AMA Plans Service Showcase
Fokker Universal
ROBERT NOORDUYN designed the full-scale Fokker Universal.
It became not only the first Fokker built in the US, but also the first
to use wing struts.
This airplane was built around the 220-horsepower Wright
Whirlwind engine and could carry five passengers: four in the cabin
and one next to the pilot in the open cockpit. The Universal was also
used as a bush plane and operated off of both wheels and floats.
Jack Humphreys constructed his 72-inch-wingspan scale version
of the aircraft using a sheeted foam-core wing with built-up fuselage
and tail surfaces. For added realism, he scaled the model to fit the
11/2-inch Williams Brothers Wright Whirlwind replica engine.
When Jack built his design in 2000, he used a geared AstroFlight
40 motor powered by an 18-cell battery. The model’s flying weight
was 60 ounces. Today’s power systems and Li-Poly batteries would
allow the aircraft to be flown lighter and more efficiently.
Jack noted that the Universal’s flight is typical of a high-winged
aircraft and benefits from the use of both aileron and rudder for
coordinated turns. He also reported that takeoffs and landings were
nonevents, recommending that the pilot keep the nose down during
the latter.
This model excels when flown in a scale manner that takes you
back to the 1920s and ’30s. Fliers who are looking for a project that
can fly realistically from land or water and earned the “bush plane”
title long before Cessnas, Cubs, and Beavers should give this design
a look.
The Fokker Universal was featured in a construction article that
was published in the May 2000 MA. Members can access the
magazine’s digital archives on the Academy’s Web site to read more
about it.
This model is AMA Plans Service listing 888E, available for $30
plus shipping and handling. See page 183 or go to www.modelair
craft.org/plans.aspx for ordering information. MA
A rarely modeled 1920s bush plane
October 2009 61
10sig2.QXD 8/21/09 1:42 PM Page 61
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/10
Page Numbers: 61