Saab 340 / 2000 - flying buses

Video from the channel Skyships Eng about Saab, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 14:40. Language: English. Video type: Documentary.

Documentary about the Saab 340 and Saab 2000 regional turboprops, the Swedish company's main contributions to civil aviation: their origin, design, evolution and the end of their production.

In the 1970s Saab, founded in 1937 and known mainly for its cars and fighter jets, wanted to boost its civil business with a regional aircraft for about 30 passengers. The oil crisis made an economical turboprop attractive. In 1980 it partnered with the American company Fairchild: the SF 340 first flew in January 1983 from Linköping and entered service in 1984, with Crossair as its main customer. Saab took on about 65% of the program and kept it when Fairchild withdrew. The aircraft was renamed Saab 340, and in 1989 came the 340B, with more powerful engines.

The Saab 340 was fitted with two General Electric CT7 engines, first rated at around 1,735 hp and later, with the CT7-9B, up to 1,870 hp. It reached about 500 km/h, had a cabin 216 cm wide for 34 to 36 passengers and a range of about 1,700 km. The Saab 2000 first flew in 1992 and was certified in 1994. Its fuselage was 7.5 m longer, its weight rose from 13 to 22 tonnes and it reached 2,860 km, with Rolls-Royce AE 2100 engines rated at 4,152 hp, six-blade propellers and an active noise-cancellation system. Falling fuel prices and the arrival of regional jets led to the decision to end production in 1997; the last deliveries were in 1999, with 459 Saab 340s and 63 Saab 2000s built.