How Fokker built one of the most delightful post-war trainers

It’s a beautiful afternoon in December 1947, and Gerben Sonderman — wartime resistance fighter and one of the most famous Dutch pilots — takes the Fokker S11  prototype into the skies for the first time. Just over 75 years on, the trainer continues to delight

The classic four-ship S11 Instructor formation of the Fokker Four, on a sortie out of Lelystad,
The classic four-ship S11 Instructor formation of the Fokker Four, on a sortie out of Lelystad, SVEN VAN ROIJ-REICHGELT

Just like many air arms, the Royal Netherlands Air Force realised soon after World War Two that it required a more modern training fleet. Its elementary flying school, the Elementaire Vliegopleiding — or EVO — at Woensdrecht had been using 56 former RAF de Havilland Tiger Moths, while further afield the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force was also in need of greater training capacity. As it turned out, a home-grown offering provided an ideal solution.

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