FOKKER 27

The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner developed and manufactured by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker.

It has the distinction of being the most numerous post-war aircraft to have been manufactured in the Netherlands; the F27 was also one of the most successful European airliners of its era.

The F27 was developed during the early 1950s with the expressed intent of producing a capable successor to the earlier piston engine-powered airliners that had become commonplace on the market, such as the successful Douglas DC-3.

On 24 November 1955, the F27 performed its maiden flight; on 19 November 1958, the type was introduced to revenue service. Shortly after its introduction, the F27 was recognised as being a commercial success.

Under a licensing arrangement reached between Fokker and the U.S. aircraft manufacturer Fairchild, the F27 was manufactured in the United States by the latter; Fairchild went on to independently develop a stretched version of the airliner, which was designated as the Fairchild FH-227. During the 1980s, Fokker developed a modernised successor to the F27, the Fokker 50, which eventually replaced it in production.

Throughout the F27’s production life, Fokker proceeded to adapt the design for various purposes and roles. Via a number of modifications, such as the adoption of improved engines, rearranged loading doors, elongated fuselages, and other changes, several different models of the F27 were developed and made available for commercial operators. Several military transport models were also produced. Fokker also chose to design a dedicated model of the F27 for conducting maritime reconnaissance missions.

Procharter managed an aviation project in East Africa recently, in which the Fokker 27 operated numerous cargo flights in the region.

Aircraft of similar role, configuration and era are: Antonov An-24, Hawker Siddeley HS 748.