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Fokker 50 / 60

1987 COLD WAR MODERN AIRCRAFT

History

In the early 1980s, Fokker in the Netherlands developed a new, state-of-the-art, low-cost turboprop airliner based on the earlier proven Fokker F27 "Friendship". The F27 first flew in 1955 and found itself taking a useful market share, followed by some 586 completed between 1955 and 1987 (several military branches also evaluated this type). From this work laid the foundation for the successor to the "Fokker 50", which retained the same elevated monoplane wing layout and design attributes to ensure excellent STOL (short takeoff and landing) capability, often requiring difficult to reach Airfields and military operators are required. The first flight in prototype form took place on December 28, 1985, paving the way for rigorous testing and type approval.

The launch of the service began in 1987.

The "Fokker 60" is a direct descendant of the Fokker 50 series, although it received an elongated fuselage to better serve the cargo market.

Production of the Fokker 50/60 eventually spanned from 1985 to 1997, by which time 213 examples had been completed and delivered to customers around the world. Although the aircraft is now officially out of production, it is still in service with a handful of different tiers of operators.

These users include Iran, Kenya, Peru, Singapore, Sweden, Taiwan, Tanzania, and Thailand (2019).

The core of the Fokker 50 relies primarily on the traditional twin-engine layout found in many other Cold War era and modern aircraft designs. The fuselage is generally tubular, the cockpit (with two seats abreast) is located in the nose, and the passenger/cargo section takes up most of the space in the fuselage.

The tail is in a single rudder configuration with a low level level for control. The main aircraft components are mounted on the shoulders on the sides of the fuselage, each with a bottom-mounted nacelle turboprop driving a multi-blade propeller unit. There is a cradle on the bottom of each nacelle to accommodate the retractable two-wheeled main landing gear legs.

The nose has a short two-wheeled landing gear leg. The plane is relatively low off the ground, allowing better access to the fuselage and cargo area.

Like other similarly classified aircraft, the Fokker 50/60 series achieves its STOL mass through a proven high monoplane wing layout, which provides the necessary balance between lift and drag. The elevated nature of the monoplane also ensures excellent ground clearance for rotating propeller blades and ground crews moving outside the aircraft.

Throughout its life cycle, the aircraft was powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW125B or PW127B turboprop engines, each delivering up to 2,500 hp. The maximum attainable speed is 350 mph and the cruising speed is 330 mph.

Range is up to 1,280 miles on internal fuel, with service capped at 25,000 feet.

The main brands in the aforementioned series, the Fokker 50 and the Fokker 60, each have spawned sub-variants. The former is divided into "F27 Mark 050" and "F27 Mark 0502", and the internal layout of the Mark 0502 is different.

The latter "F27 Mark 0604" product differs in that it is powered by a PW127B turboprop engine, has a longer fuselage with a higher MTOW, and an oversized cargo door for easy loading and unloading of cargo.

The versatility of this family of aircraft has allowed it to quickly enter a variety of markets: passenger aircraft, air force transport and special mission platforms, naval aviation, law enforcement/border patrol and special agency transport although it is produced in comparable numbers of several hundred aircraft Moderate.