80-683: Anton Herman Gerard " Anthony " Fokker (6 April 1890 – 23 December 1939) was a Dutch aviation pioneer, aviation entrepreneur , aircraft designer , and aircraft manufacturer . He produced fighter aircraft in Germany during the First World War such as the Eindecker monoplanes, the Dr.1 triplane and the D.VII biplane. After the Treaty of Versailles forbade Germany to produce aircraft, Fokker moved his business to
160-607: A Dutch coffee plantation owner and Johanna Hugona Wouterina Wilhelmina Diemont. Some sources say that he was born in Kediri . At that time, Blitar was a part of the "Kediri Residency", a colonial administrative division the capital of which was Kediri. He was a cousin of the physicist Adriaan Fokker . When Fokker was four, the family returned to the Netherlands and settled in Haarlem in order to provide Fokker and his older sister, Toos, with
240-409: A Dutch upbringing. Fokker was not a studious boy and did not complete his high school education. However, he showed an early interest in mechanics, and preferred making things, playing with model trains and steam engines, and experimenting with model aeroplane designs. As a high school student, he devoted considerable effort to the development of a wheel that would not suffer from punctures; basically
320-488: A businessman, he was a popular and charismatic figure with service pilots, and could charm even senior officers. This charm enabled him to deal with the first major crisis of his German career when his newly delivered Fokker Dr.I triplanes began to experience sudden fatal accidents in late 1917, and the type was temporarily grounded as too dangerous to fly. The triplanes' top wings frequently ripped off under aerobatic conditions and even Lothar von Richthofen (brother of Manfred)
400-583: A busy terminal area or using a major airport), and in many areas, such as northern Canada and low altitude in northern Scotland, air traffic control services are not available even for IFR flights at lower altitudes. Like all activities involving combustion , operating powered aircraft (from airliners to hot air balloons) releases soot and other pollutants into the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) are also produced. In addition, there are environmental impacts specific to aviation: for instance, Another environmental impact of aviation
480-507: A civil aviation authority must approve an aircraft suitable for safe flight operations. MRO firms are responsible for this process, thoroughly checking and documenting all components' repairs while tracking mechanical, propulsion, and electronic parts. Aviation regulators oversee maintenance practices in the country of aircraft registration, manufacture, or current location. All aircraft maintenance activities must adhere to international regulations that mandate standards. An aviation accident
560-524: A fall from their hotel suite window. The original police report said her death was a suicide, but this was later changed to "vertigo victim" at the request of her husband's staff. On the subject of his marriages, Fokker wrote, "I have always understood airplanes much better than women. I had more love affairs in my life, and they ended just like the first one, really, because I thought there was nothing that could be more important than my airplanes ... I have now learned, by bitter experience, that one must give
640-456: A feat made possible by their invention of three-axis control and in-house development of an engine with a sufficient power-to-weight ratio . Only a decade later, at the start of World War I , heavier-than-air powered aircraft had become practical for reconnaissance, artillery spotting, and even attacks against ground positions. Aircraft began to transport people and cargo as designs grew larger and more reliable. The Wright brothers took aloft
720-512: A few hundred miles, was diminishing as airplane design advanced. The "Golden Age" of the airships ended on May 6, 1937. That year the Hindenburg caught fire, killing 36 people. The cause of the Hindenburg accident was initially blamed on the use of hydrogen instead of helium as the lift gas. An internal investigation by the manufacturer revealed that the coating used in the material covering the frame
800-472: A harrowing tale in which he protected as many workers as possible and escaped with less than a quarter of his net worth. He takes pains to rebuff the claim that he left the country owing any taxes. On 25 March 1919, Fokker married Sophie Marie Elisabeth von Morgen in Haarlem . This marriage ended in divorce in 1923. In 1927, he married Canadian Violet Austman in New York City . On 8 February 1929, she died in
880-626: A little too; in love one has to use one's brain just as much as in business, and perhaps even more". In or about 1926 or 1927, Fokker moved to the United States. Here he established the North American branch of his company, the Atlantic Aircraft Corporation . The company gained high visibility in daring exploits by pilots. The Fokker F.VII aircraft was used by pilot Richard E. Byrd and machinist Floyd Bennett to fly over or near
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#1732845021983960-449: A period of 48 hours (first found in an authorized biography of Fokker written in 1929) has been shown to be not factual. The available evidence points to a synchronisation device having been in development with Fokker's company for perhaps six months prior to the capture of Garros' machine. Additionally there were patents filed in France, Germany and Austria-Hungary as far back as 1910 which show
1040-553: A very similar device to that pioneered by Fokker. Author A. J. Weyl suggests that Fokker – or more probably someone on his production team – was aware of these patents. One patentee, Franz Schneider and his employer LVG, later sued Fokker in the German courts and won their case; but Fokker (by now in America) refused to pay up. However, the final result of the development was Fokker's pushrod control mechanism, Gestängesteuerung , which allowed
1120-653: A wheel with a perimeter formed by a series of metal plates. Fokker's interest in flight stemmed from Wilbur Wright 's exhibition flights in France in the summer and fall of 1908. In 1910, aged 20, Fokker was sent by his father to Germany to receive training as an automobile mechanic at Bingen Technical school, but his interest was in flying , so he transferred to the Erste deutsche Automobil-Fachschule in Mainz . That same year Fokker built his first aircraft " de Spin " ("the Spider"), which
1200-529: Is noise pollution , mainly caused by aircraft taking off and landing. Sonic booms were a problem with supersonic aircraft such as the Concorde . [REDACTED] This article incorporates text by Wirths, Oliver; Tóth,Zsófia; Diaz Ruiz, Carlos available under the CC BY 4.0 license. Stenay Stenay ( French pronunciation: [stənɛ] ) is a commune in north -eastern France . It lies in
1280-441: Is a 2020 Dutch television series comprising eight episodes depicting Anthony Fokker's and Albert Plesman's achievements. Aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. Aircraft includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as hot air balloons and airships . Aviation began in
1360-509: Is a firm that ensures airworthiness or air transport. According to a 2024 article, "maintenance (M) involves inspecting, cleaning, oiling, and changing aircraft parts after a certain number of flight hours. Repair (R) is restoring the original function of parts and components. Overhaul (O) refers to extensive maintenance, the complete refurbishment of the aircraft, and upgrades in avionics, which can take several weeks to complete." Airlines are legally obligated to certify airworthiness, meaning that
1440-452: Is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft which takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight until such time as all such persons have disembarked, in which a person is fatally or seriously injured, the aircraft sustains damage or structural failure or the aircraft
1520-752: Is especially important for aircraft flying under instrument flight rules (IFR), when they may be in weather conditions that do not allow the pilots to see other aircraft. However, in very high-traffic areas, especially near major airports, aircraft flying under visual flight rules (VFR) are also required to follow instructions from ATC. In addition to separation from other aircraft, ATC may provide weather advisories, terrain separation, navigation assistance, and other services to pilots, depending on their workload. ATC do not control all flights. The majority of VFR (Visual Flight Rules) flights in North America are not required to contact ATC (unless they are passing through
1600-620: Is known today at the Kentucky Military Treasures . After the war's end, the terms of the Treaty of Versailles forbade Germany to build any aircraft or aircraft engines . The Armistice , not the Treaty of Versailles, singled out the Fokker D.VII for destruction or confiscation, the only aircraft to be so named. In 1919, Fokker returned to the Netherlands and started a new aircraft company,
1680-490: Is missing or is completely inaccessible. An accident in which the damage to the aircraft is such that it must be written off, or in which the plane is destroyed, is called a hull loss accident . The first fatal aviation accident occurred in a Wright Model A aircraft at Fort Myer, Virginia, US , on September 17, 1908, resulting in injury to the pilot, Orville Wright , and death of the passenger, Signal Corps Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge . The worst aviation accident in history
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#17328450219831760-520: Is officially credited with downing Manfred von Richthofen's Fokker Dr.I. Fokker is portrayed by Craig Kelly in the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles : Attack of the Hawkmen . One of KLM's Boeing 747-200s , registration serial PH-BUN, was named after Fokker and operated for the airline from 1979 until 2004. The aircraft was scrapped after the end of its service with KLM. Turbulent Skies
1840-455: Is private or commercial and on the type of equipment involved. Many small aircraft manufacturers serve the general aviation market, with a focus on private aviation and flight training. The most important recent developments for small aircraft (which form the bulk of the GA fleet) have been the introduction of advanced avionics (including GPS ) that were formerly found only in large airliners , and
1920-577: The Armistice with Germany went into effect. The 89th Division lost 365 men, mainly to enemy howitzer fire. According to local tradition in antiquity, the village is named after a local temple of Saturn. The name has changed significantly over time, starting with Sathanagium and Astenidum, and, through natural language change, resulting in Stenay. The progression of names is as follows: The European Beer Museum (Musée Européen de la bière), founded in 1986,
2000-614: The Fokker-Leimberger . Although superficially similar to a Gatling gun , the action of the Fokker-Leimberger was substantially different. Problems with the gun, especially with ruptured cases, prevented its adoption into production during the war. After moving to the US, Fokker continued to work on the design, but he was ultimately unsuccessful—properly sealing the rotary split-breech was apparently very difficult. A single surviving prototype
2080-600: The Meuse department , which is located in the Lorraine portion of the Grand Est region. Its inhabitants are called Stenaisiens . In 679, the assassinated king Dagobert II was buried in the church of Saint-Remi in Stenay. In 872, King Charles the Bald had his body moved a newly built basilica dedicated to him. In 1069, the canons of the basilica were accused of laxness. Duke Godfrey
2160-629: The Nederlandse Vliegtuigenfabriek (Dutch Aircraft Factory), predecessor to the Fokker Aircraft Company. Despite the strict disarmament conditions in the treaty, Fokker did not return home empty-handed: he managed to smuggle six goods trains' worth of D.VII and C.I military aircraft and spare parts out of Germany across the German-Dutch border. Author Weyl says that Fokker used 350 railway wagons and made sure that each train
2240-562: The North Pole on 9 May 1926. In June 1928, Amelia Earhart crossed the Atlantic to Wales in a Fokker F.VII/3m trimotor, and in 1930 Charles Kingsford Smith circumnavigated the globe in another. However the reputation was hurt when the famous University of Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne was killed in the crash of a Fokker F.10A in March 1931 . Fokker's Dutch and American companies were at
2320-895: The September 11 attacks and the SARS pandemic have driven many older airlines to government-bailouts, bankruptcy or mergers. At the same time, low-cost carriers such as Ryanair , Southwest and WestJet have flourished. General aviation includes all non-scheduled civil flying, both private and commercial . General aviation may include business flights, air charter , private aviation, flight training, ballooning , paragliding , parachuting , gliding , hang gliding , aerial photography , foot-launched powered hang gliders , air ambulance, crop dusting, charter flights, traffic reporting , police air patrols and forest fire fighting. Each country regulates aviation differently, but general aviation usually falls under different regulations depending on whether it
2400-485: The " Spin ". One day earlier, on Queen's Day (31 August, Queen Wilhelmina's birthday), Fokker had already taken the opportunity to make a couple of demonstration flights in Haarlem in the same aircraft. In 1912, Fokker moved to Johannisthal near Berlin , where he founded his first own company, Fokker Aeroplanbau . In the following years he constructed a variety of aircraft. He relocated his factory to Schwerin where it
2480-522: The 18th century with the development of the hot air balloon , an apparatus capable of atmospheric displacement through buoyancy . Some of the most significant advancements in aviation technology came with the controlled gliding flying of Otto Lilienthal in 1896; then a large step in significance came with the construction of the first powered airplane by the Wright brothers in the early 1900s. Since that time, aviation has been technologically revolutionized by
Anthony Fokker - Misplaced Pages Continue
2560-535: The 1960s composite material airframes and quieter, more efficient engines have become available, and Concorde provided supersonic passenger service for more than two decades, but the most important lasting innovations have taken place in instrumentation and control. The arrival of solid-state electronics, the Global Positioning System , satellite communications , and increasingly small and powerful computers and LED displays, have dramatically changed
2640-537: The Bearded handed the basilica over to Gorze Abbey and it became a Benedictine priory. The Vita Dagoberti was written there. In 1580, the basilica was secularized and the cloisters demolished. In 1591, what remained was sacked by Huguenots . Stenay was one of the last villages to experience fighting during the First World War . The village was captured on 11 November 1918 by the U.S. 89th Division , commanded by Major General William M. Wright , only hours before
2720-767: The Earth's atmosphere. Meanwhile, the need to decarbonize the aviation industry to face the climate crisis has increased research into aircraft powered by alternative fuels, such as ethanol , electricity , hydrogen , and even solar energy , with flying prototypes becoming more common. Civil aviation includes all non-military flying, both general aviation and scheduled air transport . There are five major manufacturers of civil transport aircraft (in alphabetical order): Boeing, Airbus, Ilyushin and Tupolev concentrate on wide-body and narrow-body jet airliners , while Bombardier, Embraer and Sukhoi concentrate on regional airliners . Large networks of specialized parts suppliers from around
2800-489: The Eindecker into military use and on this occasion both men demonstrated the aircraft. Max Immelmann , later to become a high-scoring flying ace with the Eindecker , commented in a letter written shortly after this event on 25 June 1915 that: "Fokker, especially, amazed us with his skill". Author A.R. Weyl ( Fokker: The Creative Years , Putnam 1965) says that, while Fokker was a talented and bold pilot, his business character
2880-504: The Fokker D.VIII crisis meetings was to take the blame if anything was wrong and not receive credit. How much of this interpretation is based on the fact that Platz was still alive to tell his side of the story in 1965, and Fokker was not, is unclear. Another book by Henri Hegener (who knew both Fokker and Platz personally) depicts a rather different story, saying that Platz, while a skilled craftsman (and excellent welder), had received no formal technical training, and that his contributions to
2960-582: The Fokker D.VIII fatal crashes – Fokker also failed to pay taxes to German authorities, and actually owed more than 14 million Marks. Fokker's autobiography tells a similar story, but focuses on the rampant corruption, hyper-inflation, economic meltdown, and violent revolutionary forces of the pre-Weimar days. According to Fokker's account, as WWI progressed, the German High Command became increasingly brazen, even forcing Fokker into German citizenship against his will. Fokker describes his escape from Germany as
3040-405: The Fokker designs are exaggerated, although Hegener grants that Platz was a good "rule of thumb" designer. Hegener also contradicts the claims that Platz was treated badly by Fokker, at least not financially because Platz's year-end bonuses often exceeded his yearly salary. Fokker is often credited with having invented the synchronization device which enabled World War I aircraft to fire through
3120-522: The French War ministry. The report on the trials was not publicized until 1910, as they had been a military secret. In November 1906, Ader claimed to have made a successful flight on October 14, 1897, achieving an "uninterrupted flight" of around 300 metres (980 feet). Although widely believed at the time, these claims were later discredited. The Wright brothers made the first successful powered, controlled and sustained airplane flight on December 17, 1903,
3200-525: The German air force as well as supplying the German navy and Austria-Hungary. Fokker himself was a skilled pilot, demonstrating his aircraft on many occasions. On 13 June 1915, Fokker demonstrated the new Eindecker (monoplane) at Stenay in the German 5th Army Sector in front of the German Crown Prince and other VIPs . Fokker worked closely with an accomplished military pilot, Otto Parschau , to bring
3280-524: The Hindenburg was the first to be captured on newsreel. In 1799, Sir George Cayley set forth the concept of the modern airplane as a fixed-wing flying machine with separate systems for lift, propulsion, and control. Otto Lilienthal was the first person to make well-documented, repeated, successful flights with gliders , therefore making the idea of " heavier than air " a reality. Newspapers and magazines published photographs of Lilienthal gliding, favorably influencing public and scientific opinion about
Anthony Fokker - Misplaced Pages Continue
3360-430: The Netherlands. Neville Shute in 1934 negotiated with Fokker for a manufacturing licensing agreement for Airspeed Ltd (England), and found him "genial, shrewd and helpful" but "already a sick man"; and he was difficult to deal with as "his domestic life was irregular". He worked "at all hours and in strange places". Frequently "his very efficient legal advisor and secretary could not tell us where he was". Shute said he
3440-555: The Netherlands. There, his company was responsible for a variety of aircraft including the Fokker F.VII/3m trimotor , a successful interwar passenger aircraft. He died in New York in 1939. Later authors suggest he was personally charismatic but unscrupulous in business and a controversial character. Anthony (Tony) Fokker was born in Blitar , Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia ), to Herman Fokker,
3520-603: The United States) they may use radar to see aircraft positions. Becoming an air traffic controller in the United States typically requires an associate or bachelor's degree from the Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative. The FAA also requires extensive training, along with medical examinations and background checks. Some controllers are required to work weekend, night, and holiday shifts. There are generally four different types of ATC: ATC
3600-574: The aircraft's forward-firing machine gun to fire only when the propeller was out of the line of fire. As incorporated into the famous Fokker Eindecker , its use directly led to a phase of German air superiority known as the Fokker Scourge . Despite its shock effect on the enemy, the first Fokker interrupters remained unreliable and were prone to failures. Both Oswald Boelcke and Max Immelmann survived failures which resulted in propellers being shot off and even engines pulled out of their mountings due to
3680-486: The airframe before being taken prisoner but the aircraft's gun and the armoured propeller remained intact and came into German hands. This initiated a phase of consideration of the interrupter gear concept in the Imperial German Army Air Service ( Luftstreitkräfte ). Fokker was heavily involved in this process but the story of his conception, development and installation of a synchronization device in
3760-418: The cockpits of airliners and, increasingly, of smaller aircraft as well. Pilots can navigate much more accurately and view terrain, obstructions, and other nearby aircraft on a map or through synthetic vision , even at night or in low visibility. On June 21, 2004, SpaceShipOne became the first privately funded aircraft to make a spaceflight , opening the possibility of an aviation market capable of leaving
3840-407: The engine becoming unbalanced by the loss of the propeller. Immelmann's eventual death in combat has also been attributed to interrupter gear failure as the aircraft was seen to break up in mid-air while engaged against a Royal Flying Corps F.E.2b . Fokker and his armament team, including Lübbe and Leimberger, also worked on lesser known projects, including a multi-barrelled machine gun, known as
3920-407: The evening of 27 June 1916, after Kreuzer had crashed the prototype Fokker D.I. The rudder jammed, but Kreuzer was able to give an oral report on the accident before he died. "Fokker hurried to the scene, and shouted reproaches at the mortally injured man". Weyl says this incident was witnessed by Reinhold Platz , who succeeded Kreuzer. While Weyl's biography paints an unpleasant picture of Fokker as
4000-433: The first jet aircraft and the first liquid-fueled rockets . After World War II, especially in North America, there was a boom in general aviation , both private and commercial, as thousands of pilots were released from military service and many inexpensive war-surplus transport and training aircraft became available. Manufacturers such as Cessna , Piper , and Beechcraft expanded production to provide light aircraft for
4080-413: The first D-8 [ sic ] was submitted to the engineering division to be sandload tested, the wings proved to be sufficiently strong, but the regulations called for a proportionate strength in the rear spar compared to the front spar ... Complying with the government's edict, we strengthened the rear spar and started to produce in quantity ..." The D.VIIIs immediately ran into trouble with
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#17328450219834160-619: The first aircraft to transport passengers and cargo over great distances. The best known aircraft of this type were manufactured by the German Zeppelin company. The most successful Zeppelin was the Graf Zeppelin . It flew over one million miles, including an around-the-world flight in August 1929. However, the dominance of the Zeppelins over the airplanes of that period, which had a range of only
4240-409: The first passenger, Charles Furnas, one of their mechanics, on May 14, 1908. During the 1920s and 1930s great progress was made in the field of aviation, including the first transatlantic flight of Alcock and Brown in 1919, Charles Lindbergh 's solo transatlantic flight in 1927, and Charles Kingsford Smith 's transpacific flight the following year. One of the most successful designs of this period
4320-558: The first untethered human lighter-than-air flight on November 21, 1783, of a hot air balloon designed by the Montgolfier brothers . The usefulness of balloons was limited because they could only travel downwind. It was immediately recognized that a steerable, or dirigible , balloon was required. Jean-Pierre Blanchard flew the first human-powered dirigible in 1784 and crossed the English Channel in one in 1785. Rigid airships became
4400-406: The introduction of composite materials to make small aircraft lighter and faster. Ultralight and homebuilt aircraft have also become increasingly popular for recreational use, since in most countries that allow private aviation, they are much less expensive and less heavily regulated than certified aircraft. Simple balloons were used as surveillance aircraft as early as the 18th century. Over
4480-494: The introduction of his Fokker E.V/D.VIII monoplane in mid-1918. A further high level German inquiry revealed more production and workmanship issues. Weyl asserts that the German authorities were now willing to file criminal charges against Fokker, and might have done so, had he not returned to the Netherlands shortly after the end of World War I. Fokker's own account of the D.VIII places the blame on officious German Air Force inspectors requiring an ill-conceived design change. "When
4560-523: The introduction of the jet which permitted a major form of transport throughout the world. The word aviation was coined by the French writer and former naval officer Gabriel La Landelle in 1863. He originally derived the term from the verb avier (an unsuccessful neologism for "to fly"), itself derived from the Latin word avis ("bird") and the suffix -ation . There are early legends of human flight such as
4640-493: The new middle-class market. By the 1950s, the development of civil jets grew, beginning with the de Havilland Comet , though the first widely used passenger jet was the Boeing 707 , because it was much more economical than other aircraft at that time. At the same time, turboprop propulsion started to appear for smaller commuter planes, making it possible to serve small-volume routes in a much wider range of weather conditions. Since
4720-412: The operation of aircraft, are reduced and controlled to an acceptable level. It encompasses the theory, practice, investigation, and categorization of flight failures, and the prevention of such failures through regulation, education, and training. It can also be applied in the context of campaigns that inform the public as to the safety of air travel. A maintenance, repair, and overhaul organization (MRO)
4800-487: The peak of their success in the late 1920s, but he lost control by going public to sell stock. In 1929, General Motors took over Fokker Aircraft Corporation of America, and merged it in the General Aviation Corporation. Fokker was appointed director of engineering. He resigned in 1931. Fokker designs were increasingly outdated and in 1934 General Aviation discontinued their production. They were still built in
4880-534: The possibility of flying machines becoming practical. Lilienthal's work led to him developing the concept of the modern wing. His flight attempts in Berlin in 1891 are seen as the beginning of human flight and the " Lilienthal Normalsegelapparat " is considered to be the first airplane in series production, making the Maschinenfabrik Otto Lilienthal in Berlin the first air plane production company in
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#17328450219834960-399: The spinning propeller . His role was certainly significant, but there were a number of prior developments before the result was achieved for which Fokker is commonly credited. The famous French pilot Roland Garros was shot down on 18 April 1915. His aircraft had been fitted with a deflector device, whereby metal deflector wedges were fitted to the propeller. Garros was able to set fire to
5040-606: The stories of Icarus in Greek myth, Jamshid and Shah Kay Kāvus in Persian myth, and the flying automaton of Archytas of Tarentum (428–347 BC). Later, somewhat more credible claims of short-distance human flights appear, such as the winged flights of Abbas ibn Firnas (810–887, recorded in the 17th century), Eilmer of Malmesbury (11th century, recorded in the 12th century), and the hot-air Passarola of Bartholomeu Lourenço de Gusmão (1685–1724). The modern age of aviation began with
5120-470: The wing collapsing at high speed. Fokker recalled the aircraft for further testing, and successfully demonstrated that the reinforced rear spar caused the wings to flex unevenly at speed, increasing the angle of attack at the wing tips and causing the wing to shear apart under the increased loads. The problem was resolved by restoring the rear spar to its original specifications. Weyl also discusses claims of Fokker's outright plagiarism or taking sole credit for
5200-499: The work of his staff, first designer Martin Kreuzer and later Reinhold Platz . For example, contemporary German documents for the E.V/D.VIII refer to Fokker as "the designer" but Weyl and other authors now suggest that Platz was the real design genius behind the Dr.I, D.VII and D.VIII. There may be some truth in this as Platz recalled to Weyl that he attended high level meetings alongside Fokker but
5280-603: The world support these manufacturers, who sometimes provide only the initial design and final assembly in their own plants. The Chinese ACAC consortium has also recently entered the civil transport market with its Comac ARJ21 regional jet. Until the 1970s, most major airlines were flag carriers , sponsored by their governments and heavily protected from competition. Since then, open skies agreements have resulted in increased competition and choice for consumers, coupled with falling prices for airlines. The combination of high fuel prices, low fares, high salaries, and crises such as
5360-426: The world. Lilienthal is often referred to as either the "father of aviation" or "father of flight". Early dirigible developments included machine-powered propulsion ( Henri Giffard , 1852), rigid frames ( David Schwarz , 1896) and improved speed and maneuverability ( Alberto Santos-Dumont , 1901) There are many competing claims for the earliest powered, heavier-than-air flight. The first recorded powered flight
5440-442: The years, military aircraft have been built to meet ever increasing capability requirements. Manufacturers of military aircraft compete for contracts to supply their government's arsenal. Aircraft are selected based on factors like cost, performance, and the speed of production. Aviation safety means the state of an aviation system or organization in which risks associated with aviation activities, related to, or in direct support of
5520-592: Was "a good chooser of men" and had a "most efficient staff of Dutchmen and ex-Germans". Fokker died at age 49 in New York in 1939 from pneumococcal meningitis , after a three-week-long illness. In 1940, his ashes were brought to Westerveld Cemetery in Driehuis , North Holland , where they were buried in the family grave. In 1970, Fokker was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame . In 1980, Fokker
5600-466: Was carried out by Clément Ader on October 9, 1890, in his bat-winged, fully self-propelled fixed-wing aircraft , the Ader Éole . It was reportedly the first manned, powered, heavier-than-air flight of a significant distance (50 m (160 ft)) but insignificant altitude from level ground. Seven years later, on October 14, 1897, Ader's Avion III was tested without success in front of two officials from
5680-452: Was destroyed when his business partner flew it into a tree. He gained his flying certificate in his second " Spin " aircraft, which shortly thereafter was also destroyed by the same business partner, prompting Fokker to end their cooperation. In his own country, he became a celebrity by flying around the tower of the Grote or St.-Bavokerk in Haarlem on 1 September 1911, with the third version of
5760-415: Was highly flammable and allowed static electricity to build up in the airship. Changes to the coating formulation reduced the risk of further Hindenburg type accidents. Although there have been periodic initiatives to revive their use, airships have seen only niche application since that time. There had been previous airship accidents that were more fatal, for instance, a British R38 on 23 August 1921, but
5840-595: Was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio. Fokker's nickname was The Flying Dutchman . In popular media, Hurd Hatfield portrayed him in the 1971 film Von Richthofen and Brown . The character Roy Fokker from the animated series Super Dimension Fortress Macross and its prequel Macross Zero was named in honor of Anthony Fokker and Roy Brown , the Royal Air Force pilot who
5920-402: Was lucky to survive one such crash. Fokker was able to prove to the German high command that the basic design was not at fault, but the German military inquiry concluded that shoddy workmanship due to poor supervision and quality control at the Fokker factory were to blame. Fokker received a stern warning about future conduct. Unfortunately the same scenario repeated itself a few months later, with
6000-531: Was more flawed. He failed to reinvest war profits back into his factory which consequently struggled to fulfill contracts as the factory floor was often muddled with prototype development and production taking place at the same time. Fokker distrusted qualified engineers (which he was not), and resented frequent German insistence on carrying out stringent structural tests to ensure prototype aircraft were fit for combat. He could be bad tempered and insensitive, as when he verbally abused his dying designer Martin Kreuzer on
6080-420: Was never introduced or referred-to as the designer and often never even spoke. Yet when Fokker fled Germany it was Platz who immediately took over the German works on Fokker's behalf. Fokker later moved Platz to the Netherlands, as head designer, when the post-war German operation collapsed which indicates Platz really did play a greater design role than Fokker admits. Weyl uncharitably suggests that Platz's role at
6160-681: Was renamed Fokker Flugzeugwerke GmbH , and later shortened to Fokker Werke GmbH . At the outbreak of World War I the German government took control of the factory. Fokker remained as director and alleged designer of many aircraft for the Imperial German Army Air Service ( Luftstreitkräfte ), including the Fokker Eindecker and the Fokker Dr.I , the triplane made famous in the hands of aces such as Manfred von Richthofen (the Red Baron). In all, his company delivered about 700 military aircraft to
6240-545: Was the Douglas DC-3 , which became the first airliner to be profitable carrying passengers exclusively, starting the modern era of passenger airline service. By the beginning of World War II, many towns and cities had built airports, and there were numerous qualified pilots available. During World War II one of the first jet engines was developed by Hans con Ohain, and accomplished the world's first jet-powered flight in 1939. The war brought many innovations to aviation, including
6320-810: Was the Tenerife airport disaster on March 27, 1977, when 583 people died when two Boeing 747 jumbo jets, operated by Pan Am and KLM collided on a runway in Los Rodeos airport, now known as Tenerife North. An aviation incident is defined as an occurrence, other than an accident, associated with the operation of an aircraft that affects or could affect the safety of operations. Air traffic control (ATC) involves communication with aircraft to help maintain separation – that is, they ensure that aircraft are sufficiently far enough apart horizontally or vertically for no risk of collision. Controllers may co-ordinate position reports provided by pilots, or in high traffic areas (such as
6400-598: Was too long to fit into the railway sidings where trains were normally checked for contraband. Weyl quotes Fokker himself as saying that he paid 20,000 Dutch guilders in bribes. The trains included 220 aeroplanes, more than 400 aero engines and much other material. This initial stock enabled him to quickly set up shop, but his focus shifted from military to civil aircraft such as the very successful Fokker F.VII/3m trimotor . Fokker's admitted bribery has contributed to his reputation for sharp business practices. Weyl also points out that – in addition to possible criminal charges for
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