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Gentlemen,
I have two comments. The first addresses the statement made about MvR possibly surviving the war if he had been flying the D-7. MvR chose the tripe over other combat a/c for its maneuverability. He may even had an opportunity to fly the D-7 that fatefull day, although I have no proof of that. MvR was NOT shot down because he was flying a triplane! He was shot down because he violated a primary rule of air combat; he got tunnel vision! He fixated on his victim, and the rest is history.
Second. I would like once again to come to the defense of the Fokker triplane. The PRIMARY and ONLY reason the triplane had structural failures was due to the incompetence of the Fokker factory workers! NOT THE DESIGN!!!!!!
The wings had several problems; improperly fitted componants, lack of varnish on exposed wood parts, lack of proper venting grommets, and poor gluing and nailing procedures. All of these problems combined to cause catastrophic failures early in the triplane's production run.
I am not aware of any such failures in replica triplanes today. The structure is extremely solid and simple and has a very light wing loading.
The changes made in 1917 were to production procedures at the Fokker factory. NOT the aircraft design.
FYI
C.Grube
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