Fokker Dr. I "Dreidecker" (Triplane)
Model Airplane News Cover Art for March, 1932 and November, 1953
by Jo Kotula
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The Fokker Dr.I Dreidecker (triplane) was a World War I fighter aircraft built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The Dr.I saw widespread service in the spring of 1918. It became renowned as the aircraft in which Manfred von Richthofen gained his last 20 victories, and in which he was killed on 21 April 1918.

  

Fokker Dr. I "Dreidecker" (Triplane)
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In February 1917, the Sopwith Triplane began to appear over the Western Front anf swiftly proved itself superior to the Albatross fighters then in use by the Luftstreitkräfte (German Air Force). The Fokker-Flugzeugwerke (Fokker Airplane Factory) responded by converting an unfinished biplane prototype into a "V.4", a small, rotary-powered triplane with a steel tube fuselage and thick cantilever wings. Initial tests revealed that the V.4 had unacceptably high control forces resulting from the use of unbalanced ailerons and elevators. Learning from this, Fokker produced V.5. The most notable changes intorducing new control surfaces and longer-span wings with interplane struts to minimize wing flexing. On 14 July 1917, the aircraft went into production.

Here is a video of the Fokker Dr. I "Dreidecker" (Triplane) in action:

Click Here to learn about the Fokker Dr. I "Dreidecker".

This continues to be a popular Cleveland kit due to the numerous references to the "Red Baron" that still abound in American popular culture.

        

Cleveland Model of the Fokker Dr. I "Dreidecker"
In the old days, kids would keep scrapbooks...
(right)This is what a 1930s vintage box would look like
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You can buy the plans and patterns that will enable you to make this model right now. Click Here to go to the exact location on the Cleveland Website to get them.

Fokker Dr. I "Dreidecker" at the Cleveland Site
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