I saw all three German planes flying this week at Oshkosh, and I got the chance to talk to the gentleman who built the S.E.5a...
Fokker DRI (non-rotary). For $5.00 US I can have my picture taken next to this baby wearing a WWI German pilot's uniform. Should I?
Fokker DVII. In a movie that they had showing the three Fokkers flying cross-country (they're all based in Colorado), the DVII had a red lower wing.
Fokker DVIII (non-rotary)
Jack Kearbey's S.E.5a. Great looking plane and an interesting gentleman to talk to (he's the guy wearing the red jumpsuit just to the left of the engine cowling). He even has an original R.A.C. owner's manual for this plane that somebody gave him! A few tidbits:
- He was able to fly the plane completely "hands off" almost immediately after his very first take-off, it's that easy to fly.
- The cockpit is "extremely quiet" with very little wind noise or buffeting. "You could sip a hot cup of coffee while cruising without any problem whatsoever."
- Contrary to some accounts of WWI pilots lowering the seat in this plane, he claims that's impossible to do since the aileron cables are a mere 1/4" below the seat.
The S.E.5a's cockpit. Some of the instruments are original, including the one-needle altimeter in the lower right-hand corner. Mr. Kearbey did install the modern altimeter for safety reasons that you can clearly see mounted front-and-center above the cockpit dashboard.
I stumbled across this Sopwith Camel purely by accident. It was parked among civilian aircraft as I made my way to the WWII era, and not in their "vintage" area where the other four WWI aircraft were.
Fokker DVII in flight. I found out that they re-painted the lower wing in the lozenge camo design after a minor crack-up on landing while enroute from Colorado to Wright-Patterson Air Force base in Dayton, Ohio. They decided to take advantage of the mishap by re-painting the lower wing in accordance with Udet's original design...that the lower wing in red had been a mistake. Really?
Fokker DVIII in flight.
Sorry, no DRI in-flight photo. The memory card on my camera maxed out on me right after I snapped my ground shots. These photos were taken by a friend of mine.
I got a kick out of this note taped to the modern instrument panel inside the DVIII.
They also had a mini-museum with some of the artifacts from their museum in Colorado. These are Eddie Rickenbacker's flying goggles, helmet, and gloves. Of course, all of the items were behind glass, and this is the only photo that turned out OK without a lot of glare. They also have a uniform supposedly worn by Major Lanoe Hawker, but they can't be 100% sure on this.
ENJOY!!!