Fokker F.25

F.25 Promotor
Role	Civil utility aircraft
Manufacturer	Fokker
First flight	1946
Number built	20

The Fokker F.25 Promotor, first flown in 1946, was a single-engined, twin-boomed, four-passenger monoplane with a pusher engine mounted at the rear of a central nacelle. It was of wooden construction and has fitted with a retractable nosewheel undercarriage. One feature of the design was that instead of a 2 + 2 seating, the pilot sat in front to the left, and all three passengers were on a bench seat to the rear of him. Alternatively, when being used as an air ambulance aircraft, it could carry a patient on a stretcher, which was loaded through a hatch in the aircraft's nose. The F.25 was evocative of the pre-war G.I design. The F.25 was based upon the design of the Difoga 421 aircraft, home-built and -designed secretly during World War II by Frits Diepen, a Ford garage owner from Tilburg, the Netherlands. His intention was to escape from German-occupied Europe to Britain using this aircraft that was powered by a Ford V-8.

Although 20 F.25 aircraft were constructed, sales were disappointing as it could not compete in cost with thousands of surplus aircraft on the market following the war.

Specifications (Fokker F25)

Data from Promotor In The Air

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Capacity: 3 passengers
• Length: 8.53 m (28 ft 0 in)
• Wingspan: 12.00 m (39 ft 4 in)
• Height: 2.97 m (9 ft 9 in)
• Wing area: 18.0 m² (193 ft²)
• Empty weight: 961 kg (2,115 lb)
• Max. takeoff weight: 1,427 kg (3,140 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming O-435-A, 142 kW (190 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 227 km/h (123 knots, 141 mph)
• Cruise speed: 185 km/h (100 knots, 115 mph)
• Stall speed: 85 km/h (46 knots, 53 mph)
• Range: 950 km (513 nmi, 590 mi)
• Service ceiling: 3,400 m (11,150 ft)
  
• Climb to 1,000 m (3,300 ft): 6.2 min

References

• dutch-aviation.nl