhere more around 200, or at least 100 later

Design choices

I chose to give it registration PH-RSL, as it flew with that registration for the longest time.
I kept the Fokker logo at the tail as it is really iconic

Differences

It is slightly larger than irl, so droods can fit through the door. The tail is also slightly larger than irl (I did shrink the tail after I made the pictures...), as the vertical stability provided by the square fuselage shape is far smaller in-game than in reality.
It does not have 2 seats in the cockpit, as that's another part in the part limit.

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Controls

-Pitch yaw roll are like usual

-You may experience slight roll instability

-If the program somehow fails the horizontal stabilisers are controlled by slider 1 if the pitch doesn't respond

Have fun!