Fairchild Hiller FH-227

Encyclopedia : F : FA : FAI : Fairchild Hiller FH-227

A Fairchild-Hiller FH-227B "The City of Glens Falls" of the defunct Mohawk Airlines, circa 1970.

The Fairchild Hiller FH-227 was a United States-made version of the Fokker F27 Friendship twin-engined turboprop passenger aircraft manufactured under license by Fairchild Hiller. It is superficially similar to the Friendship, though a closer look at the fuselage shows that the FH-227 has a larger cargo area between the cockpit and the passenger area.

History

Probably the closest to being the fabled DC-3 replacement, the Fokker F-27 Friendship, including the Fairchild built F-27 and FH-227, was built in greater numbers than any other western turboprop airliner.

The Fokker F-27 began life as a 1950 design study known as the P275, a 32 seater powered by two RollsRoyce Dart turboprops. With the aid of Dutch government funding the P275 evolved into the F-27, which first flew on November 24, 1955. This original prototype was powered by Dart 507s and would have seated 28, by the time the second prototype had flown (in January 1957) the fuselage length grew to allow seating for 32.

By this stage Fokker had signed an agreement that would see Fairchild build Friendships in the USA. The first aircraft to enter service was in fact a Fairchild built F-27, in September 1958.

Fairchild F-27s differed from the initial Fokker F-27 Mk 100s in having basic seating for 40, a lengthened nose capable of housing a weather radar, and additional fuel capacity.

Developments included the Mk 200/F-27A with more powerful engines, Mk 300/F-27B and primarily military Mk 400 Combi versions, the Mk 500 with a 1.50 m (4 ft 11 in) fuselage stretch taking seating to 52, and Mk 600 quick change freight/passenger aircraft.

Fairchild independently developed the stretched FH-227, which appeared almost two years earlier than the Mk 500. The FH-227 featured a 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) stretch over standard length F-27/F-27s, taking standard seating to 52.

Production

581 F-27s, 128 F-27s and 78 FH-227s built. Fokker production comprised 85 Mk 100s, 138 Mk 200s, 13 Mk 300s, 218 Mk 400 & 600s, 112 Mk 500s and six F-27MPA Maritimes. 290 Fokker-built and 25 Fairchild aircraft in service in late 1998. Additionally, approximately 25 were used as corporate transports

Specifications (FH-227E)

General characteristics

Crew: two
Capacity: 52 seats at 79 cm (31 in) pitch, or a maximum of 56.
Length: 83 ft 8 in (25.50 m)
Wingspan: 95 ft 2 in (29.00 m)
Height: 27 ft 7 in (8.41 m)
Wing area: 753 ft² (70.0 m²)
Empty: 22,923 lb (10,398 kg)
Loaded: lb ( kg)
Maximum takeoff: 45,500 lb (20,600 kg)
Powerplant: 2x Rolls-Royce Dart Mk 5327Ls turboprops, 2,300 shp (1,715 kW) each

Performance