Fokker F27 Friendship F27-100

The F27-100 was the version that brought the Friendship to market. Compared with the first prototype the fuselage had been stretched by 0.9 m to cure a slightly tail-heavy tendency and, incidentally, to make room for four more passengers; production machines also carried the more powerful Rolls-Royce Dart Mk 528. Capacity settled at 44 seats, far above the 28 of the original project.

The first production aircraft was delivered to Irish carrier Aer Lingus in November 1958 and flew its first revenue service the following month. Braathens SAFE and Luxair in Europe, New Zealand's NAC, Trans Australia Airlines, Ansett, East-West Airlines and Turkish Airlines followed. Early sales were slow and Fokker had to seek support from banks and from the Dutch government to keep the line running, until demand rose sharply in 1960.

The -100 formula — high wing, pressurised cabin, two Dart turboprops and Redux metal-to-metal bonding — defined everything that followed: later versions were the same airframe with more powerful engines, cargo doors or a stretched fuselage.