Today, January 16, marks 50 years since the arrival of the first Fokker F-28 Mk.1000C acquired by the Argentine Air Force.
On January 13, 1975, plane identified TC-51 (cn.11076) departed from Schippol-Amsterdam. After making stops in Las Palmas and Recife, it landed at the El Palomar Air Base on January 16. The plane was in charge of Vicecommodore Oscar González.
Along with the other four examples, the TC-51 was part of the II Squadron of the I Transport Group of the I Air Brigade of El Palomar.
The TC-53 (cn.11020) is currently in service, an aircraft that on January 8, 2025 made a flight from El Palomar to Rosario. Among other activities, the aircraft is involved in the inter-base service known as STAM. Without a doubt, it`s one of the few Fokker F-28s in world service and it is surely the oldest in service.
“The plastic plane” by Walter Bentancor
I believe in destiny and the coincidence of things... that inexplicable mystery that occurs when the universe conspires to make things happen...
I spent my childhood and part of my adolescence in Ciudad Jardín, Lomas de El Palomar in a charming apartment that my parents rented on Los Pensamientos street. From his balcony he observed the flights of the planes of the I Air Brigade. My entertainment wasn't much... building model airplanes, playing soccer in the pasture, playing plastic cars with plasticine and a spoon, and sorting through the bottoms of the different buildings, among a few other things.
My room was shared with my sister, so we had divided it between airplanes hanging from the ceiling and dolls.
My father worked at the Banco Provincia of El Palomar, near Buenos Aires, every month he brought me a treasure... the Aeroespacio magazine, whose centerpiece was the most precious thing. "Ochoa, a non-commissioned officer from the Base, gave them to me," my father said.
Years later, 1989, the undersigned had to choose a plane after passing through the "chancha" (Note: the Lockheed C-130), there was not much to choose from: “La Foketa 27" (Note: the F-27) or the F-28 "the plastic plane". My Promotion Classmates turned to the first one, because in it they learned the ropes of the trade... in the second, it was more of a Commissioner's job. on board.
I chose the beloved F 28 that was part of Squadron II of Air Transport Group I, the Fellowship performed most of its functions, on LADE or STAM (Military Air Transport Service) flights. He did not go to Antarctica or even abroad (or on rare occasions), which did not make him attractive in terms of money.
I started flying...it was difficult to get the minimum number of flight hours, since being a fast plane, reaching six hours a month required flying at least three times a month.
Unfairly underappreciated, the F-28 fulfilled various missions: Passenger, Cargo, Medical and even became a fighter! In local or maintenance flights, many of the pilots were former hunters who were at the War School or in the Condor Building and flew the F 28 to complete their training. One maneuver was the famous "Dutch Roll" where we experienced "zero gravity."
I have beautiful memories, ……… and the best of all of them, I was able to take my father on a flight to Bariloche, I remember his excitement as if it were today….
There were two years in which the F-28 won my heart.
Ah!, going back to the beginning and the coincidences...guess who I made my first flight with in the F-28? With the then Chief Petty Officer Hugo Ochoa, the same one who sent me the Aeroespacio! magazines.
Sources: website “Aviones en Argentina”, book “Aerolíneas Series #10 Fokker F-28 Fellowship. Abella – Carballo – Rodríguez, editor Jorge Félix Núñez Padín”, “La Aventura de Volar. Brigadier Mayor (R) Rubén Palazzi Biblioteca Nacional de Aeronáutica”.
Thanks to Esteban Lerin, Jorge Aguirre, Vladimiro Cettolo, DAD Baires Photography and Walter Bentancor
