loading image

Introduced in 1925, and initially conceived by Fokker designer Walter Rethel as a single engine transport, the Fokker F.VII was later redesigned as a trimotor transport by Reinhold Platz for entry in the 1925 Ford Reliability Tour. First operated by the Dutch airline KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines), the F.VII and its variants, the F.VIIa, F.VIIa/3m and F.VIIb/3m, were used in many pioneering and record-breaking flights around the world, including the inauguration of Pan American Airway's airmail service in 1927 and passenger service in 1928, Amelia Earhart's first transatlantic flight as a passenger in 1928, and Charles Kingsford Smith and crew’s 1928 transpacific flight in a modified F.VIIb/3m named “The Southern Cross,” from Oakland to Brisbane, Australia. With a maximum speed of 130 mph, a cruising speed of just over 100mph, and a capacity of 8 passengers, the Fokker F.VII/3m trimotor was a groundbreaking aircraft of the late 1920s. photograph: Pan American Airways, Fokker F.VII c. 1927 SFO Museum Collection Gift of Vernon W. Smith 1999.562.009 Promotional print: Fokker F.VII Pan American World Airways c. 1977 SFO Museum Collection Gift of the Pan Am Association 2000.058.1448 This image was posted on January 13, 2021.