Warbird Information Exchange

The new built Fokker D.XXI fighter, PH-XXI had received its CoA on 19 June 2023 but it was celebrated yesterday 8 July. With a demoflight by testpilot Dan Griffith and a champagne baptism by the builders, fam. van Egmond the milestone was celebrated.

For those interested in the history, I have copied some information from one of my articles in Dutch Spotters Magazine 'Scramble':

Bringing a Fokker D.XXI back to airworthiness has been the lifelong dream of Mr. Jack van Egmond sr. owner of Egmond Vintage Wings at Hoogeveen airport in the Netherlands. Reviving a piece of ‘Dutch Pride’ was his goal, as the fighter played a short but distinct role in the defense of the Netherlands against invading German troops in May 1940.

As only one wreckage of an original D.XXI has survived in the Netherlands, van Egmond had to start from scratch. And when the Fokker factories went bankrupt, he saw opportunities knocking. Van Egmond was able to acquire 397 out of the 411 original Fokker construction drawings. The remaining drawings were made by Fokker Technologies’ Frank van Dalen thanks to reverse engineering. Using the original drawings, building according to the original specifications and following the original procedures, meant that the project was to become an original Fokker. It was recognized as such by the Dutch authorities (ILT) and registered PH-XXI as a late rebuilt Fokker D.XXI (c/n 5502). The first step was taken on 6 May 2014, when van Egmond sr. and his grandson Tom Wilps glued together the first wooden parts for the project.

A number of original components has been incorporated into the project, such as the undercarriage legs and wheel rims, and most of the cockpit instrumentation, which, of course has been completely overhauled before fitting. Other parts of the fighter were produced fully certified by ATN (Aero Technics Netherlands) which is the commercial company of the Van Egmond family.

The design of the D.XXI was certified in the Thirties, and this certification was still valid. But to allow flying in our days, the airplane had to be equipped with a radiotransponder, ELT (Emergency Locator Transmittor), and fire extinguisher. The Fokker is powered by a periodic Wright Cyclone radial engine, which was acquired from the NMM (Dutch National Military Museum) at Soesterberg. It was traded against a Farman biplane replica, which was produced for the museum by van Egmond and his family. The Cyclone was one of the engine types that Fokker offered as powerplant for D.XXIs of potential buyers in 1936.

The PH-XXI has received an LVA (Luchtvaart Afdeling= Dutch Army Aviation) camouflage pattern in the original colours and the serial 229. Thanks to permission of the Royal Netherlands Air Force the Fokker will be permitted to fly with its military call-sign. The serial 229 is a tribute to the wreckage of the original 229, which is on display at the Crashmuseum in Aalsmeerderbrug. This wreckage revealed the connecting structure between the fuselage and main spar, which had been unknown before. And so this part could be reverse-engineered too. In that sense the role of this wreck turned out to be pivotal for the rebuild of an airworthy D.XXI.

The very first flight was performed by Jac van Egmond jr, who is also authorized for this. After its first flight on 22 May 2022, the new D.XXI was placed in the hands of Dan Griffith (he is an ex CAA UK test pilot) and he went through the entire test program. The D.XXI was extensively tested on various critical aspects which were specified in the 1936 test program.

In the coming 12 months van Egmond will be busy flying to become familiar with the new Fokker. Once he feels comfortable, the warbird will surely be flown at ceremonies and airshows, in the Netherlands as well as abroad.

Enjoy the photos, made 8th July
Regards
Gert Jan Mentink