Jump to content

Fokker 70

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Sagubo (talk | contribs) at 08:34, 1 February 2021 (→Current operators). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Fokker 70
KLM Cityhopper Fokker 70
Role Regional jet
National origin Netherlands
Manufacturer Fokker
First flight 4 April 1993
Introduction October 1994 with Ford Motor Company (private)
1995 with Sempati Air (commercial)
Status In service
Primary users Alliance Airlines
Air Niugini
KLM Cityhopper (Former)
Austrian Airlines (Former)
Produced 1992-1997
Number built 47 (+1 prototype)
Developed from Fokker 100

The Fokker 70 is a narrow-body, twin-engined, medium-range, turbofan regional airliner produced by Fokker as a smaller version of the Fokker 100. Both the F70 and F100 were preceded by the first jet airliner manufactured by Fokker, the Fokker F28 Fellowship. Since its first flight in 1993, 47 aircraft, plus one prototype, have been manufactured and 23 are still in active service with airlines around the world.

Design and development

The Fokker company of the Netherlands started to develop the airliner in November 1992 with an aim to replace its aging Fokker F28 airliner, with a more modern and fuel efficient aircraft. The Fokker 70's first flight occurred on 4 April 1993, at the company's base at Woensdrecht in southern Netherlands, and had a duration of three hours. Following its first flight, the Fokker 70 was flown to Granada and Spain, where many hours were logged in order to obtain the certification at the end of 1994. The first production aircraft first flew in July 1994. Certification was granted on 14 October 1994, while the first delivery of a Fokker 70 to a customer, Ford Motor Company (in an "Executive Jet" configuration), occurred later in the same month.[1] The launch customer of this aircraft by an airline, announced at the Paris Air Show in June 1993, was the now-defunct Indonesian airline, Sempati Air[2]and Pelita Air.[3] Sempati was the first airline to receive a Fokker 70 in March 1995. The first European airline to order the Fokker 70 was British Midland International in November 1993 with a long-term lease of five Fokker 70. The first US customer was Mesa Airlines who ordered two aircraft in December 1993.

The development of the Fokker 70 was based on the requirements of some airlines, for which the Fokker 50 or ATR 42 were too small and the Boeing 737 or MD-80 too large. The development consisted in cutting various sections of the fuselage of the Fokker 100, removing 4.62 metres (15.2 ft) of the plane's total length but keeping the wings and tail. With these specifications, total capacity is 80 passengers, 70 in the U.S., due more to meet "scope clause" requirements than any Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification.

The Fokker 70 is powered by two Rolls-Royce Tay 620 turbofans placed at the back of the fuselage, with 61.6 kN (13,849 lb) of thrust. The weight varies from 22,673 kilograms (49,985 lb) when empty to 41,730 kilograms (92,000 lb) at maximum takeoff weight (MTOW).[4] An airbrake on the 70's tail section – similar to that found on the BAe 146 – allows it to conform with the 5.5° glide slope at London City Airport. Its avionics suite is similar to the Fokker 100.

Most Fokker 70 aircraft were delivered for service in Europe, but in 1995 two aircraft were delivered to Mesa Airlines subsidiary Desert Sun Airlines and were operated as America West Express flights as part of an effort to try to introduce the Fokker 70 to the United States; the purchase agreement allowed the operator to return the aircraft within 12 to 18 months.[5] Although the earlier Fokker 100 did moderately well in the United States with orders from American Airlines[6] and USAir (which subsequently merged with American Airlines), only two aircraft of the Fokker 70 variant were delivered for service in the United States.[citation needed] Fokker's March 1996 bankruptcy ended any hopes of further production for the U.S. market; the two America West Express aircraft operated by a subsidiary of Mesa Airlines became an expensive subfleet and were sent to Europe in 1997, ending the very short tenure of Fokker 70 operation in the United States.[7]

The last Fokker 70 was delivered in April 1997, when the production line closed following Fokker's bankruptcy the previous year. Over the 70's short production life, 47 were built. Although official production of the Fokker 70 is completed, Rekkof ("Fokker" spelt backwards) has, since 1999, tried to negotiate the re-opening of both the Fokker 100 and Fokker 70 lines.

Current operators

As of April 2020, 39 aircraft remain in service with 9 airlines and 2 governments:[8][9]

Specifications

Alliance Airlines F70 from below
Cabin of a former Austrian Airlines F70

Data from airliners.net,[4] aer.ita.br,[1] flyfokker.com,[11] flugzeuginfo.net[12]

General characteristics

  • Crew: two
  • Capacity:
    85 (1-class, maximum at 76 cm (30 in) seat pitch)
    79 (1-class, typical at 81 cm (32 in) seat pitch)
    72 (2-class, typical at 91 cm (36 in) and 81 cm (32 in) seat pitches)
  • Length: 30.91 m (101 ft 5 in)
  • Wingspan: 28.08 m (92 ft 2 in)
  • Width: 3.30 m (10 ft 10 in)
  • Height: 8.5 m (28 ft 10 in)
  • Wing area: 93.5 m2 (1,006 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 22.673 kg (49.985 lb)
  • Max takeoff weight: 39.915 kg (87.998 lb) High weight option
  • Powerplant: 2 × Rolls-Royce Tay 620 , 61.6 kN (13.850 lbf) thrust each

Performance

  • Cruise speed: 845 km/h (525 mph, 456 kn)
  • Range: 3,410 km (2,119 mi, 1,841 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 11,000 m (36,089 ft)

Accidents and incidents

  • On 5 January 2004 at 08:17 local time, an Austrian Airlines Fokker 70 (registered OE-LFO) crash-landed in a snow-covered field near Munich Airport. The aircraft had been operating Flight 111 from Vienna to Munich with 28 passengers and four crew on board, when its engines failed during landing descent due to icing. The aircraft was severely damaged, however only three passengers suffered minor injuries.[13][14]

See also

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

References

  1. ^ a b Fokker 70 Specifications Archived 2013-11-28 at the Wayback Machine aer.ita.br. Retrieved: 29 January 2012.
  2. ^ "Sempati takes first Fokker 70". Flight Global.
  3. ^ "Fokker 70 ...Fellowship Too". AIR International. 49 (5): 267–273.
  4. ^ a b "Airliners.net".
  5. ^ "Mesa Air Group". Archived from the original on 13 February 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  6. ^ "American to begin Fokker 100 service". connection.ebscohost.com.[dead link]
  7. ^ "The History of America West". Archived from the original on 14 October 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ^ fokker-aircraft.info - FOKKER 70 FLEET LIST. retrieved 12 January 2020
  9. ^ "World Airline Census 2018". Flightglobal.com. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  10. ^ https://www.pulselive.co.ke/bi/politics/fokker-70-er-7-facts-you-didnt-know-about-kenyas-presidential-jet-that-cost-an/gwcjh6x
  11. ^ Fokker 70 Archived 2012-03-30 at the Wayback Machine flyfokker.com. Retrieved: 29 January 2012.
  12. ^ Palt, Karsten. "Fokker Fokker 70 - Specifications - Technical Data / Description".
  13. ^ "Investigation Report - Fokker 70" (PDF). BFU Germany. November 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 June 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
  14. ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Fokker 70 OE-LFO München-Franz Josef Strauss Airport (MUC)".

Media related to Fokker 70 at Wikimedia Commons

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fokker_70&oldid=1004151174"