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The Fairchild-Dornier 328JET is 32 seat commuter jet airliner. After
Fairchild Aerospace had acquired the majority of Dornier in 1996, the
new formed company Fairchild-Dornier started in 1997 with the
development of the 328JET. The Fairchild-Dornier 328Jet was derived from
the Dornier 328 turboprop featuring two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW306B
turbofans instead of the turboprops. Next to the engines, only slight
modifications to the landing gear and wings were required to convert the
Dornier 328 into the 328JET model. The 328JET prototype D-BJET was
converted from the second 328 turboprop airframe and was flown first on
20 January 1998. Deliveries of the 328JET started in 1999. The
combined USA and German engineering team developed the new 428 model
based on the 328JET, but the project was turned down in 2001 when
Fairchild-Dornier ran into financial problems. In 2002, Fairchild Dornier
filed bankruptcy and the court appointed administrator determined that
the company had to be sold in pieces. The US company AvCraft Aviation
acquired the Fairchild-Dornier’s 328 program, including the 328JET
production line at Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. Next to 18
ready-to-deliver aircraft, and five in the final assembly stage, the
purchase included also the 428 intellectual properties.
AvCraft/Fairchild-Dornier restarted in 2004 the production of the
Fairchild Dornier 328JET. Early 2005 AvCraft Aerospace GmbH, the German
subsidiary of AvCraft Aviation responsible for the 328JET program was
declared insolvent at a German court at Weilsheim. In December 2005,
UK’s Corporate Jet Services Ltd purchased the former AvCraft Aerospace
GmbH. On 2 January 2006, Corporate Jet Services Ltd created the German
subsidiary 328 Support Services GmbH, headquartered at Oberpfaffenhofen.
It holds the type certificate of the Dornier 328 Jet and Turboprop
aircraft plus the Dornier 428, and is carrying on the worldwide support
of the aircraft. Part of the company’s strategy is to work towards
returning to service the Dornier 328 aircraft which are currently parked
in Europa and US. |
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The 2002-built Welcome Air' Fairchild-Dornier 328Jet-300 OE-LJR (ex. D-BDXJ) was delivered on 28 October 2002.
Next to the 328Jet, Welcome Air operates the Dornier 328-110 turboprop.
Fairchild-Dornier 328Jet-300 OE-LJR was photographed at the home base of Welcome Air, Innsbruck Airport Kranebitten in Austria. |
Luchtvaart déjà vu
