> I noticed an interesting picture in Windsock Datafile 9.
> On page 5 the bottom picture shows the only ply-covered fuselage
>Fokker DVII built (w/n 2268). The wings and horizontal tail seem to be
>covered in a small hex pattern lozenge pattern. I can't tell the colors
>from the BW picture, but the haxagons are small and regular (ie even sided
>and even angled) much like Naval lozenge. Only the upper wing surface is
>visible. The fuselage looks like its only laquered (sp?). The work numbers
>are not visible.
> There is only one deviation from a normal Fokker (besides the ply
>fuselage) that I see. The very front strut emerges from the fuselage at
>a higher position than the fabric covered Fokkers.
> Some supposition is needed to build a model of this plane. Since it
>was built by a Fokker susidiary, the struts were probably Fokker Dark Green.
>Unless there was another lozenge with small regular hexagons, it probably
>had the naval small hex lozenge. Obviously the lower wing surfaces are open
>to conjecture as well.
> I think this plane would make an interesting model! Does anyone
>know of any other pictures of this plane?
And I have followed this discussion with interest. A couple of
thoughts... much has been made of the differences in center section strut
placement, particularly differences with "production" D-VIIs. It would
make sense, and in the absence of plans to confirm or deny, to speculate
that there were some structural differences with this particular a/c since
it was a wooden framed and covered fuselage. There would be no real need
to have holes in the covering panels since struts could be simply attached
to the skin where it joined with wooden frame members. Remember, the
caption to this photo clearly states that this fuselage was an experiment
to contend with a possible shortage of steel tube and therefore would quite
likely be very different structurally from "production" machines.
On the topic of naval hex fabric on this same machine. There is
photographic evidence for use of this fabric on another non-naval a/c, the
Dornier D-I. I believe that only one prototype was built. Its structure
was all, or nearly all, metal but portions of the wings were covered with
hex pattern fabric that has a similar appearance to naval hex camouflage.
Study in WW I Aero of a suviving piece of this fabric shows that the
hexagons were 15 cm wide measured across opposing flat sides. A little
study of these photos should reveal if the fabric on the Fokker and Dornier
have similar dimensions.
Charles
hartc@spot.colorado.edu