VFW-Fokker 614

Infobox Aircraft
name = VFW 614

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caption = VFW 614 of Air Alsace at Basle Airport in 1977
type = Regional jet
manufacturer = Fokker VFW
designer =
first flight = 14 July avyear|1971
introduced = August avyear|1975
retired =
status =
primary user = Luftwaffe
more users = Touraine Air Transport Air Alsace Cimber Air
produced =
number built =
unit cost =
developed from =
variants with their own articles =

The VFW-Fokker 614 (also VFW 614) was a twin-engined jetliner designed and built in West Germany. It was produced in small quantities by VFW-Fokker in the early- to mid-1970s, and originally intended as a DC-3 replacement. Its most distinctive feature was that its engines were mounted in pods on pylons above, rather than below, the wing.

Design and development

The VFW 614 is often described as being ahead of its time. It was a brave but in the end unsuccessful attempt to build and market a small capacity regional jet, a market sector that has developed only recently with the strong sales of aircraft such as the Canadair CRJs and Embraer ERJs.

The VFW 614 was originally proposed in 1961 by the Entwicklungsring Nord (ERNO) group, comprising Focke-Wulf, Hamburger Flugzeugbau (HFB) and Weser as the E.614, a 36-40 seat aircraft powered by two Lycoming PLF1B-2 turbofans. West German industry was subsequently reorganised and Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke (VFW) was established at Bremen. Development of what was now the VFW 614 continued.

In 1968, the project was given the go-ahead, with 80 percent of the backing coming from the West German Government. Full scale production was approved in 1970, by which time VFW had merged with Fokker (a somewhat unhappy arrangement which lasted for only ten years). Also risk sharing agreements had been concluded with SIAT in Germany, Fairey and SABCA in Belgium and Shorts in the UK. Final assembly of the aircraft would be done in Bremen.

The first of three prototypes flew on July 14, 1971. The aircraft was revealed to be of unconventional configuration, with two quiet, smoke-free, but untested M45H turbofans mounted on pylons above the wings. This arrangement was used to avoid the structural weight penalties of rear mounted engines and the potential ingestion problems of engines mounted under the wings, and allowed a short and sturdy undercarriage, specially suited for operations from poorly prepared runways.

Development of the aircraft was protracted and orders slow to materialise, despite a strong marketing campaign. The orders situation was not helped by Rolls-Royce's bankruptcy in 1971 which threatened the supply of engines. [ [http://www.fokkerf27.nl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=51&Itemid=39&limit=1&limitstart=2&lang=en F27 Friendship Association - VFW 614 History ] ] Also, a prototype was lost in February 1972 due to elevator flutter, worsening the order situation. By February 1975 only 10 had been ordered. The first production VFW-614 flew in April 1975 and was delivered to Denmark's Cimber airlines 4 months later.

Operational history

Only three airlines and the Luftwaffe operated new VFW 614s. [Jackson, 196. p. 62.] Three aircraft were flown but never delivered, and four airframes were broken-up before completion. The program was officially cancelled in 1977, and the last unsold aircraft flew in July 1978. Most aircraft had been disposed of by 1981, with the manufacturer buying the aircraft and simultaneously ending support of the aircraft.Fact|date=March 2007 Thereafter, only the Luftwaffe aircraft remained in service, being disposed of in 1999.

Operators

;DEN
* Cimber Air - 2 aircraft;FRA
* Air Alsace - 3 aircraft
* Touraine Air Transport - 8 aircraft;FRG
* Luftwaffe - Three aircraft

urvivors

There is a VFW 614 on display in the Deutsches Museum in Munich, another on the visitor's terrace at Bremen Airport, and a third is on display at the Technikmuseum Speyer.

pecifications (VFW 614)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?= plane
jet or prop?= jet
ref= The Observer's Book of Aircraft, 1976. [Green 1976, p. 214.]
crew=Two
capacity=40-44 passengers in 4 abreast seating
payload main=
payload alt=
length main= 20.60 m
length alt= 67 ft 7 in
span main= 21.50 m
span alt= 70 ft 6.5 in
height main= 7.82 m
height alt= 25 ft 8 in
area main= 64.0 m²
area alt= 689 ft²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 12,179 kg
empty weight alt= 26,850 lb
loaded weight main=
loaded weight alt=
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main= 19,958 kg
max takeoff weight alt= 44,000 lb
more general=

engine (jet)= Rolls-Royce/Snecma M45H Mk. 501
type of jet= turbofan engines
number of jets= 2
thrust main= 33.2kN
thrust alt= 7,473 lbf

max speed main=704 km/h
max speed alt= 380 knots, 437 mph
cruise speed main= 722 km/h
cruise speed alt= 449 mph
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
range main= 1,195 km
range alt= 645 nm, 743 mi
range more=with 40 passengers
ceiling main= 7,620 m
ceiling alt= 25,000 ft
climb rate main= 945 m/min
climb rate alt= 3,100 ft/min
loading main=
loading alt=
thrust/weight=
more performance=
avionics=

ee also

aircontent
related=

similar aircraft=

lists=
* List of airliners

see also=

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Green, William. "The Observer's Book of Aircraft". London. Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd., 1976. ISBN 0-7232-1553-7
* Jackson, Paul A. "German Military Aviation 1956-1976". Hinckley, Leicestershire, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1976. ISBN 0-904597-03-2.

External links

* [http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?aircraft_genericsearch=VFW-Fokker%20VFW-614&distinct_entry=true Airliners.net photos]
* [http://www.vfw614.de/index2_e.html Friends of the VFW-614]
* [http://www.flug-revue.rotor.com/FRHeft/FRH0110/FR0110g.htm Flug-Revue Online]
* [http://www1.airpics.com/search/search.php?string=Fokker+%2F+VFW+614&si=0&st=4&count=10 Airpics.com photos]