Koolhoven F.K.41

My first scale project ...

PH-AGQ's history, colors and modifications

September 24, 1929
First owner: A.L.J. Hoevels

Colors:
The registration is in the same color as the fuselage upper halve. In the photographs this color is a very pale grey, but since a registration has to be recognizable, it must have been a somewhat dark color. Blue and orange are possibilites. Blue can be close to white on panchromatic photographs. Depending on the light, orange can be very light too.

Photograph from the archives of Bob Dros
Photograph from the archives of Bob Dros

September 20, 1930
Second owner: N.V. Lever Zeep Mij. (Unilever)

Modifications:

  • navigation light added to fin;
  • Sunlight Soap logo on fuselage sides;
  • wheel covers painted, hiding the Palmer Aerotyre's texts.

Colors:
Since the Sunlight Soap colors have always been red and blue, the logo on the fuselage would have been red if the upper halve of the fuselage would have been blue. This is not the case, because if the logo was red, it would have been black on these orthochromatic photographs. That leaves orange as the most likely color.
After I made this conclusion I received a scan of one of the flyers dropped by PH-AGQ. It was of poor quality, the orange of the upper halve was faded, but nevertheless it was there. The orange is also confirmed by the N.L.S. poster below, eventhough it is an 'artist impression'.

Photograph from the archives of Bob Dros
Photograph from the archives of Bob Dros
Photograph from the archives of Bob Dros
Flyer from the archives of Jan den Das

January 16, 1932
Third owner: N.L.S.

Modifications:

  • navigation lights added to wing tips;
  • air intake added on top of the cowling;
  • top of the wing painted orange;
  • registration painted black;
  • text "Nationale Luchtvaartschool Holland" in black on fuselage sides.
  • Dutch flag on rudder as in last photograph.*

* The photographs of PH-AGQ in its first N.L.S. livery don't show the tailplanes, but since it was standard for N.L.S. aircraft, it is most likely the Dutch flag was added to the rudder at this point.

Photograph from the archives of Giesbert Oskam

Modifications:

  • single exhaust replaced by four pipes;
  • small changes to cowling;
  • top of the wing seems to be silver again.

Second N.L.S. livery

Modifications:

  • engine replaced by other type;
  • nose/cowling modified;
  • top and bottom colors of fuselage switched.
Photograph from the archives of Thijs Postma

June 28, 1937
Crashed in Princenhage, The Netherlands.

July 7, 1937
Removed from the register.

Photograph from the archives of Thijs Postma

Photographs from the archives of Bob Dros, Giesbert Oskam and Thijs Postma.