The Fokker F28 Fellowship is a short range jet airliner designed and built by Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker.
Announced by Fokker in April 1962, production was a collaboration between a number of European companies, namely Fokker, MBB of West Germany, Fokker-VFW (also of Germany), and Short Brothers of Northern Ireland. There was also government money invested in the project, with the Dutch government providing 50% of Fokker's stake and the West German government having 60% of the 35% German stake.
Projected at first to transport 50 passengers to 1,650 km (1,025 mi), the plane was later designed to have 60-65 seats. On the design sheet, the F28 was originally to mount Bristol Siddeley BS.75 turbofans, but the prototype flew with the lighter Rolls-Royce "Spey Junior", a simplified version of the Rolls-Royce Spey.
The F28 was similar in design to the British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Eleven and Douglas DC-9, as it had a T-tail and engines mounted at the rear of the fuselage. The aircraft had wings with a slight crescent angle of sweep with ailerons at the tip, simple flaps, and five-section liftdumper only operated after landing to dump the lift. These were employed rather than reverse thrust as the designers felt that the adding of reverse thrust systems to the engines not only reduced weight, but maintenance also. Having no reverser's also meant that on unpaved airstrips there was less chance of the engines ingesting debris. The leading edge was fixed (although one experimental model had leading edge slats and these were offered as an option)and was anti-iced by bleed air from the engines. The tail cone could split and be hydraulically opened to the sides to act as a variable air brake - also used on the contemporaneous Blackburn Buccaneer. This design was also copied and used on the HS-146, which became the BAe-146. The design is unique in that it not only slows the aircraft down rapidly, it can aid in rapid descents from economic cruising altitudes and also allowed the engines to be set at higher RPM which helped eliminate 'lag time'. This means the engines respond faster if needed for sudden speed increases or go-arounds on the approach to landing. The Fellowship had a retractable tricycle landing gear which used large low pressure tyres enabling the use of unpaved airstrips. Large wheel brakes also helped in shortening the landing run.
In terms of responsibility for production, Fokker designed and built the nose section, centre fuselage and inner wing; MBB/Fokker-VFW constructed the forward fuselage, rear fuselage and tail assembly; and Shorts designed and built the outer wings.
Final assembly of the Fokker F28 was at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands.
The F28-1000 prototype, registered PH-JHG, first flew on May 9, 1967 (exactly one month later than the famous Boeing 737). German certification was achieved on February 24, 1969. The first order was from German airline LTU, but the first revenue-earning flight was by Braathens on March 28, 1969 who operated five F28s.
The F28 with an extended fuselage was named F28-2000 and could seat up to 79 passengers instead of the 65 seats on the F28-1000. The prototype for this model was a converted F28-1000 prototype, and first flew on April 28, 1971. The models F28-6000 and F28-5000 were modified F28-2000 and F28-1000 respectively, with slats, greater wingspan, and more powerful and quieter engines as the main features. The F28-6000 and F28-5000 were not a commercial success; only two F28-6000 and no F28-5000 were built. After being used by Fokker for a time, the F28-6000 were sold to Air Mauritanie, but not before they were converted to F28-2000s.
The most successful F28 was the F28-4000, which debuted on October 20, 1976 with one of the world's largest Fokker operators, Linjeflyg. This version was powered by quieter Spey 555-15H engines, and had an increased seating capacity (up to 85 passengers), a larger wingspan with reinforced wings, a new cockpit and a new "wide-look" interior featuring enclosed overhead lockers and a less 'tubular' look. The F28-3000, the successor to the F28-1000, featured the same improvements as the F28-4000.
F28s of Ansett Transport Industries' Western Australian intrastate airline, MacRobertson Miller Airlines of Western Australia, flew the longest non-stop F28 route in the world, from Perth to Kununurra, in Western Australia - a distance of about 2,240 km (1,392 mi). This was also the worlds longest twin-jet route at the time. MMA'a F28's also had the highest utilisation rates at the time, flying over 8 hours per day.
By the time production ended in 1987, 241 airframes had been built
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Mk 3000 & 4000 - Two 44.0kN (9900lb) RollsRoyce RB1832 Spey Mk 55515P turbofans.
3000 - Max cruising speed 843km/h (455kt), economical cruising speed
678km/h (366kt). Range at high speed cruise with 65 passengers 2743km
(1480nm), at long range cruise with 65 passengers 3170km (1710nm). 4000 -
Speeds same. Range at high speed cruise with 85 passengers 1900km
(1025nm), at long range cruising speed with 85 passengers 2085km
(1125nm).
3000 - Operating empty 16,965kg (37,400lb), max takeoff 33,110kg
(73,000lb). 4000 - Operating empty 17,645kg (38,900lb), max takeoff
33,110kg (73,000lb).
3000 - Wing span 25.07m (82ft 3in), length 27.40m (89ft 11in), height
8.47m (27ft 10in). Wing area 79.0m2 (850sq ft). 4000 - Same except for
length 29.61m (97ft 2in).
Flightcrew of two. Max seating for 85 at five abreast and 74cm (29in)
pitch in Mk 4000, or 65 in Mk 3000. Mk 3000 offered with a 15 seat
executive interior.
Total F28 sales of 241, including some military customers. As at late
1998 approx 160 remained in commercial service. Further 10 used as
corporate jets.
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The F28 Fellowship jet was developed to complement Fokker's highly successful F-27 Friendship turboprop.
Fokker
began development of the F28 in 1960 after perceiving a market for a
higher performance (ie jet engined) and greater capacity airliner in
comparison with the F-27. First details of the F28 were made public in
April 1962, and production of the first development aircraft began in
1964. The first of three prototypes flew for the first time on May 9
1967, with certification and first customer delivery both occurring on
February 24 1969.
The
F28 was developed into a range of models. Initial production was of the
Mk 1000, which could typically seat between 55 and 65, and was powered
by 43.8kN (9850lb) Spey Mk 55515 turbofans. The Mk 2000 was essentially
similar but featured a 2.21m (7ft 3in) fuselage stretch, increasing
maximum seating to 79.
The
Mks 5000 and 6000 were based on the 1000 and 2000 respectively, but
introduced a longer span wing (by 1.49m/4ft 11in) and wing leading edge
slats. Neither version attracted serious sales interest, and no 5000s
and just two 6000s were built. Another version that did not come to
fruition was the Mk 6600, which would have been stretched by a further
2.21m (7ft 3in), allowing for seating for 100 in a high density layout.
It was aimed at Japanese airlines.
The
final production models were the 3000 and 4000, again based on the 1000
and 2000 respectively. Both introduced a number of improvements, while
the addition of two extra above wing emergency exits on the 4000
increased maximum seating to 85. Freight door equipped convertible
versions of each model were offered, and are identified by a C suffix
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