MERC Contributions:
- Integration & Test
- Structural testing of fuselage panels
- Fatigue testing of airframe
- Damage tolerance evaluation of airframe
The Fokker 50 is a turboprop-powered airliner, designed as a refinement of and successor to the highly successful Fokker F27 Friendship. The Fokker 60 is a stretched freighter version of the Fokker 50. Both aircraft were manufactured and supported by Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker.
The Fokker 50 was developed during the early 1980s following a decline in the sales of the company’s earlier F27 Friendship. It was decided that the new airliner would be a derivative of its predecessor, sharing much of its airframe and design features, while incorporating new advances and several improvements, such as the adoption of Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127B turboprop engines, in order to produce a successor that had a 30 per cent reduction in fuel consumption over the F27.
The Fokker 50 performed its maiden flight on December 28, 1985, and entered revenue service during 1987. The Fokker 60 has been operated by the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF), ex-RNLAF aircraft are also in service with the Peruvian Naval Aviation and the Republic of China’s Air Force.
The Fokker 100 is a medium-sized, twin-turbofan airliner from Fokker. Upon introduction, the type possessed low operational costs and had scant competition in the 100-seat short-range class of regional airliner, which contributed to strong sales during the late 1980s. It was the largest jet airliner built by Fokker before its bankruptcy in 1996.
However, the Fokker 100 was soon faced with an increasing number of passenger aircraft similar in both size and role were brought onto the market by competing firms during the 1990s, leading to a substantial decline in both sales and long term prospects. Fokker had also encountered financial difficulties, having been bought up by Deutsche Aerospace AG, who in turn had financial troubles of their own, restricting their ability to support multiple regional airliner programs. Accordingly, in 1997, production of the Fokker 100 was terminated after 283 airframes had been delivered.
By July 2016, a total of 116 Fokker 100 aircraft remained in airline service with 26 airlines around the world. Although airlines are currently retiring the aircraft, there are still large numbers in operation in both Australia and Iran.
