Fokker 50
| Fokker 50 / Fokker 60 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| CityJet Fokker 50 at Findel Airport in 2010 | |
| Role | Airliner |
| National origin | Netherlands |
| Manufacturer | Fokker |
| First flight | 28 December 1985 |
| Introduction | 1987 |
| Status | Out of production, in service |
| Produced | 1987 - 1997 |
| Number built | 213 |
| Unit cost |
US$17.5 million
|
| Developed from | Fokker F27 |
The Fokker 50 is a turboprop-powered airliner, designed as a refinement of and successor to the highly successful Fokker F27 Friendship. The Fokker 60 is a stretched freighter version of the Fokker 50. Both aircraft were built by Fokker in the Netherlands. The Fokker 60 has been operated by the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF), ex-RNLAF aircraft are also in service with the Peruvian Naval Aviation and the Republic of China's Air Force.
The Fokker 50 was designed after sales of the Fokker F27 Friendship, which had been in continual production since 1958, were beginning to decline by the 1980s. Design of the Fokker 50 started in 1983, with DLT and Ansett Airlines of Australia being launch customers.
Fokker built two prototypes derived from F27 airframes, the first of which flew for the first time on 28 December 1985. Certification of the Fokker 50 by the Dutch aviation authority RLD was successfully completed in 1987 and the first production aircraft was delivered to DLT of Germany. Production ended in 1996 after the Fokker Aircraft Company went into liquidation, with the last aircraft delivered the following year. By the end of the program, 213 Fokker 50s had been produced. As of August 2006 a total of 171 Fokker 50 aircraft remained in airline service. Major operators included: Avianca (10), Denim Air (12), Skyways Express (18) and VLM Airlines (20). Some 27 other airlines including Air Astana also operate smaller numbers of the type.
Since March 2013, two Fokker 50s are based at EHLE Lelystad airport in their Royal Netherlands Air Force livery. Both have been purchased by the Peruvian Navy and will depart before the end of September 2014.
The Fokker 60 is stretched 1.62 m (5.31 ft) longer than the F50 for a total length of 26.87 m (88.16 ft). It has a large cargo door on the right side immediately behind the cockpit. Only four examples were built, all of them delivered to the Royal Netherlands Air Force. All of them were part of 334 Squadron based at Eindhoven Airport. They were used to transport equipment and soldiers. Paradrops were done as well. Another 60 were under construction but never completed, due to Fokker's bankruptcy. Two of the Fokker 60s (U-01, U-03) were converted in 2005 to Maritime Patrol aircraft as a temporary solution when the Royal Netherlands Navy P-3 Orions were phased out due to budget cuts. They were stationed at Hato AB Curaçao, until they were replaced by civil DHC-8 aircraft in October 2007. When the Royal Netherlands Air Force decided to buy two extra Lockheed C-130s, the Fokker 60s were phased out. The four Fokker 60 that were stored at Woensdrecht Air Base were sold to the Peruvian Naval Aviation, the first two planes were delivered on 8 June 2010 and the second batch of two planes are delivered at the end of 2010.
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Wikipedia