DORNIER D228

After German certification was granted on 18 December 1981, the first Do 228-100 entered service in July 1982. The first operator of the larger Do 228-200 entered service in late 1982.

Certification from both British and American aviation authorities followed on 17 April and 11 May 1984 respectively. By 1983, the production rate of the Do 228 had risen to three aircraft per month; at this point, Dornier had targeted that 300 Do 228s would be produced by the end of the 1980s. In November 1983, a major license-production and phased technology-transfer agreement was signed between Dornier and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) was signed; a separate production line was established and produced its first aircraft in 1985. By 2014, a total of 125 Do 228s had been produced in India.

Over the years, Dornier offered the 228 in upgraded variants and fitted with optional equipment for performing various special missions. In 1996, it was announced that all manufacturing operations would be transferred to India. In 1998, activity on the German production line was halted, in part to concentrate on the production of the larger Fairchild-Dornier 328 and in response to Dornier’s wider financial difficulties.

Aircraft of similar role, configuration and era are: Antonov An-28/PZL M28, Beechcraft 99, CASA C-212 Aviocar, de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante, GAF Nomad, Harbin Y-12, IAI Arava, Let L-410 Turbolet, Short SC.7 Skyvan.