The Spijker V.2, sometimes anglicized to Spyker V.2 or Spyker-Trompenburg V.2, was a low powered,

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which two or more animals, machines, or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. ''Tandem'' can also be used more generally to refer to any group of persons or objects w ...

seat biplane designed and built for the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

government for pilot training towards the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. More than seventy were built.

Design

The Spijker V.2 was a conventionally laid out single engine

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or constructio ...

biplane. Its wings had constant chord and no sweep or stagger. It was a two bay biplane, with two pairs of parallel

interplane strut In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of struts, which act in ...

s on each side and two further pairs acting as a cabane between

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

and the upper wing.Taylor, 2001, p.197

Ailerons An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...

were fitted to both upper and lower wings.Flight 1919, pp.1156-1157 Over the fuselage was a semicircular cut out in the

trailing edge The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge meets.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 521. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. ...

of the upper wing to enhance the upward view from the rear seat. The

open cockpits were fitted with dual controls. The V.2 was powered by a Thulin A (

Le Rhône 9C The Le Rhône 9C is a nine-cylinder Rotary engine, rotary aircraft engine produced in France by '' Société des Moteurs Le Rhône'' / Gnome et Rhône. Also known as the Le Rhône 80 hp in a reference to its nominal power rating, t ...

)

rotary engine The rotary engine is an early type of internal combustion engine, usually designed with an odd number of cylinders per row in a radial configuration. The engine's crankshaft remained stationary in operation, while the entire crankcase and its ...

,Warbird News, 2014 driving a two blade propeller and enclosed by a 360° or 270°

cowling A cowling (or cowl) is the removable covering of a vehicle's engine, most often found on automobiles, motorcycles, airplanes, and on outboard boat motors. On airplanes, cowlings are used to reduce drag and to cool the engine. On boats, cowlings ...

. Its fuselage was built with wooden

longeron In engineering, a longeron or stringer is a load-bearing component of a framework. The term is commonly used in connection with aircraft fuselages and automobile chassis. Longerons are used in conjunction with stringers to form structural fram ...

s and T-sectioned cross pieces braced with wire. The

conventional undercarriage Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Ter ...

was fixed, with mainwheels on a single axle supported at each end on V-form struts, cross braced. A tail skid completed the landing gear.

Operational history

Because of the war in which the Netherlands remained neutral the European public did not see the V.2 until one of the first post-war air shows, the Eerste Luchtverkeer Tentoonstelling (First Air Traffic Exhibition) held in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

in August 1919. The V.2's ability to loop on a small engine was noted. Seventy-eight V.2s were built for the Dutch government.Noppen, 2007, p.62 Fifty-eight of these were for the Army Aviation Group (LVA), eighteen for the

Dutch Naval Aviation Service The Netherlands Naval Aviation Service (, shortened to MLD) is the naval aviation branch of the Royal Netherlands Navy. History World War I Although the MLD was formed in 1914, with the building of a seaplane base at De Mok, Texel, it deve ...

(MLD) and two for the

KNIL The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (; KNIL, ; ) was the military force maintained by the Kingdom of the Netherlands in its Dutch colonial empire, colony of the Dutch East Indies, in areas that are now part of Indonesia. The KNIL's air arm ...

. There were a significant number of fatal losses in both the LVA and MLD but the V.2s were flown by both services until 1924, when the MLD replaced their V.2s with Fokker S.3s; nine of their V.2s went to the LVA.Wesselink, 1982, p.17

Specifications

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{Spyker aircraft V02 1910s Dutch military trainer aircraft Biplanes Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1917 Aircraft of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army