Fokker 70

Development

During November 1992, the Fokker company of the Netherlands commenced development of a new airliner intended to replace the aging Fokker F28 airliner with a more modern and fuel efficient aircraft. The specification for the Fokker 70 was shaped by requirements outlined by several airlines, which had determined that both the Fokker 50 and ATR 42 were too small, while the Boeing 737 and MD-80 were deemed to be too large. By aiming for this sector of the market, Fokker had opted to compete for the highly competitive top end of the regional airliner market.

To ease its development of such an airliner, Fokker opted to use the newly-developed Fokker 100 as a basis, shrinking it by the elimination of various sections of the fuselage to reduce the plane's total length by 4.62 metres (15.2 ft), while features such as the wings and tail unit were relatively untouched. In line with these specifications, the aircraft had a maximum capacity for 80 passengers; however, this was reduced to a maximum of 70 passenger for airliners sold within the U.S. market in order to comply with "scope clause" requirements rather than any Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) mandates relating to its certification.

On 4 April 1993, the Fokker 70 performed its maiden flight from the company's manufacturing base at Woensdrecht in southern Netherlands, which had a duration of three hours. During the test flight programme, trials were carried out at Granada in Spain in support of steep approach certification. During July 1994, the first production standard aircraft made its first flight. On 14 October 1994, type certification was granted for the Fokker 70 (as Fokker 28 Mk. 0070), while the first delivery to a customer (made to the Ford Motor Company in an "Executive Jet" configuration) occurred later that same month.

As had been announced at the Paris Air Show in June 1993, the launch customer for the Fokker 70 was the now-defunct Indonesian airline, Sempati Air and Pelita Air. During March 1995, Sempati became the first airline to receive a Fokker 70. In November 1993, it was announced that British Midland International (BMI) had agreed terms for the long-term lease of five Fokker 70s, and had thus become the first European airline to order the Fokker 70. The first US customer was Mesa Airlines, which ordered a pair of airliners in December 1993. By August 1995, 10 Fokker 70s had reportedly been delivered, while orders for 42 more were reportedly held by the company.

During April 1997, the final Fokker 70 was delivered, at which point the production line was closed down as a result of Fokker's bankruptcy during the previous year. A total of 47 Fokker 70s were completed during its relatively short production life. Despite the original production run of the Fokker 70 having been brought to an end, efforts to restore the company and its products have been made by Rekkof ("Fokker" spelt backwards). Since 1999, it has made protracted efforts to negotiate the re-opening of both the Fokker 100 and Fokker 70 lines.

Design

The Fokker 70 is a narrow-body, twin-engined, medium-range regional airliner. It is powered by a pair of Rolls-Royce Tay 620 turbofan engines, positioned at either side of the aircraft and mounted on the rear fuselage; each engine is capable of providing up to 61.6 kN (13,849 lb) of thrust. The weight varies from 22,673 kilograms (49,985 lb) when empty to 41,730 kilograms (92,000 lb) at maximum takeoff weight (MTOW). The Fokker 70 is equipped with an airbrake fitted upon its tail section, in a somewhat similar arrangement to that found on the competing British Aerospace 146, which allows it to conform with the 5.5° glide slope to perform steep descents, as required at London City Airport. It is outfitted with a similar avionics suite to that of the Fokker 100.

During the first two decades of operations, there were multiple incidents of ice having formed on the leading edge of the wing; during January 2009, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued a mandate that all Fokker 70s and Fokker 100s operated in Europe would be required to be outfitted with on-ground heating apparatus to counteract ice formation. Early on, safety-critical issues with the aircraft's thrust reversers were uncovered; in December 1996, Fokker instructed all operators to conduct inspections.

Operational history

The vast majority of Fokker 70s were delivered to various operators in the European market. One early customer for the Fokker 70 was the Dutch flag carrier KLM, who opted to replace its remaining Fokker F28s with the type. The company's regional airline subsidiary KLM Cityhopper operated the Fokker 70 for numerous years; on 28 October 2017, the final flight of a KLM Fokker 70 was conducted. The Italian flag carrier Alitalia at one point had 15 Fokker 70s on order via leasing agreements for its subsidiary Avianova; on 20 December 1995, the first example was put into revenue service. However, its operations of the type would be relatively brief; by February 1997, the company had decided to return its fleet.