Fokker Dr.I „Dreidecker“ - the German fighter

German pilots, who served on the Western Front, very quickly experienced the good qualities of the English three-wing fighter Sopwith "Triplane": high rate of climb and excellent maneuverability. When reports about the capabilities of this fighter were transmitted to Germany, German designers very quickly produced an experimental aircraft of a similar scheme. Fokker's chief aircraft designer, Martin Kroizer was killed on June 27, 1916, while testing the D.I. He was replaced by Reinhold Platz. His first test aircraft had three small, cantilevered wings with no struts between them and attached to the fuselage of a typical “Fokker” fighter, a three-point undercarriage with a trailing arm and a fully rotating vertical tailplane. Completely new was the main landing gear axle, fairing and a large stabilizer bar with leading edge camber. The improved version V. 4 with light interwing kicks had a few more aerodynamic improvements. After the successful completion of the test program, in the early summer of 1917 this fighter was put into serial production and received the designation F. I, which was soon changed to Fokker Dr. I “Dreidecker”. The Dr. I very quickly gained a great reputation, not only for its good flying and fighting qualities, but also because it was flown by many of Germany's most famous aces of the time, including the legendary Red Baron Manfred von Richthofen. When serial production was completed in May 1918, about 300 fighters of this brand were produced.

German ace Jozef Jakobs "Black Fokker" No. The 450/17 model is not complicated. This publication is probably the best designed version of the triplane on paper. Excellent print quality. By the way, one of “Orlik's” previous publications (number 044) includes a “Dreidecker” model of another German World War I ace - Red Baron Manfred von Richthofen, which we also recommend. Beginner modelers are advised to glue this model under the supervision of a more experienced colleague and it should not be one of the first more complex models.