70 years of the iconic regional airliner Fokker F27 Friendship

November 24 marked the 70th anniversary of one of the most famous regional airliners, the Fokker F27 Friendship. On that day in 1955, its first prototype took flight at Schiphol Airport, near the Dutch capital of Amsterdam.

The aircraft was created by the Dutch company Koninklijke Nederlandse Vliegtuigenfabriek Fokker. For its time, it was a very advanced airliner. It became one of the first turboprop “regionals” in the world. The design used the latest solutions, among which the revolutionary wing and fuselage panels made of glued aluminum “sandwich” occupied a special place, which made it possible to abandon traditional rivets and reduce weight.

Serial production of the F27 ended in 1987. In addition to Fokker, the aircraft was also manufactured under license in the United States by Fairchild Aircraft. Together with the prototypes, a total of more than 790 units were built in 16 main variants. In addition to passenger liners with 44-56 seats, there were cargo-passenger, cargo with large side doors, as well as military transport and other militarized versions, including reconnaissance and armed maritime patrol aircraft.

The F27-500 passenger aircraft, which could seat up to 56 passengers, was equipped with two Rolls-Royce Dart Mk.532-7 turboprop engines, each with a power output of 2,250 hp. The aircraft had a length of 25.06 m, a wingspan of 29 m, a maximum take-off weight of 19,770 kg, a cruising speed of 518 km/h, and a practical range of over 1,826 km.

The airliner gained international popularity, and absolute international popularity, and the vast majority of aircraft were operated outside their native Netherlands. In total, various versions of the F27 were purchased by civilian and military operators in more than 70 countries, including Angola, Australia, Brazil, Great Britain, India, Italy, Canada, Kenya, China, Mexico, Germany, Norway, Pakistan, the United States, Turkey, the Philippines, France, Chad, and Japan. With a few exceptions, they have already flown their last – as of early 2024, no more than two dozen cargo and military F27s remained in service.

The successful combination of good flight characteristics and high efficiency, comfort on board, and ease of operation made the F27 not only a successful commercial product but also a model to emulate. In particular, under its influence, Antonov Design Bureau created its famous An-24.