Deperdussin-Léon de Brouckère Monoplane
The first aircraft of the KNIL

The first aircraft evaluated by the Proefvliegafdeling-KNIL, (PVA-KNIL - a precursor for the ML-KNIL) in 1915, in order to see if this was a useful technology for the Netherlands East Indies. The aircraft was built by Belgian aviation pioneer Léon de Brouckère. I have read that this plane never flew, or that it never flew in the Netherlands, only in Belgium. I have only been able to locate one picture of the aircraft and it looks flightworthy. I have also read that due to the outbreak of WWI, the aircraft were disassembled and sent to the Netherlands for the duration of the war. Certainly this aircraft was never shipped to the Netherlands East Indies - any and all evaluation by the PVA-KNIL was done in Europe. The aircraft was covered with Emaillite dope, and is described as a dark brownish yellow. At this time the national insignia consisted of an orange disc. However the single picture I have located of this aircraft does not show any markings. However this may be due to a lack of contrast between the brown and orange. I am undecided on what I will do here. The Lindberg model is of the 1911 version and some changes will be required to model the 1915 version as built by de Brouckère.