Fokker V.8

The Fokker V.8 was a prototype five-winged aircraft built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke during the First World War for the Imperial German Army's Air Service. It was dangerously unstable and performed very poorly, and it was scrapped after two flights. After the early success of the Dr.I triplane, Anthony Fokker proposed a quintuplane in late 1917, reasoning that if three wings were good, five would be even better. Reinhold Platz, chief engineer for Fokker, objected, but Fokker ordered it built anyway. The fuselage of the V.6 was lengthened and the three wings of a Dr.I were placed at the extreme front, with the 120 kW Mercedes D.III engine between the upper and middle wings, and an upper pair of Dr.I wings was added midway along the fuselage. Fokker had no formal education in aeronautical engineering and disregarded Platz's concern about a centre of lift that was too far aft, and he flew it only twice, barely surviving both flights because of its instability.