Still somewhat hard to grasp . The Spitfire was a direct part of Dutch aviation in the immediate post war years. Whilst the theme of civil aviation and Fokker built aviation is interesting – how many civilian types can you acquire that are relevant without having to built replica’s?
The Spit was a direct part, but the military theme is already adressed (and very well I might add) by the RNLAF Historical Flight and the Military Aviation Museum (MLM) at Kamp Zeist (near Soesterberg AB).
Don’t get confused: The two major themes at Aviodrome are not “Civil, as long as it is Fokker”, it is “Civilian aviation”, and “Fokker”. That leaves many more options: The history and fleets of KLM, Martinair, Transavia and smaller aviation companies would fit within the “civilian aviation” theme, allowing for the foreign DC-2 (two examples: PH-AJU “Uiver”, the sole flying DC-2 in the world, and an ex-RAAF example), DC-3/C-47 and DC-4/C-54, Lockeed L-749, Caravelle (cockpit section only) and Boeing-747, but the “Fokker” theme would allow (para-)military types like Starfighter, F-16, F-27Martime and S.11 also.
btw: when I say Fokker, I should make it clear that Fokker was not the only Dutch aircraft manufacturer; Spyker (that’s right, the company of the Formula1 racing team), Koolhoven, Pander and others were also building aircraft, but Fokker is by far the largest name.
Focussing on these two subjects would prevent the Aviodrome from having “alien” types with no direct relationship to the Netherlands. An aircraft like the Koolhoven F.K. 23 Bantam (built in 1919, restoration completed in 2003, original) should be in the Netherlands for instance, just like a Fokker F.VII, the aircraft that made the world’s first intercontinental revenue flight from Amsterdam to Batavia (now Jakarta).
As for having to build replicas: there is still plenty around the world to be added to the existing collection. For instance: the frame and pilot’s seat of Fokker F.8 PH-AED/PJ-AED (ex-KLM “Duif”) were recovered from the jungles of Venezuela, and are now stored pending restauration/rebuilt at Aviodrome. They are the only remains of a Fokker F.8 in the world. Same thing for a Fokker B.4 (stored pending restauration) flying boat. Same thing for an incomplete Fokker S.4 (on display, pending restauration to airworthy condition). A Fokker-built “replica” (1994, with original engine) of the Fokker F.2 (the first purpose-built airliner in the world) is on display. A Pander glider is on display. Many pre-war types may be lying about anywhere on the planet, as Fokker was THE aircraftmanufacturer of the 1920s and early 30s.
Post-war: Aviodrome currently has two N.H.I. Kolibri helicopters (including the prototype) and a Alsema Sagitta (the only Dutch series-produced performance-)glider, a Fokker S.11 Instructor, the prototype S-12 Instructor (series produced in Brazil), Fokker S.13 (one built, two pieces remaining: a cockpit section at the small museum at Texel Airport, and a tailsection at Aviodrome), a S.14 Machtrainer (world’s first purpose-built jet-trainer), three Fokker F.27 Friendships (1st (fuselage only) and 3rd prototype on display and 1st production example airworthy) and a Fokker50 (2nd prototype, on display) but is still short on a few post WW-II types: Fokker F.25 Promotor (20 built, 2 flown, no survivors known), Fokker F.28 Fellowship, Fokker60U, Fokker70, Fokker100 (although a cockpit section is at the museum), and a Fokker/VFW-614.
As you can see: there is plenty to be restored, and plenty to be discovered. The Netherlands may physically not be large in size, it’s aircraft manufacturing history certainly is. Fokker was one of the last original names in Europe. It’s aircraft were sold in fairly large numbers worldwide, both before and after the war. The F.27 for instance, was the best selling turbo-prop airliner ever.
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