Largest Surviving Piece of MVRs Triplane

greatwarpilot · 10 March 2005, 05:20 AM

Hello Everyone,

All this recent discussion on the topic of bits and pieces removed from MVR's Triplane as personal souvenirs has got me thinking. I'm wondering what the largest single surviving component of that triplane is, and where it’s currently located? Particularly items with a strong provenance are of interest, although I imagine the larger pieces for the most part are in this category.

I would imagine that one contender would have to be the seat, an item that has been at the Royal Canadian Military Institute in Toronto since 1920 when it was donated by Captain

Roy Brown.

Any other thoughts out there?

Edward

Scottie · 10 March 2005, 07:00 AM

Not certain. but I believe I read in "Flypast" magazine that Kermit Weeks may have one or both of the Spandau MG's.

pmirl · 10 March 2005, 08:14 AM

The engine is on display at the Imperial War Museum in London. An upper wing tip and as you said the seat is on display in the Canadian Military Institute in Toronto. Some of the crosses from the wings and fuselage are located in a museum in either Canada or England.

Paul

11 March 2005, 07:31 AM

I think the folks at the Aeroconservancy may be able to tell you where 3 of the fabric crosses are located. History Fan

Michael · 11 March 2005, 09:00 AM

From the R.C.M.I. website: RCMI

It looks like a fuselage cross and part of the wing, assuming that these are all from MVR.

It's been too long for me to remember just what was there last time I was invited there about 20 years ago.

I have emailed the curator for clarification.

SL DIII · 11 March 2005, 09:19 PM

The question raised regarding the largest remaining parts of von Richthofen’s triplane made me wonder about all of the smaller parts that are spread around the world too. I seem to recall seeing a piece or two from this aircraft at the U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH a few years ago.

As most of you know, there are no known remaining original Fokker Triplanes in existence. Wouldn’t it be great to see all of the pieces from the most famous Triplane of all come together from around the globe so that we could all have one nearly original restored Triplane on earth? Airplanes that have just a few original parts incorporated are considered to be restorations.

I would think that a collaborative effort between museums and private collectors could result in a very authentic and special aircraft that could tour the world (like the King Tut exhibit), making appearances at major aviation museums (and other major history and even art museums if possible) that could bring attention to WWI aviation in general. Are there any Av Museum representatives out there who can try to make this happen?

When the tour is over the aircraft can be given to me so that I can keep it in my living room (I’ll need to build an extension on the house though) and you can all visit whenever you'd like.

It would be nice to at least create a formal list of where all the bits and pieces are just to see how much of it remains, and to keep track of the parts for future reference. Maybe new owners of the parts that are to be auctioned off can register their names somewhere. This can also serve to validate the originality of the pieces they own when they go to sell them in the future.

SL DIII