Fokker 100

Design

The F28 Mark 0100, "Fokker 100", is based on the Fokker F28 Mark 4000 re-engined with two Rolls-Royce RB.183 Tay high bypass-ratio turbofans and a fuselage stretched by 5.74 m (18.83 ft).

Its wing is wider by 3.0 m (9.8 ft), has new flaps and larger ailerons, and its extended leading and trailing edges improve aerodynamics and increase the wing chord.

The landing gear is strengthened and has new wheels and brakes, and the horizontal stabilizer is widened by 1.4 m (4.6 ft).

Maximum weights are increased, while fuel capacity, maximum speed, and ceiling remain the same, and passenger capacity went from 85 to 109.

The flight deck went digital with a flight management system, an autopilot/flight director including CAT III autoland, thrust management system, electronic flight instrument displays, and full ARINC avionics.

The new wing was claimed to be 30% more efficient in cruise, while retaining the simplicity of a fixed leading edge. The cockpit was updated with a Rockwell Collins DU-1000 electronic flight instrument system. The Fokker 100 retained the twin rear fuselage-mounted engines and T-tail configuration of the Fokker Fellowship, like the Douglas DC-9 family. The F100 lacks the auxiliary overhead windows above the cockpit wind shields of the F28.

Development

A type certificate was applied for on 25 March 1983. The program was announced in 1983 and a pair of prototypes were constructed. On 30 November 1986, the first prototype, PH-MKH, flew for the first time, while the second, PH-MKC, followed on 25 February 1987.

The variant was approved on 20 November 1987. In February 1988, the first deliveries of the Tay 620-15-powered versions started to Swissair. Major customers included American Airlines with 75 ordered, TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais with 50, and USAir with 40, their aircraft powered by the more powerful Tay 650-15. The March 1989 American Airlines order, valued at an estimated US$3.1 billion (equivalent to $8.05 billion in 2025), was not only the largest single order ever placed at Fokker, but also the largest-ever order for a Dutch company.

During the early 1990s, Fokker and DASA explored a commercial relationship for regional aircraft. DASA purchased 40% of Fokker in 1993. By 1995, though, both Fokker and DASA were suffering financial difficulties, leading to DASA leaving the regional aircraft market. In June 1996, DASA sold the majority of Dornier to Fairchild Aircraft, leading to the creation of Fairchild Dornier, emerging as the third-largest regional aircraft manufacturer.

Although the Fokker 100 was successful, Fokker accumulated losses for several years, contributing to its collapse in 1996. Fokker 100 production stopped in early 1997.

Potential revival

Discussions regarding the potential for either portions or the entirety of Fokker being purchased by Bombardier Inc. are known to have taken place, but talks ultimately fell through without a deal being reached. Dutch firm Stork B.V. has since acquired the maintenance business for the type and has since been providing services to existing operators, having adopted the name Fokker Aviation. Like any number of regional airliner designs, the Fokker 70/100 was being increasingly squeezed from below by stretched versions of the Bombardier and Embraer regional jets; this intense competitive pressure had also been responsible for killing off plans for the Fairchild Dornier 728 family, along with an unnamed design being considered by ATR. At one point, a proposal was made for a stretched version of the Fokker 100, known as the Fokker 130, however this was never built.

In 1999, an Amsterdam-based group, Rekkof Restart (Rekkof is Fokker spelled backwards), announced it had entered into negotiations with the intention of reopening both the Fokker 70 and 100 lines. During the 2000s, the Netherlands Aircraft Company (otherwise known as NG Aircraft) was formed for the purpose of restarting production, although the ambition has suffered some delays, including some false starts. In March 2010, NG Aircraft stated that it had securing funding from the Ministry of Economic Affairs to adapt an existing Fokker 100 to serve as a prototype for a planned improved new-build series; that same month, the company announced its interest in converting existing aircraft to a proposed new-build equivalent standard, in addition to its primary focus of constructing wholly new Fokker 100s. In March 2011, it was announced that the government of Brazil had formed a partnership for the revival of the Fokker 100.

In July 2014, Maarten Van Eeghen, chief executive of NG Aircraft, revealed more details about the pending revival and the new generation of aircraft that would be produced. Dubbed the F120NG, it would be a new-build aircraft, seating a maximum of 125 to 130 passengers, that would be essentially a stretched model of the base Fokker 100. It would adopt a new powerplant, the Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1X17G turbofan engine rated at 17,600 lb thrust, which is claimed to result in the new-generation airliner burning 50% less fuel per seat than the original Fokker 100.