Fairchild Dornier 728 family
| 728 / 928 / 528 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Fairchild Dornier 728 prototype TAC 01 | |
| Role | Regional jet Airliner |
| Manufacturer | Fairchild Dornier GmbH |
| Status | Program cancelled |
| Number built | 3 prototypes built to various stages of completion |
| Unit cost |
$20 million
|
The Fairchild Dornier 728/928 family was Fairchild Dornier GmbH's ambitious bid to develop a range of large (50-110-seat) regional jet airliners to supplement the smaller 328JET series. Although the aircraft was a modern design and attracted strong airline interest when launched, the program ended with the insolvency of Fairchild Dornier soon after the official roll-out of the first 728. The 728/928 family is a monoplane design with fixed wings in low wing configuration and two engines mounted under the wings. It has a retractable undercarriage (or landing gear) in tricycle configuration.
Dornier Luftfahrt GmbH, which was acquired by Fairchild in 1996 and was renamed Fairchild Dornier in 2000, announced the project, which had begun as the X28JET project and later introduced publicly as the 728JET, in October 1997 at the Dubai Airshow. The new family of regional jets, the 528JET, 728JET and 928JET, seating from 55 to 100 passengers was launched at the ILA Berlin Aerospace Show (International Aviation and Space Flight Exhibition) in Berlin on May 19, 1998 after earlier receiving provisional launch orders from Lufthansa (60 firm orders and 60 options) and Crossair. Crossair later cancelled as a result of the fuselage layout. To prevent Low-cost carriers from equipping the 728 with six-abreast seating, instead of Cityline's five-abreast seating, Lufthansa made Fairchild Dornier reduce the fuselage diameter. It shrunk from the original 3.40 m (11 ft 2 in) to 3.25 m (10 ft 8 in). The reduction also lowered the weight of the aircraft, but brought Crossair to choose the Embraer ERJ-170 family instead.
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