The Fokker Dr.I was a German single-seat triplane fighter aircraft used in World War I. Its designer was Reinhold Platz and it was produced in Anthony Fokker's factory. It became one of the most famous aircraft of World War I.

When the British Sopwith Triplane appeared over the Western Front in February 1917, its performance impressed the German airmen so much that they began to demand their own triple-aisle aircraft.

Thanks to the three wings, the aircraft achieved a bigger buoyancy and a smaller turning radius, making it very manoeuvrable, which was an advantage in manoeuvre combat. In August 1917, Fokker delivered two pre-series machines to the army, which began to be tested by two great fighter aces - Werner Voss and Manfred von Richthofen, later nicknamed as Red Baron due to the colour of his machine (he scored 19 of his 80 kills in the Dr.I).

The base of the structure consisted of a frame made of steel tubes covered with canvas, the wooden components were made of plywood. Compared to conventional biplanes, the aeroplane excelled not only in agility, but also in climbability; on the contrary, it was slower in horizontal and dive flight. These first Fokkers were designated F.I, the next ones, produced from October 1917 onwards, were designated Fokker Dr.I, where Dr stood for Dreidecker (triplane).

On the front, however, the shortcomings began to manifest themselves - several machines suffered collapses of the upper wing during the flight, which the Fokker factory corrected, both in already completed and newly built aircraft. In the last year of the war, engine failures occurred due to poor quality lubricants. Accumulating problems resulted in the end of production of the type in May 1918, by which time some 320 examples of this elegant machine had been built, and it is a prized exhibit in aviation museums, with many replicas even flying.

Source: Wikipedia

Original

Length:
5,77 m

Width:
7,12 m

Height:
2,95 m

Weight:
406 kg

Take-off weight:
586 kg

Maximum speed:
185 km/h

Range:
300 km

Pilots:
1

State:
Germany

Model 1:3

Length:
1,92 m

Width:
2,37 m

Height:
0,98 m