The Fokker company was founded in 1912 by Anton Fokker. It lasted until March 1996, when it was declared bankrupt and sold in parts. During its existence, dozens of models of civilian and military aircraft were designed and built. In the period from 1920 to 1930, the company was dominant among such enterprises.
F50 - A More Successful Version of Friendship
Fokker 50 - one of the representatives of the family of civil airliners. The beginning of its creation was laid in 1983, at the same time the first projection developments were published. The model was the continuation of the successful F27 Friendship, which at that time was in operation for 25 years. It was expected that this would be just a modification of this liner, but the differences turned out to be significant. Therefore, the original version of the project name (F27-050) was revised. The plane received its own family number. And Friendship was discontinued.
In developing its aircraft, the company focused on reliability and safety. Often this increased the cost of projects. All models showed excellent wear resistance. The new Fokker 50th model received a turboprop engine, which allowed to gain greater fuel efficiency. The design of the screws helped to reduce noise during the flight.
Fokker of the 50th model made its first flight on December 28, 1985. Serial production began in 1987 and continued until 1996, when the company went bankrupt. During this time, more than two hundred Fokker 50s were produced. Photos of various variations are presented below in the article. A total of 220 copies were produced.
Fokker 50: basic features
The basic version of the aircraft was equipped with a digital variation of the avionic kit EDZ-806, manufactured in the USA by the company "Honeywell". 4 displays contain all the necessary flight data. There are warning sensors about breakdowns of various system nodes. Installed equipment, diagnostic equipment. The diameter of the screws having 6 blades is 3.66 m.
| Dimensions (in meters): |
| length | 25.24 |
| wingspan | 29.0 |
| wing area | 70.0 |
| height | 8.31 |
| maximum fuselage width | 2.7 |
| Dimensions of the passenger compartment (in meters): |
| length | 15.96 |
| width (max) | 2,5 |
| height (max) | 1.96 |
| Number of seats (per person): |
| crew | 2 |
| passengers (depending on version) | up to 58 |
| Weight characteristics (in tons): |
| empty mass | 12.52 |
| take-off | 19.95 |
| no fuel | 18.3 |
| Loads (in tons): |
| carrying capacity | 5.67 |
Various modifications of the Fokker 50
- 50-100 - version of the basic model of the aircraft, equipped with a PW125B engine and providing for a 4-door saloon.
- 50-120 - a variation that has 3 such doors.
- 50-300 - this version was supposed to be used in high mountain regions or having a hot climate. A PW127B engine was installed.
- 50-320 - from the 300th version differed in the number of doors in the cabin.
- 50-400 - the variation was only planned, but was never put into production. It was supposed that it will be designed for 68 seats. Also had to have a significantly enlarged fuselage.
| engine's type | 2 theater Pratt Whitney Canada PW125B (PW127B) |
| Power | 2 x 2500 (2750) l. from. |
| Cruising speed | 550 km / h |
| Range of flight | 1120 km |
| Take-off ceiling | 9.8 km |
| Diameter of six-bladed propellers | 3.66 m |
| Noise Levels (EPN dB): |
| take-off | 81 |
| side of the runway | 85 |
| landing | 96 |
Excellent technical data, a high degree of reliability and safety - all these are the characteristics of the Fokker 50. The layout of the basic modification is presented in the article.
- Cabin width - 2.5 m.
- The number of seats depends on the modification.
Fokker these days
Despite the fact that the release of this model stopped more than 20 years ago, it is not worth putting an end to the use of aircraft. They still serve the person, carrying goods and passengers.
Over the entire existence of the model, 12 accidents and breakdowns occurred. All cases have been investigated in detail. During inspections and analytical activities in almost all such cases, the fault of the crew or the personnel serving the aircraft was established. No technical issues were found. The liners showed a high share of wear resistance, reliability and safety.
Most copies are now operated by private individuals or small airlines on domestic flights of short length. Often there is a complete conversion for transportation of goods.
In Russia, the use of these aircraft was considered as a worthy replacement for the An-24. An obstacle is the lack of certification.
In the CIS countries are widely used on many lines. For example, they are currently spotted in AirAstana on the Astana-Pavlodar-Astana route.