Fokker F-10 Explained

The Fokker F-10 was an enlarged development of the Fokker F.VII airliner, built in the late 1920s by the Fokker Aircraft Corporation of America. It was a trimotor passenger aircraft, and it carried 12 passengers. This was four more than the F.VII it was based on, and it had a larger wing and more powerful engines than that design. A crash of this aircraft in 1931, lead to widespread reforms in the U.S. aviation industry and hurt the reputation of wooden winged' aircraft, especially the Fokker Tri-motor types.

Operational history

Fokker built 65 for commercial and military service. After the crash of a Transcontinental & Western Air F-10 in 1931, killing Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne and seven others, which was caused by the deterioration of the wooden wing spar, the type was temporarily grounded, and it was required to undergo more frequent and rigorous inspection. Its public image was also greatly damaged, leading to its early retirement from U.S. airlines.

Variants

F-10

Initial production variant.

F-10A

Improved and revised 14-passenger variant powered by three Pratt & Whitney Wasp radial engines,^[1] often called the Super Trimotor.

C-5

United States Army designation for the evaluation of one re-engined F-10A powered by three Wright R-975 radials.

LB-2

Light bomber version.

RA-4

United States Navy designation for the evaluation of one F-10A.

Operators

Civil operators

United States

American Airways
TWA
Pan Am
Universal Airlines
Western Air Express (launch customer ^[2])
Boston-Maine Airways^[3]

Mexico

Mexicana
Aerovias Centrales^[3]

Military operators

United States

United States Army Air Corps designations C-5 and C-7A.^[4]

Accidents and incidents

On June 10, 1929, a Pan Am F-10, registration NC9700 and named Cuba, struck telephone wires and crashed while taking off from Santiago de Cuba bound for Havana, killing two of five on board. The aircraft failed to gain altitude due to a waterlogged runway.
On March 31, 1931, a Transcontinental & Western Air F-10 crashed near Bazaar, Kansas after a wing separated in flight, killing all eight on board, including football coach Knute Rockne.
On March 19, 1932, an American Airways F-10A, registration NC652E, struck power lines in heavy fog and crashed into an orchard near Calimesa, California, killing all seven on board.
On September 8, 1932, an American Airways F-10, registration NC9716, crashed into a mountain in poor weather near Salt Flat, Texas, killing three of four on board.

External links

December 13, 1928 . The Fokker "F-10" Monoplane: An American-built Three-engined Commercial Model . . XX . 50 . 1048–1049 . October 17, 2012 . A contemporary technical article on the Fokker F-10. (Though the article does not mention the long-winged F-10A, the table of specs at the end appear to be for this version. Specs in the rest of the article are for the original F-10.)

Notes and References

Book: AAHS Journal. Spring 2004. 42.
Web site: Fokker F.10 . Fokker, A living history . ThinkQuest Library . 2008-08-25 . 2004-12-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20041208104755/http://library.thinkquest.org/C002752/fokker.cgi?page=db%2Ff-10 . dead .
Web site: Pan American Airways - Fleet List and Airframe Histories - The Early Days . Logbook Magazine . 31 May 2014 . 2015-05-12 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150729002331/http://www.logbookmag.com/databases/articles.asp?ID=91&CatID=47 . 2015-07-29 .
Web site: Cargo Aircraft Designations . March 15, 2006 . 2008-08-25 . 2009-02-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090211181652/http://home.att.net/~jbaugher3/cdesig.html . dead .