Fokker Fellowship: Flying in the Fokker F-28 Fellowship

By Lars Smithuis and Marieke Hoiting (LaMa Aviation)

Hi!

We are Lars Smithuis and Marieke Hoiting, together known as LaMa Aviation, based in the Netherlands. Our shared passion for aviation brought us together in 2015 during our studies at the Aviation Academy in Amsterdam. Since then, we have been exploring the fascinating world of aviation together and sharing our experiences through our website, Instagram, and YouTube channel.

Professionally, we are both active in the aviation industry. Lars works at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol as a ground handler and pushback/ tow tug driver, while Marieke has gained experience in the private aviation sector.

With more and more classic aircraft being ticked off in our flight log, there was one little Fokker still on our wishlist for some years. We have flown the Fokker 50 twice now with Air Antwerp and BRA, the Fokker 70 with KLM and most recently Fokker 100 with Carpatair. We even flew the Fokker S.11 Instructor twice. You could tell, we like our Fokkers. And rightfully so, as they are well built aircraft that will always bring a smile to you face, no matter if you're an avgeek or not.

Over the years, we learned that there still are some Fokker F28 Fellowships still in use by some governments and militaries. For example, the Colombian Fellowship FAC1041 visited Woensdrecht Air Base for a big maintenance visit two years ago. That is also when we learned that the Argentine Air Force still operated two Fokker F28-1000C in their fleet, and that these planes - which were recently overhauled - were aimed to also be used for the LADE, Líneas Aéreas del Estado. The news that LADE would operate the F28 meant that one would be able to book tickets to ride them. Now the questions arose: when, and how?

Challenge 1: booking tickets

Over the years, we gained quite the experience in booking airline tickets. However, the website from LADE is not your average airline website. The first question that came to mind was, are foreigners even allowed on these flights, as these are active military aircraft? And then, on what routes do the Fokkers operate and when? Luckily, contact with LADE is quite easy through two WhatsApp numbers, and with our skills in Spanish being almost non-existent, they try their best to communicate in English too. That is how we learned that the schedule for the Fokker F28 is known two months in advance at a maximum, and that flights currently only operate a single route out of Buenos Aires with some stops. Besides, the flight only operates on a few days per month, only on Mondays or Thursdays. So, not even all Mondays and Thursdays..

This made planning quite the challenge. Usually for a big trip like this, we like to plan at least 6 months ahead. However, as the Fokker F28 flight would be the main goal for this trip, we cannot plan anything until we secured ourselves a ticket with LADE. Now, when shall we fly?

With a rough period set, we reached out to LADE again with the question when the schedule for that period would be known. With FIDAE happening from 9 till 14 April, our aim was set for late March or April. The response was that the schedule should be known by the end of January. Schedule and tickets should pop up on the website, they said. As all this planning started in summer 2023, the big waiting game had begun. Just to tell you a little bit about ourselves: we are bad at that. When a small seed has planted, we would like to explore all the possibilities and book as soon as we can. But all of that had to wait, as we did not even have a flight date to plan everything around..

Fast-forward to January 2024. We again contacted LADE with the question if there would be a flight schedule known already. Then we learned that this schedule would be known no earlier than the last weeks of February. Bummer, but they could assure me that the route would still be the one route out of Buenos Aires. In the meantime, the LADE website, which was previously accessible just fine, was now only showing white, and could only be entered through a relocated VPN. This made keeping track of the site for the exact dates a bit more of a challenge.

However, in the meantime, our contact with LADE through WhatsApp had grown a little more informal and friendly, and the lady from LADE send me the schedule for the F28 on 15 February. Now, we knew which dates it would fly in April. They would fly on 1, 11, 15, 25 and 29 April. With the dates of FIDAE in mind, we finally set the date for our Fokker flight. Monday 15 April. That is the goal. Next step: buy those tickets!

Then, there was that Friday night mid-February. We again had WhatsApp contact with LADE and they told us that that night, the tickets should go on sale. Constantly refreshing, and just as the guy from LADE said, just around midnight in The Netherlands, the tickets went on sale! Adrenaline rushing through our veins as we worked our way through the steps. Payment was a bit of a hurdle as the site collapsed several times, but then, finally, we had our tickets!

Seat reservation and check-in would only be possible at the counter, but for now, we could move on with planning this magnificent adventure. Step one ticked off, let's do this! We are going to South America!

The Flight: Fokker F28 Fellowship Feast!

We are now in Buenos Aires. We check the weather, and it looks like shit. The clouds are covering the buildings across Avenida 9 de Julio. Oh well, it is sunny above the clouds, right? And we are true Dutchies, we are used to our rain, right? We park our car at the Jorge Newbery airport and head to the terminal for the check-in. As LADE is a military organization, the check-in is done by military staff. Online check-in is not available, so we made sure we were first in line for the check-in. The man and woman behind the desk appreciate our efforts, and give us first choice on our seats. They even make sure that we have the entire row for ourselves! Then, we get a piece of paper which looks like a cash receipt, but it actually is our boarding pass. We are told not (!) to go through security, but to report back at the desk in about 45 minutes, as this flight is handled as a private flight.

So, we decide to give ourselves some breakfast before we embark on this epic journey. We report at the desk, and the military check-in agent collects all the ID cards (DNI in Argentina) and our passports. Then, when everyone is complete, we walk to the staff security area. Here we get our passports back and once we passed the security filter, we board a bus to take us to the aircraft.

The bus takes us a couple of stands further, where between the raindrops our grey Fokker F28 Fellowship TC-52 patiently was waiting for us. When boarding, one should notice the welcome floormat which shows the name Fokker and the registration. Such a cool feature! The flight- and cabin crew welcome us on board and we take our seats. We notice that for the number of passengers, the number of cabin crew is fairly large, around five attendants! We are impressed by the professionalism and friendliness of all the (military) staff. Then, it shows how smooth the routine is with LADE, as when boarding is completed, the door shuts and in no-time we push back and the Rolls Royce Spey engines start to play their music.

The weather is still crappy as the engines spool up and the Fellowship thunders down runway 13 at Aeroparque. Slowly, we rotate and with some nice fog blankets over the wings we enter the clouds. We do not climb high enough to actually go over the thick cloud layer, so we have to enjoy ourselves with looking at the engine and wing. Which is not a problem, given that this truly is a flying time machine. We also take our time to chat with the cabin crew. We hand over some Dutch Stroopwafels and a framed cartoon print of TC-52 to them. All in all, we have a great time.

The flight from Aeroparque to Bariloche has two stops on its way, in Mar del Plata and Bahía Blanca. We bought tickets for Bahía Blanca for multiple reasons. First, the turnaround at Bariloche would be very short, which would mean that we needed to hurry to get back on the aircraft. Secondly, if we leave the plane at Bahía Blanca, we will see it depart and arrive back again, so we can see our plane also in action from the outside, which would not be the case in Bariloche. Lastly, in Bahía Blanca there is a naval aviation museum which also houses a Fokker F28, so that would be nice to visit as well during our layover.

It is a short hop, less than an hour of flying before we already descent into Mar del Plata. As the Fokker F28 has soft inflated tires, the landing is quite smooth and as the Fellowship does not have reversers, the deceleration is also gentle. We landed on runway 13, which means that at MDQ we need to taxi back a bit to reach the terminal. Our aircraft comes to a stop and the engines shut down. Then it is time for a really short turnaround. It only takes less than 30 minutes before all new passengers are on board, the door is shut and the engines start to spool up again. Impressive.

We taxi out again towards runway 13 and with no time wasted the grey Fellowship is back in the grey skies! This time, I (Lars) notice that there is some ice accumulation on the engine inlet cowling and the engine cone. I have never seen this before, so I decide to film it. Exactly then, the anti-ice system starts doing its job and in less than a second, all the ice is dissolved! Very spectacular to see, you should definitely check the video!

We are a couple of minutes into the flight and are enjoying every second of it, when one of the cabin attendants invites us over to the flight deck to meet the pilots. We walk along and behind the curtain the cockpit door is open for us. We introduce ourselves and the crew is excited to have us in their office. The cockpit is old but simple. A thing that immediately stands out are the throttle levers, one pair for each pilot. The pilots are also happy with the cartoon so we take a photo of it in the flight deck mid-flight. It is all very surreal, but we like it.

The Flight: Bahía Blanca Break

Eventually, it is time for descent into Bahía Blanca, so we return to our seats, with the biggest smile on our faces. Landing is smooth, just as the previous one. A good thing also, is that here it is not raining (yet)! During the taxi back we check the airbase for any naval aircraft. We do not spot any, except for two Super Etendards in a hangar (only visible when we later checked our photos). After the Fokker is parked and the engines are shut down, we say goodbye to the crew for now, and make our way to the airport parking lot, where we can see the Fokker being prepared for its final leg to Bariloche.

Bahía Blanca is also a fuel stop, so the turnaround is a bit longer. After fueling is finished, the door is closed again and the engines start screaming. What a sound! Make sure to check out the video and pump up your speakers, as this sound is out of this world! The jet taxis towards the runway and in no-time, the engines start to roar and with the sound of a fighter jet, the plane thunders down the runway away from us. Just in time before the rain sets in. For us it is time to take a taxi and head to the Museo de la Aviación Naval.

The Museo de la Aviación Naval is usually only open during the weekend, so that means that it should be closed today. We contacted them beforehand through WhatsApp if they would like to make an exception for us as we were mainly interested in the Fokker F28. They responded positively (in Spanish, as they do not speak English) and informed the base security about our visit. So, we have no problem getting on the base. The rain in the meantime had really intensified. The first aircraft we see before entering the museum is a Grumman Tracker on display on a roundabout. Then, we make a left turn to enter the museum.

Our driver delivers us right in front of the museum, where three military officials in full uniform to welcome us. We are a bit overwhelmed, but one of the men takes us with him towards the Fokker. They have placed stairs and opened up the aircraft especially for us! This Fokker F28-3000MC, registered 5-T-21 is preserved here since 2016 and is still in VIP configuration. Thanks to the translate app, our friendly guide tells us several stories about the missions that this plane has flown during the Malvinas war. The aircraft even has an insignia placed behind the cockpit for its service.

The museum "shop" is also open, but they do not accept card payments, so we buy a Fokker F28 patch using our euros, haha! Our guide calls us a taxi back to the civil airport, and we say goodbye to all the people in the museum as our ride arrives. This was special, truly special.

The Flight: The Best Is Yet To Come!

Back at the airport, we check in for the flight back to Buenos Aires, with again a stop at Mar del Plata. We are quite early, but that gives us the opportunity to choose some seats again. This flight is a lot fuller with passengers, which means that we have seats 10E and F. Still, happy with that. With our boarding passes printed on A4 format paper, we take a seat at the small restaurant in the terminal and order a nice warm cup of tea. What a day it has been so far!

Then, security opens for our flight, and we move upstairs to the windows. The arrival of our Fokker is also imminent, so we wait for the Fellowship to land. The F28 is not that well visible on FlightRadar24 or ADSB, so it is an educated guess on when the plane should arrive. And there she is! After landing, we quickly go through security to head to the other windows to film her taxiing to the stand. The Spey engines are so loud, they can be heard well through the glass. What a machine!

Some passengers disembark, and soon it is time for us to board for our third Fokker F28 Fellowship Flight! We walk across the apron towards the plane which is patiently waiting on all passengers. With us, around five other passengers board here. The crew welcomes us back on board, and as soon as everyone is back on board the engines already start up again!

It is a short taxi to runway 17L and this time the crew takes its time for the engines to spool up nicely before releasing the brakes. What a powerful takeoff this is! We have a quick last glimpse at the museum before we enter the clouds again. This flight is indeed a lot fuller, and the views outside are still limited to the aircraft itself, so we calmly enjoy the aircraft and the ambience.

For landing at Mar del Plata, it becomes obvious that the cloud base has significantly lowered, and the ground comes into view just mere seconds before landing. After the touchdown a small round of applause is given by the passengers :) . All in all, just another great flight.

As we printed a flight certificate to commemorate this special day, we would like the cockpit crew to sign it. So, during the turnaround at MDQ, I visit the flight deck once again. The pilots are happy to sign the certificate for us, and we chat a bit about our trip and our passion for the F28 in particular. I (Lars) baldly ask if it would be possible to place our GoPro camera in the cockpit during take-off coming flight. The first officer (who was captain on our first two flights) agrees and I grab the camera from my seat at row 10. When I explain how the camera works to the first officer, the captain asks me if I did not want to stay in the cockpit myself! Well, one does not have to ask twice! I walk back to Marieke, grabbing two other cameras and (after lovingly wishing her a good flight) make my way to the cockpit. As the cockpit is occupied by two pilots and a mandatory third pilot/flight engineer, my place is behind the jump seat. Then, it all happens very quickly.

The passenger door is shut, and immediately we got clearance to start up our engines. The engines start up so much faster than the modern turbofan engines I work with! In no-time, both engines are running, and the marshaller guides us away from our parking stand towards the taxiway. It is a short taxi to the runway, where we have to backtrack a little. During the backtrack the flight controls are tested, and we are all set to go!

We turn around at runway 13 and the captain immediately fires up the throttles! I cannot be happier (and overwhelmed) as we thunder down the runway! Then, we rotate and leave the ground behind. Positive rate, gear comes up and we are actually flying! The 50.4 year old aircraft is still in such a good shape! We enter the clouds and I prepare for another flight with no views outside again, but this time, we climb above the clouds and the sun comes out! Life does not often get much better than this!

The flight is calm and I have the best time with the crew. Of course, they are doing their job and are mainly busy with flying the plane, but we do chat a little every now and then. They are happy to show all the features of the Fellowship. Even though it is sunny above the clouds, there are no views to the ground. That is a bit of a shame as we fly directly over Buenos Aires at a fairly low altitude. Still I can see our position on the Garmin display. I guess that is not an original feature on the F28 haha! Oh well, that would be a reason to do this again!

Then it is time for the landing, and we make a steep right turn for our final approach for (again) runway 13 at Aeroparque. We descend through the clouds and the neighborhood of Palermo comes into view. The airport comes closer and closer as the captain deploys the speed brakes, the two splitting flaps at the tail of the Fokker. We cross the threshold and gently butter the bread. As the F28 slowed down enough we take the exit to our left and make our way to our parking stand.

As the stand was not yet fully prepared by the ground crew, we have to wait a bit before the marshaller guides us in. I genuinely thank the flight crew and ask for one last favor: a group photo with us and the crew. They all happily agree for that. Luckily, the rain is not so bad anymore, so we have enough time to take our photos and say goodbye to the crew.

We would like to sincerely thank our incredible flight crew for this amazing experience! We would not have dared to wish for anything like this. Thank you guys, you are the best!