In the North-East of the Netherlands there is a small company called ATN. They do aircraft maintenance and certification. And next to this they restore vintage aircraft and engines. One of their customers is the well known German, company Meier Motors, for which they are currently restoring/overhauling four De Havilland Gipsy Queen engines.
They recently finished works on their second Bücker Jungmann and next to some modern GA aircraft (you need to make money as well), they are currently working on a Stinson Reliant and restoring a Vultee BT-13.
In the past the company has overhauled/restored several Rolls-Royce (Packard) Merlin engines and they will do two DB 605 engines for Meier Motors soon.
The founder of this company, Jack van Egmond, also played a very important role in the preservation and restoration of the Dutch Spitfire MK732/PH-OUQ. Actually he was one of the three persons who started (and funded) the project, before the Royal Dutch Air Force more or less "bought" the complete project. Jack is a remarkable man, with over 500 hours on the Spitfire and many more hours on other warbirds. Among other aircraft he owns a Fairchild PT-26-FA Cornell trainer, which he restored himself. He flies this often at displays, but also uses it to train pilots to get familiar with warbirds.
Jack has reached an age on which most people would just enjoy their retirement, but two years ago Jack decided to make his dream come true. He started to build a Fokker D.XXI fighter, which was used by the Dutch, Danish and Finnish armed forces, during WWII. The aicraft is completely build according the original drawings and contains many original parts, including, under carriage, oil tanks, control levers, cable pullies, gauges, etcetera. They also apply all original techniques, like roping the wooden fuselage parts on the steel tubes of the fuselage. Some deviations from the original design are made on request of the Dutch Aviation authorities. One main difference, not on request of the authorities, is the Wright R1820-F52 Cyclone engine, which will be used instead of a Bristol Mercury VIII. This is mainly done for practical reasons. The Mercury engine is rare therefore very expensive and hard to maintain. This is one of the problems Duxford is facing with their Blenheim Mk.I. From historical point of view the Cyclone is a good choice as well. Just before the war, delivering engines to foreign nations, wasn't exactly a priority for the Britsh industry. Therefore the Dutch had already decided that they would purchase Wright R1820-F52 Cyclone engines as future (emergency) replacement for the Mercury engines. There is only a small difference in weight and size. The main difference between both engines is the propeller rotation direction.
Tom Wilps, Jack's grandson is assisting his grandfather in building this small fighter. Tom is still studying to become an aircraft mechanic. It is also considered a good oppertunity to transfer the knowledge of vintage techniques to the next generation.
You can visit their D.XXI facebook page here:https://www.facebook.com/FlyingFokkerD21/ and their company facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/ATN.Aircraft.Division/
When you look carefully at the D.XXI pages, somewhere you can find a picture from me and Daan "Dutcheeseblend" Kaasjager (who did the Fokker D.XXI model for FSX) talking to Jack van Egmond. We were part of a small priveledged group who were invited to visit their company and watch progress on the Fokker fighter with our own eyes. I think I have roughly 800 pictures from the remains of the only surviving Fokker D.XXI, which chrashed in 1940 and was excavated in 1993. My pictures were used for the FSX Fokker D.XXI. It is really odd to see all the similarities of the wreck and this new Fokker D.XXI.
There is only one minor problem; As ATN mainly works for private customers, they are a bit reluctant to allow pictures (of their customers possesions) on social media. This is for instance why I can't post pictures at the SOH forum. So I can't share any of the 400 photographs I took during my visit...... But I think the pictures on their facebook page will provide you more than a general idea.
According to Jack the aircraft will be finished in 2019, according to his wife it will be at least 2020. But our small privileged group has been invited to witness the first flight of this unique aircraft, something I'm already looking forward to.
Cheers,
Huub
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