Fokker EIV

 

Late 2007 I started on a project to kit-bash a Balsa USA .90 Fokker Eindecker EIII into an EIV.  While the obvious difference is the turtle deck and double Spandau guns (a few had three!), I also decided to go with a stick built rear fuse, and full flying tail feathers. The modification to the fuse was primarily to try and lighten the rear of the airframe. The built up flying tail may have also saved some weight (not really sure), but I primarily did  it just for the experience, and to make it look a bit more scale. Not that I am under any illusion that this still anything more that a fun-scale project, as I kept the ailerons, and the overall outline is far from accurate, but good enough for an everyday flier, which I hope it will remain. This is my second Eindecker of this size, and the first one (stock) was sure easy and fun to fly. I'm hoping that with my modifications (especially to the tail), I haven't turned a gentle flier into a handful. We shall see... I also picked the EIV because I found this color scheme.  As mostly the Fokker Eindecker series was fairly dull marking wise, this EIV was different than any I'd seen, and I really liked it. I gotta be a bit different you see.

The marking depict a Jasta 5 EIV (161/16) flown by Vzfw. Hans Mueller in 1916.

Note the EIV parked in front of this line up of Kestra 4 Fokker DIIs and the lone Halberstadt. It appears to be similarly camouflaged.

A brief history on the Fokker EIV. The Fokker EIV was the successor to the overwhelmingly successful Fokker EIII. It's more powerful Oberusel 160 HP twin row rotary, and two and sometimes three Spandau guns were calculated to make it an even more formidable fighter. Anthony Fokker purportedly built the first "special monoplane"  for Max Immellmann, and it was completed mid September 1915. However, it was sometime later that Immellmann flew an EIV.  Pilot reports by Immellmann and others were less than favorable however. Although faster and more heavily armed, the EIV proved to be in many ways inferior to it's predecessor, as the bigger heavier engine and it's gyroscopic tendencies reduced it's  maneuverability, and the engine lost power at altitude. Never the less, 109 EIVs were built (compared to 449 EIIIs), but they were quickly outclassed by newer models, and production ceased in December 1916.

Construction of the model.