tenthije
December 18, 2012 at 7:31 pm

Some Fokker/Rekkof updates.

Apparantly there was a presentation about the Fokker rebirth attempt at the Amsterdam aviation college jobs-fair. There is a brief bullet-point summary at the scramble.nl forum, but since that’s in Dutch, here’s some English translations. I was not there, so don’t ask me for more details! :p

The updated Fokker will be designated F120 and F90. The F120 designation is old news, the F90 designation is new for me.
The new plane will feature P&W engines. The engines, mounts and nacelles have been designed and are undergoing testing.
The engines are the same as those that will be used on Mitsubishi’s MRJ.
Last november NG Aircraft bought PH-MKH / msn: 11242. In-house designation is Q-001. It will be converted into the prototype.
Serious interest is shown by Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa, Qantas, IndiGo, Virgin Australia and other parties.
Prototype wings will be build early 2015. Later that year also new engines, mid 2016 updated avionics. (Admittedly the dates make little sense to me when combined with the statement that engines testing has apparantly started already, but that’s what it says at Scramble)
Mid 2015 to mid 2016 test flights with prototype.
Last quarter 2017 test flights with production planes.
Operating costs of the F120 are expected to be the same as a 90 seater.
Based on the 125 seat F120 model, the cost per seatmile roughly same as a 150 seater.
F120 to have a range of 2100NM, F90 a range of 2200NM.
Design and development work is about 75% done.

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By: Spiteful - 22nd December 2012 at 09:24

But this is a Rekkof, not Fokker – 2 seperate companies I believe.

Also, apart from the fuselage, what would be common? New wings, avionics, engines – still a lot to be proven from a customers perspective.

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By: seahawk - 21st December 2012 at 11:07

That is interesting but 2017 sounds a bit late for an up-dated F100 to enter the market. It will face the CSeries and probably also the up-dated E-Series as well the as the MRJ. On the other hand Fokker has a proven track record and a functioning support system.

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By: tenthije - 19th December 2012 at 20:15

Is KLM interested in the F90/F120?

KLM is neither mentioned nor hinted at.

I am surprised by the interest of Qantas.

Remeber that through partner Network Aviation there are several F100s flying on the Qantas network. In fact, several more are due for delivery.

Was Avianca not a big user of the F100?

They are retiring theirs, if they have not finished retiring them already. Last time I was at Woensdrecht there were seven Avianca F100s stored there (incl 1x Avianca Brazil). That was in May 17th, you can see a photo review here.

I wonder what the incentive for airlines are to wait longer for something – presumably – that isn’t going to better a clean-sheet design.

Bare in mind that the Fokker has a proven track record, and if very light for a plane its size. Lighter for instance then the E-190 family and from what I’ve heard lighter then the proposed C-series. A trade-off of that lower weight is that the Fokker’s range is less. For some airlines that will be a deal-breaker, for others it won’t be of concern.

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By: ThreeSpool - 19th December 2012 at 19:56

It is good to hear that the project has been progressing, but I was wondering if you had any more information? :diablo:

Is KLM interested in the F90/F120? I am surprised by the interest of Qantas. Was Avianca not a big user of the F100?

The C Series is expected to fly June 2013, with deliveries at the end of 2013. I wonder what the incentive for airlines are to wait longer for something – presumably – that isn’t going to better a clean-sheet design.

All we need now is for BAE Systems to re-engine the Avro RJ. 😀