Fokker F27 Friendship

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F27 Friendship
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Role Airliner
National origin Netherlands
Manufacturer Fokker
First flight 24 November 1955
Introduction 19 November 1958
Status Out of production, in active service
Produced 1955–1987
Number built 586
Variants Fairchild F-27/FH-227
Developed into Fokker 50

The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the defunct Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker.

Design and development

Design of the Fokker F27 started in the 1950s as a replacement to the successful Douglas DC-3 airliner. The manufacturer evaluated a number of different configurations before finally deciding on a high-wing twin Rolls-Royce Dart engine layout with a pressurised cabin for 28 passengers.

The first prototype, registered PH-NIV, first flew on 24 November 1955. The second prototype and initial production machines were 0.9 m (3 ft) longer, addressing the first aircraft's slightly tail-heavy handling and also providing space for four more passengers, bringing the total to 32. These aircraft also used the more powerful Dart Mk 528 engine.

In 1956, Fokker signed a licensing deal with the US aircraft manufacturer Fairchild for the latter to construct the F27 in the USA. The first U.S.-built aircraft flew on April 12, 1958. Fairchild also independently developed a stretched version, called the FH-227. Most sales by Fairchild were made in the North American market.

In the early 1980s, Fokker developed a successor to the Friendship, the Fokker 50. Although based on the F27-500 airframe, the Fokker 50 was virtually a new aircraft with Pratt & Whitney Canada engines and modern systems. Its general performance and passenger comfort were improved over the F27.

Operational history

File:Aer Lingus Fokker Friendship Manchester 1965.jpg
Aer Lingus was the first airline to operate the F27 Friendship
File:Braathens SAFE F27 LN-SUE.jpg
Braathens SAFE F27-100 Friendship in August 1974

The first production model, the F27-100, was delivered to Aer Lingus in November 1958. Other early Friendship customers included Braathens SAFE and Luxair in Europe; New Zealand National Airways Corporation; Trans Australia Airlines and its Australian competitors Ansett and East-West Airlines; and Turkish Airlines.

Basic price for an RDa.6 powered F27 in 1960 was £239,000.[1] At the end of the Fokker F27’s production in 1987, 586 units had been built (plus another 207 F-27s and FH-227s in the USA by Fairchild), more than any other western European civil turboprop airliner at the time.[citation needed]

Many aircraft have been modified from passenger service to cargo or express-package freighter roles. The last major cargo user of the F27 in the United States was FedEx Express, as cargo "feeder" aircraft. These were retired and replaced by ATR 42 and ATR 72 aircraft by the end of 2009, with the last of the aircraft being donated to the Hickory Aviation Museum.[citation needed]

As of July 2010 a total of 65 F27s were in commercial service with almost 30 different airlines.[2] By July 2013 only 25 Friendships remained in service, operated by 13 different airlines; most were F27-500s, with two -400s and a solitary -600 series aircraft in service. Italian cargo airline MiniLiner operated six F27s and Air Panama had four in its fleet.[3] The United States Army Parachute Team has used a C-31A Troopship for its skydiving exhibitions since 1985.[4]

Variants

File:Dutch Air Force F-27-300M.jpg
F27-300M Troopship of the Royal Netherlands Air Force in the mid 1970s
  • F27-100 - was the first production model; 44 passengers.
  • F27-200 - uses the Dart Mk 532 engine.
  • F27-300 Combiplane - Civil passenger/cargo aircraft.
  • F27-300M Troopship - Military transport version for Royal Netherlands Air Force.
  • F27-400 - "Combi" passenger/cargo aircraft, with two Rolls-Royce Dart 7 turboprop engines and large cargo door.
  • F27-400M - Military version for US Army with designation C-31A Troopship, still in use in 2015.
  • F27-500 - The -500, had a 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) longer fuselage, a return to the Dart Mk 528 engine, and accommodation for up to 52 passengers. It first flew in November 1967.
  • F27-500M - Military version.
  • F27-500F - A version of the -500 for Australia with smaller front and rear doors.
  • F27-600 - Quick change cargo/passenger version of -200 with large cargo door.
  • F27-700 - A F27-100 with a large cargo door.
  • F27 200-MAR - Unarmed maritime reconnaissance version.
  • F27 Maritime Enforcer - Armed maritime reconnaissance version.
  • F-27 - license-built version manufactured by Fairchild Hiller in the United States
  • FH-227 - stretched version of the F-27, independently developed and manufactured by Fairchild Hiller in the United States

Operators

File:Fokker F27 operators.PNG
Map of F27 operators. Light blue indicates civilian use only. Dark blue indicates both civilian and military use. Red indicates military use only.

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Notable accidents and incidents

Aircraft on display

File:PHFHF.JPG
The first production Fokker F27 in NLM colours at an airshow in 2006
  • (PH-FHF) The first production Fokker F27 Friendship preserved at the Aviodrome Lelystad, Netherlands marked in colours of NLM.
  • Air UK - G-BHMY Preserved at the Norwich Aviation Museum.
  • Aircraft painted as first prototype PH-NIV, marking the entrance of the Fokker Logistics Park as Fokker Tribute, the former factory location at Schiphol/Oude Meer
  • Fokker F27-200 TF-SYN, c/n 10545, formerly of Landhelgisgæsla Íslands (Icelandic Coast Guard) is on permanent display in Flugsafn Íslands (Icelandic Aviation Museum), Akureyri Airport, Akureyri, Iceland.
  • F27-100 ZK-BXH, cn 10190 National Transport and Toy Museum, Wanaka, Wanaka, Otago, New Zealand.[18]
  • F27-100 ZK-BXG, cn 10189 at Ferrymead Aeronautical Society, Ferrymead Heritage Park, Christchurch, New Zealand in NZ National Airways Corporation colours.[19]
  • F27-100 ZK-BXI, cn10286 at Chatham Islands Aviation Museum. Under restoration.
  • F27-109 VH-CAT at South Australian Aviation Museum, Adelaide, South Australia in CSIRO Atmospheric Research configuration.[20]

Specifications (F.27)

File:Fokker F-27-400M Troopship.jpg
F27-400M of Thai Navy in 2012.

Data from [21]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2 or 3
  • Capacity: 48-56 passengers
  • Length: 25.06 m (82 ft 3 in)
  • Wingspan: 29 m (95 ft 2 in)
  • Height: 8.72 m (28 ft 7 in)
  • Wing area: 70 m2 (750 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 11,204 kg (24,701 lb)
  • Max takeoff weight: 19,773 kg (43,592 lb)
  • Powerplant: 2 × Rolls-Royce Dart Mk.532-7 two-stage centrifugal compressor turboprop, 1,678 kW (2,250 hp) each

Performance

  • Cruising speed: 460 km/h (286 mph; 248 kn)
  • Range: 2,600 km (1,616 mi; 1,404 nmi)
  • Rate of climb: 7.37 m/s (1,451 ft/min)

See also

Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
Related lists

References

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  2. "2010 World Airliner Census", p. 44.
  3. "2013 World Airliner Census", p. 57.
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  8. Accident description for S2-ABJ at the Aviation Safety Network
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  10. [1] Archived April 8, 2008 at the Wayback Machine
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  16. http://www.jetphotos.net/news/index.php?blog=1&title=24-killed-in-indonesia-f-27-crash&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
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  21. Green, William, The Observers Book of Aircraft, Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd, 1970. ISBN 0-7232-0087-4

External links