Fokker 50
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Fokker 50 / Fokker 60 | |
|---|---|
 A Palestinian Airlines Fokker at El Arish International Airport. |
|
| Type | Airliner |
| Manufacturer | Fokker |
| Status | Operational |
| Primary users | KLM cityhopper Avianca Republic of Singapore Air Force Kish Air |
| Number built | 213 |
| 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 for the Royal Netherlands Air Force.
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[edit] Development
[edit] Fokker 50
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. Fokker management, notably Frans Swarttouw, decided that an aircraft with aerodynamic and electronic updates from both the Fokker F27 and the Fokker F28 (the short-range twin jet for 85 passengers) was sensible. Design of the Fokker 50 started in 1983.
Certification of the Fokker 50 (initially known as the Fokker F27 Mk050 or Fokker 50) by the Dutch aviation authority RLD was successfully completed in 1987 after four years of design review and flight testing. First delivery was made to DLT of Germany. Production ended in 1996 after the Fokker Aircraft Company went into liquidation. By the end of the program, 213 Fokker 50s had been produced. In 2005 a majority of these were in operational service and in August 2006 a total of 171 Fokker 50 aircraft remain in airline service. Major operators include: Malaysia Airlines (10) (now operated by Maswings and Firefly), Denim Air (12), KLM Cityhopper (14), Skyways Express (18) and VLM Airlines (20). Some 27 other airlines also operate smaller numbers of the type.[1]
[edit] Fokker 60
The Fokker 60 is stretched 1.62 metres longer than the F50 for a total length of 26.87 metres. It has a large cargo door on the right side immediately behind the cockpit. Only four planes were built, all of them delivered to the Royal Netherlands Air Force. All of them were part of 334 Squadron based at Eindhoven airbase (EIN/EHEH). They were used to transport equipment and soldiers. Paradrops were done as well. Another 60 was under construction, but was never completed due to Fokker's bankruptcy. Two of the Fokker 60's (U-01, U-03) were converted in 2005 to MPA aircraft as a temporary solution when the Royal Netherlands Navy P-3 Orion 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 C-130's the Fokker 60's were phased out. The last flight of a 'normal' Fokker 60 was made in November 2006. Currently they are stored at Woensdrecht airbase and are up for sale.
[edit] Design
The Fokker 50 was based on the stretched F27-500 airframe, but with a larger number of smaller windows in the fuselage and a two-wheel nose gear.
Basic construction of the fuselage, wings and empennage (tail) remained unchanged apart from strengthening the various sections where required. The wing was equipped with upturned aileron and wingtips, effectively acting as wing endplates or winglets.
The major design change from the Fokker F27 was in the engines, and in equipping the aircraft with an electronic flight and engine-management system. The original Rolls-Royce Darts in various marks of basically 1700 to 2300 HP was replaced with two more fuel efficient Pratt & Whitney Canada PW124 powerplants of max 2500 HP each, driving a 6 bladed Dowty Rotol propeller.
Compared to the Fokker F27, the Fokker 50 can carry up to 62 passengers over a range of 2,000 km (1,243 mi, 1,080 nm) at a typical speed of 530 km/h (329 mph, 286 kts IAS), a 50 km/h (31 mph, 27 kts) increase over the Fokker F27.
[edit] Variants
[edit] Fokker 50
- F27 Mark 050
- Marketed as the Fokker 50 (or sometimes refered to as the Fokker 50-100), based on the F27 Mark 500 with two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW125B or PW127B turboprop engines with 6-bladed propellers, updated systems and cockpit instrumentations, increased use of composite structure, double the number of windows, change from pneumatic to hydraulic systems and addition of a electronic engine and propeller controls and electronic flight instrument system (EFIS) and integrated warning system.[2]
- F27 Mark 0502
- Marketed as the Fokker 50, same as the 050 with reconfigured interior layout and change in type of aft emergency exits, six built (two for the Royal Netherlands Air Force, two for the Singapore Air Force and two for Brunei).[3]
[edit] Fokker 60
- F27 Mark 0604
- Marketed as the Fokker 60, same as the 0502 with an increased fuselage length (1.02m in front of wing and 0.80m aft of wing), increased design weight and introduction of a large cargo door in the forward right side of the fuselage. Two Pratt & Whitney PW127B turboprop engines, four built.[4]
[edit] Operators
[edit] Fokker 50 operators
The following airlines or military operators currently fly the Fokker 50 in passenger or cargo roles: [5]
- Aero Condor
- Aero Mongolia
- Air Astana
- AirBaltic
- Air Central
- Air Iceland
- Albanian Airlines
- Alliance Airlines
- Amapola Flyg
- Aria Air
- Avianca (only operator of the -300 series)
- Crescent Air Cargo
- Denim Air
- Dutch Antilles Express (Expected 1st quarter of 2008)-->(needs confirmation)
- Ethiopian Airlines
- FlyAsianXpress
- Firefly
- Iranian Air Transport
- Kish Airline
- KLM Cityhopper
- KLM Cityhopper UK
- KLM
- Magic Bird Airlines
- Mandarin Airlines
- MASwings
- OceanAir
- Palestinian Airlines
- PT Indonesia Air Transport
- PT Transwisata Prima Aviation
- PT. Riau Airlines
- Skywest Airlines
- Unijet
- Republic of China Navy - as VIP transport.
- Republic of Singapore Air Force - as Utility Transport Aircraft (UTA) and Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA).
- SAS Braathens
- Skyways Express
- Skywest Airlines
- Sudan Airways
- SWE FLY AB
- Taftan Air
- Tanzania Government Flight Agency
- VLM Airlines
[edit] Former Fokker 50 Operators
[edit] Specifications
[edit] Fokker 50 series 100
This aircraft article is missing some (or all) of its specifications. If you have a source, you can help Wikipedia by adding them.General characteristics
- Crew: Two (pilot & co-pilot)
- Capacity: Up to 58 passengers
- Length: 25.25 m (82 ft 10 in)
- Wingspan: 29.00 m (95 ft 2 in)
- Height: 8.32 m (27 ft 4 in)
- Wing area: 70.0 m² (736 ft²)
- Empty weight: 12,250 kg (27,602 lb)
- Loaded weight: 18,600 kg (41,000 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 20,820 kg (45,900 lb)
- Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney Canada PW125B turboprops, 1,864 kW (2,500 hp) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 425 km/h (231 knots, 266 mph)
- Range: 2,055 km (1,110 nm, 1,284 mi)
- Service ceiling 7,620 m (25,000 ft)
Armament
- 2 × AGM-84D Harpoon missiles and radar, sonar systems (Republic of Singapore Air Force Fokker 50s)
[edit] Fokker 60
This aircraft article is missing some (or all) of its specifications. If you have a source, you can help Wikipedia by adding them.General characteristics
- Crew: Two (pilot & co-pilot)
- Length: 26.87 m (88 ft 2 in)
- Wingspan: 29.00 m (95 ft 2 in)
- Height: 8.32 m (27 ft 4 in)
- Wing area: 70.0 m² (736 ft²)
- Max takeoff weight: 22,950 kg (50,595 lb)
- Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127B turboprops, 2,050 kW (2,750 hp) each
Performance
- Cruise speed: 532 km/h (287 kts, 331 mph)
[edit] See also
Related development
Comparable aircraft
- Antonov An-140
- ATR 42 and 72
- CASA CN-235 and EADS CASA C-295
- de Havilland Canada Dash 8
- Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia
- Fairchild-Dornier 328 family
- Ilyushin Il-114
- Saab 2000 and 340
- Xian MA60/Xian Y-7/Antonov An-24
[edit] References
- ^ Flight International, 3-9 October 2006
- ^ EASA Type Certificate
- ^ EASA Type Certificate
- ^ EASA Type Certificate
- ^ Fokker Services - F50 Operators
- European Aviation Safety Agency Type-Certificate Data Sheet - Fokker F27 (TCDS A.036 Issue 2 20 May 2005)
[edit] External links
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