Airdrome Fokker D-VIII explained

The Airdrome Fokker D-VIII is an American amateur-built aircraft, designed and produced by Airdrome Aeroplanes, of Holden, Missouri. The aircraft is supplied as a kit for amateur construction.^[1]

The aircraft is a 3/4 scale replica of the First World War German Fokker D.VIII fighter, built from modern materials and powered by modern engines.

Design and development

The Airdrome Fokker D-VIII features a parasol wing monoplane layout, a single-seat open cockpit, fixed conventional landing gear and a single engine in tractor configuration.

The aircraft is made from bolted-together aluminum tubing, with its flying surfaces covered in doped aircraft fabric. The kit is made up of twelve sub-kits. The Airdrome Fokker D-VIII has a wingspan of 251NaN1 and a wing area of 75square feet. It can be equipped with engines ranging from 46to. The standard engine is the 500NaN0 Rotax 503 two stroke engine or 350NaN0 Rotax 377, with a Volkswagen air-cooled engine optional. Continental A65 650NaN0 engines and 55to Lycoming O-145 powerplants have also been used. Building time from the factory-supplied kit is estimated at 400 hours by the manufacturer.^[2]

Operational history

Twenty-one examples had been completed by December 2011.

Notes and References

1. Vandermeullen, Richard: 2011 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide, Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 40. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851
2. Web site: Fokker D-VIII ~ (Flying razor) Parasol ~ 3/4 Scale Replica. 22 September 2012. Airdrome Aeroplanes. n.d. . https://web.archive.org/web/20101213101823/http://airdromeairplanes.com/FokkerD-VIII%7B3-4scale%7D.html . 13 December 2010.