The Uiver

The Uiver

As the founders of Dutch aviation, idealist Albert Plesman and opportunist Anthony Fokker, are inextricably bound together. They cannot live with each other or without. Nevertheless, during the Interwar Period when the world is heading towards a new war, they join forces to set up civil aviation in the Netherlands.

September 1934 – October 1934

Plesman wants to launch the new DC-2, ‘the Uiver’, into a great air race from England to Australia. Not only to show how good the airplane is, but also to convince the British to share the Australian landing rights with the KLM. At the start at Mildenhall, Plesman is horrified to find out that Fokker has acquired exclusive sales rights for the DC-2. So, the better ‘the Uiver’ performs, the more Fokker can ask for it. But the reverse is also true: if ‘the Uiver’ accidentally crashes, the rights are worth nothing to Fokker. 

Plesman meets Douglas, the American manufacturer, who tells him that Fokker doesn’t have exclusive sales rights. Plesman is enraged, but at the same time sees a great opportunity to get rid of Fokker once and for all. He immediately puts a handful of Fokker airplanes up for sale and informs the Board that he never wants to deal with Fokker again.

On the third day of the race, Fokker discovers what Plesman has done. He furiously confronts Douglas with the signed license contract and takes him to the KLM. Once there, Plesman is forced to admit that Fokker indeed has the rights. Douglas, a heavy alcoholic, had simply forgotten about the contract with Fokker. Plesman looks foolish. His nightmare turns out to be true: ‘the Uiver’ performs greatly. When telephone contact is made with ‘the Uiver’s’ pilot, Plesman orders him in anger to fly into an approaching storm. The entire KLM staff is alarmed at his reckless command.

The airplane runs into difficulties in the storm and while the entire country holds its breath, it makes a daring emergency landing on a racetrack in Albury. When news of their landing reaches the Netherlands, Plesman lets out a huge sigh of relief. ‘The Uiver’ takes off again from Albury and still manages to finish the race in record time. It’s a huge success for the Netherlands and the KLM! 

But the British aren’t amused by the Dutch’s good results. They feel they’ve been made fools of and don’t want to share the Australian landing rights for the time being. Moreover, Fokker announces that the KLM must pay double the price if they want to purchase more DC-2s.