The Fokker F27 Friendship is a short to medium range aircraft powered by a pair of Rolls-Royce Dart turboprops. First flying on 24 November 1955, it is one of the most successful European planes ever produced.

It was designed as a replacement for piston-engine airliners such as the Douglas DC-3. The first airline operator was Ireland’s Aer Lingus, taking delivery of two aircraft on 19 November 1958, with first flights starting in December 1958.

Fokker F27 Friendship Video

Following on from the last video about the Tupolev Tu-204, we head west to the Netherlands to look at the Fokker F27. The video below was produced by the Fairchild Aircraft, who licence built the F27 in the United States. It runs for just over 8 minutes and you’d be hard pressed to know it was originally a Fokker product.

There are some interesting shots of the production line, first flight and more. It is well shot and produced, though the narrator is hardly full of pizzazz. There’s a second video below, which is a one minute excerpt from a longer production, showing the New Zealand National Airways Corporation (NAC) Fokker Friendship.

With some short cabin shots and, like the first video, mention of the unobstructed views from the windows, it is a little time capsule of a bygone era. The Rolls-Royce Dart engines make the plane have a very distinctive sound, one I remember from my childhood. The Vickers Viscount also had the same engines and a similar sound.

Overall Thoughts

A total of 583 Fokker F27 Friendships were produced in the Netherlands, with another 206 made in the USA by Fairchild. After Aer Lingus, Braathens S.A.F.E. and Trans-Australia Airlines took delivery next.

Production eventually ceased in 1987, which is when a hugely updated version called the Fokker 50 replaced it. There are just a handful of Fokker Friendships still flying today.

Did you ever get to fly on board the Fokker F27 or its Fairchild equivalent and what was it like? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Featured image via DiecastAircraftforum.com