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Another Fokker Eindecker repro ready to fly in NZ

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KiwiZac:
Hi all,
Some of you may be aware of Andrew Carter's TAVAS organisation, which operated a range of Great War replica and reproduction aircraft in Australia. Among them were three Fokkers built by Achim Engels and his Fokker Team Schorndorf on long term loan to the organisation: an E.III, a D.VII and a D.VIII. Sadly TAVAS is no longer a going concern and the aircraft have been moved on to new homes.

Thanks to a deal brokered by Graham Orphan the three Engels-built aircraft are now on loan to and operated by the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre here in Blenheim, NZ. For the last few months efforts have been focused on getting the Engels E.4 (Eindecker) airworthy and this is being looked after by a dedicated team consisting of Tony Wytenburg (whose Classic Aero Machining Service built the engine), Dan Coleman, Aaron Pearce and Stuart Tantrum. All these gentlemen bar Tony (who was recovering from surgery) had the chance to run the aircraft on Friday evening - I happened to be leaning on the fence and was invited over to watch (and smell!) this magnificent machine up close.

DSC08847 by Zac Yates, on Flickr
DSC08851 by Zac Yates, on Flickr
DSC08853 by Zac Yates, on Flickr
DSC08866 by Zac Yates, on Flickr
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr

DSC08902 by Zac Yates, on Flickr
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr

James Orphan shot some excellent video which is available on YouTube here, and I filmed some rather more mediocre stuff which you can watch here.

I'm very excited to follow progress and am hoping to share more photos (in this Flickr album) and video as I can.

Davos522:
Thanks for posting these, Zac, what marvelous shots! I mentioned last night on another thread that I always thought Eindekkers were "drab", but these photos showed me how dumb a statement that was. They especially show the effect of the light coming through the fabric, it looks opaque in the hangar but with the sun coming through the effect is stunning... particularly the covers on the wheels.

Dutch

wmcgill:

--- Quote from: Davos522 on August 29, 2023, 10:41:03 PM ---Thanks for posting these, Zac, what marvelous shots! I mentioned last night on another thread that I always thought Eindekkers were "drab", but these photos showed me how dumb a statement that was. They especially show the effect of the light coming through the fabric, it looks opaque in the hangar but with the sun coming through the effect is stunning... particularly the covers on the wheels.

Dutch

--- End quote ---

Agree. Great photos Zac.

Dutch, tellingly, we never see light coming through the fabric of Fokker Eindeckers in WWI, like we do on this beautiful clear doped linen covered reproduction.

gedmundson:
Great photos, Zac. That must have been a real treat to witness all of that.
Cheers,
Gary

KiwiZac:
I'm hoping to get more photos showcasing the fabric (particularly how visible the weave is) and showing it in different sunlight settings.

Gary, it was magic. The sound and smell really is something else in person - I understand why some of the guys wore earplugs but, man, did she sound awesome!!

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