The first major civil aircraft designed and built by Fokker after WW II was the F27. During 1950, Fokker determined what operators would like for a DC-3 replacement, and they developed the P.275 concept, with a shoulder-height wing, powered by a pair of turboprops. By 1953, this had developed into the F27 with Rolls-Royce Dart engines, seating 32 passengers in a pressurized cabin and capable of operating from small airfields. The Dutch government was so confident that Fokker had a winner that they funded the production of two flying and two test aircraft. The prototype flew on November 24, 1955, and the project soon began to yield orders. Fairchild Aircraft also saw the planes potential, and secured a license-production agreement for airlines in the United States. The Fairchild machines had a longer nose for weather radar, extra fuel tankage, American instrumentation, and seating for up to 40. This version received its FAA Type Approval on July 16, 1958. The F27/F-27 went on to become the best selling turboprop aircraft, with over 700 built.
The intial type was followed by the F27 Mk 200/F-27A, with uprated engines, and then the Mk300/F-27B with freighter features. The first major change was made in the F27 Mk 500, which had a fuselage stretch of almost 5 feet, while Fairchild developed the FH-227, which instead stretched the fuselage by 6 feet. F-27's were very popular with the smaller regional and local airlines as DC-3 and Convair/Martin replacements. They were very reliable, and many passengers enjoyed the fine views from the large windows unimpeded by the wing. Many F-27's are still in service today, and manufacture of this popular plane was extended by the development of the Fokker 50, with new engines and avionics. However, the closure of the Fokker company seems to have finally ended the story of this fine aircraft, although those examples flying today give good evidence of this fine aircraft's longevity.
FS2002 FSAviator Flight Dynamics upgrade package available!(for planes created before 6/9/03)
FS2004 Flight Dynamics upgrade package available! (for planes not on this page using Mike Stone's F.27)
Indicates
I built and painted the plane (with Rob Bennis' collaboration), or I painted
Mike Stone's F.27.
Indicates
someone else painted my plane - thanks!
FS2004
Pacific Air Lines F-27A. I've painted Mike Stone's F.27 into the colors
of a Pacific F-27A, a California regional airline. Pacific was later merged
into Air West, which was bought by Howard Hughes and called Hughes Airwest,
and was eventually merged into Republic and then into Northwest. I saw
many of these when I was a kid in Sacramento. Also includes an updated
panel by Matthias Lieberecht. Last updated on 6/19/07. FS2002
version by Rob Bennis and Tom Gibson. Last modified on 8/26/02. FS2000/FS98
version. Last modified on 6/11/00.
FS2004 Pacific Airlines F-27A. Gary Harper has painted up Mike
Stone's F-27 in the later gray and red colors of Pacific. Thanks! Textures
only - you must also download the base
F.27 Mk 200 from Mike Stone. Last updated on 1/5/07.
FS2004
West Coast Airlines F-27. I've repainted Mike Stone's F.27 into the
interesting color scheme of West Coast Airlines. West Coast was a regional
airline serving Washington, Oregon, and Northern California. It was another
component of the Air West merger, but this is how I remember the F-27's. Dave
McQueen graciously furnished a photo to get this job done - thanks, Dave! You
must also download the Pacific Air Lines version above to get
the updated panel by Matthias Lieberecht. Last updated
on 6/19/07. FS2002 version by
Tom Gibson and Rob Bennis. Last modified on 8/26/02. FS2000/FS98
version. Last modified on 6/11/00.
FS2004 Air West F-27 Friendship
(Blue/Mustard). I've finished painting up the four Air West original
paint schemes, and this is the first, a blue/mustard combination. While
this paint job doesn't look unusual today (in fact, it looks just like one of
many), this was one of the first white fuselage schemes, resulting from the
merger of Pacific, West Coast, and Bonanza Air Lines in 1968. For that
time, the paint job was considered radical, but was eventually emulated by many
of the world's airlines. You must also download the Pacific
Air Lines version above to get the updated panel by Matthias
Lieberecht. Last updated on 6/19/07. FS2002
version by Tom Gibson and Rob Bennis. Last modified on 8/26/02.
FS2000/FS98 version. Last modified on
6/11/00.
FS2004 Air West F-27 Friendship
(Green/Blue). Here's another of the four schemes, once thought to
be very avant garde. You must also download the Pacific
Air Lines version above to get the updated panel by Matthias
Lieberecht. Last updated on 6/19/07. FS2002
version by Tom Gibson and Rob Bennis. Last modified on 8/26/02.
FS2000/FS98 version. Last modified on
6/11/00.
FS2004 Air West F-27 Friendship
(Mustard /Orange). Actually my first Air West paint job from long
ago, this paint job was quite revolutionary back in the late '60's. Dave
McQueen supplied a photo for this paint job - thanks, Dave! You must
also download the Pacific Air Lines version above to get the
updated panel by Matthias Lieberecht. Last updated
on 6/19/07. FS2002 version by Tom Gibson
and Rob Bennis. Last modified on 8/26/02. FS2000/FS98
version. Last modified on 6/11/00.
FS2004 Air West F-27 Friendship
(Pink/Orange). The final Air West scheme was pink and orange - very
bright! You must also download the Pacific Air
Lines version above to get the updated panel by Matthias Lieberecht.
Last updated on 6/19/07. FS2002
version by Tom Gibson and Rob Bennis. Last modified on 8/26/02.
FS2000 version. Last modified on 6/11/00.
FS2004 Hughes AirWest F-27.
After the Air West merger, the airline went through some lean times.
Howard Hughes decided to dabble in the airline business again after losing
control of TWA, and bought Air West, which became Hughes Airwest. This
plane is in the "banana" paint scheme, after Hughes took over Air West,
but before merger into Republic (which was bought by Northwest). This
has to be one of the brightest paint jobs ever - check out the futuristic lettering
under the windows - in blue/purple! Dave McQueen provided photos for this
paint job - thanks, Dave! You must also download the Pacific
Air Lines version above to get the updated panel by Matthias
Lieberecht. Last updated on 6/19/07. FS2002
version by Tom Gibson and Rob Bennis. Last modified on 8/26/02.
FS2000 version. Last modified on 6/11/00.
FS2002
Bonanza Air Lines F-27A. Henry William has repainted the Mike Stone
F-27 into the southern component of the Air West merger, Bonanza. Basing
much of their operations out of Las Vegas, Bonanza's Silver Darts served the
Southwest, including all of Southern California. Last updated on 3/14/05.
Texture modification by
Tom Gibson (corrects logo slant on right side of the tail (original pictured
above). FS2002 version by Tom Gibson and Rob
Bennis. Last modified on 8/26/02. FS2000/FS98
version. Last modified on 6/11/00.
FS2004 Connect Air F-27A. I've painted up this incredibly bright
paint job of Connect Air, a small airline that flew between Los Angeles and
Santa Barbara around 1984. Textures only - you must also download the
base F.27 Mk 200 from Mike Stone
and the Pacific Air Lines version above to get the updated
panel by Matthias Lieberecht. Last updated on 3/27/05.
FS2002 West Coast Airlines
F-27 1967. Here is the F-27 that I've painted into the later jet delivery
colors of West Coast - enjoy! Last modified on 8/26/02. FS2000/FS98
version. Last modified on 3/18/01.
FS2000
Federal Express F27-500 Friendship. Rob Bennis has modified my F-27
into an F27-500, added moving parts, and painted it into the white color of
FedEx. These are used to pick up packages and take them to regional centers
for later transport to the central hub. Thanks! Last updated 3/5/00.
FS98 version by Harry Follas. Thanks,
Harry! Last updated on 7/17/99.