Fokker F.XX

The unique F.XX tri-motor PH-AIZ Zilvermeeuw was the first and only Fokker commercial aircraft with a retractable undercarriage. The 12-passenger transport had an elliptical-section fuselage instead of the rectangular form of previous Fokker transports. The cantilever high wing was of wooden construction and the fuselage a steel-tube structure.

Power was provided by three Wright Cyclone R-1820-F radial engines, one mounted in the nose and the other two carried on strut assemblies under the wings, for a cruising speed of 270 kph. The main landing gear units retracted rearwards into the engine nacelles.

Named Zilvermeeuw (Silver Gull), it was flown for the first time in 1933 and handed over to KLM for operation on services from Amsterdam to London and Berlin.
It was later sold via Air Tropic to the Spanish Republican government and was used to maintain liaison between Madrid and Paris during 1937. Its ultimate fate is unknown.

Engines: 3 x Wright Cyclone R-1820-F radial, 477kW
Max take-off weight: 9400 kg / 20724 lb
Empty weight: 6455 kg / 14231 lb
Wingspan: 25.70 m / 84 ft 4 in
Length: 16.70 m / 54 ft 9 in
Height: 4.80 m / 15 ft 9 in
Wing area: 96.00 sq.m / 1033.33 sq ft
Max. speed: 305 km/h / 190 mph
Cruise speed: 250 km/h / 155 mph
Ceiling: 6200 m / 20350 ft
Range: 1410 km / 876 miles
Passengers: 12