Fokker F28 Fellowship

Video from the channel Mundo de Aviación about Fokker F28 Fellowship, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 7:26. Language: Spanish. Video type: Documentary.

Spanish-language educational video about the Fokker F28 Fellowship, the regional jet Fokker developed building on the success of the F27 turboprop: over 50 seats, better performance and optimised for relatively short runways.

When airlines began asking for jets, Fokker feared the turboprop would become obsolete and announced the project. The risk was shared between the Dutch government, Germany's MBB and Britain's Shorts, and in 1964 it was decided to produce it jointly in the three countries. The first of three prototypes flew on 9 May 1967 with Rolls-Royce RB183 turbofans. Initial sales were slow, with only 22 units ordered by 1969, which led Fokker to launch variants: the initial Mk 1000, the Mk 2000 stretched by 2.21 m to 79 passengers, and the Mk 3000 and 4000. The 4000, introduced in 1976 by Linjeflyg, had quieter Spey 555 engines, up to 85 seats and a larger wingspan. A total of 241 units were built.

The video highlights the low wing, which protected the rear-mounted engines from foreign objects, the relatively advanced avionics and the split-section tail-cone airbrake. The final part focuses on Argentina: the Air Force bought five units in 1975, the Navy also used it and the presidential air group had two. The Air Force requested an additional cargo door, a reinforced floor and pallet rollers. In the Falklands War the F28 served as an air bridge between Comodoro Rivadavia and Puerto Argentino, and one aircraft was the first to land at Marambio base, in Antarctica.