The Global Promotional Tours of Fokker F-28 Fellowship PH-MOL
Contrary to long-standing belief, the Fokker F-28 Mk.1000 PH-MOL (cn.11003) was not the third prototype. Rather, it became the first production aircraft — a fact confirmed by its service with numerous operators throughout its life. In its early years, it was involved in various promotional tours and demonstration flights around the world.
In February–March 1969, test pilots Jas Moll and Abe van der Schraaf flew the F-28 on a demonstration tour through Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Norfolk Island. The tour covered 96,500 kilometres in 150 flying hours, with 50 demonstration flights, 20 evaluation flights for interested airlines, and a total of 2,000 guests who experienced the Fellowship.
The PH-MOL departed from Amsterdam and followed the route: Damascus – Karachi – Rangoon – Singapore/Jakarta – Darwin – Perth – Mt Isa – Brisbane – Sydney – Tamworth – Dubbo – Melbourne – Albury – Mildura – Canberra – Adelaide – Norfolk Island – Christchurch – Wellington – Auckland – Nandi – Suva – Tonga – Pago Pago – Apia – Funafuti – Tarawa.
During its visit to Perth on 15 February 1969, the aircraft was presented to MacRobertson Miller Airlines (MMA). There, test pilot Jas Moll stunned all the pilots present by landing almost at the very end of runway 20 and coming to a stop just before the 300-metre markers.
The aircraft arrived in New Zealand on 28 February 1969, landing in Wellington, from where several demonstration flights were conducted over the following week.
On 1 March 1969, a flight with 50 VIPs took place, departing from Wellington with Invercargill as the final destination and a stopover at Hokitika Airport, where the gravel runway provided another opportunity to demonstrate the Fellowship’s short-field performance. On 4 March 1969, it was seen in Christchurch, and also visited the airports of Rongotai and Napier.
During its New Zealand tour, the PH-MOL was demonstrated to National Airways, the Royal New Zealand Air Force, and Air New Zealand. After the tour of Oceania and Australia, it returned to Amsterdam and was leased to the Italian airline ITAVIA.
On 25 April 1970, it was spotted at the Hannover Air Show in Germany, already wearing the full Braathens SAFE livery, as it had been leased to the Norwegian airline until 24 April.
Subsequently, it embarked on a South American demonstration tour. It departed Amsterdam Schiphol on 22 May 1970 in basic Braathens SAFE colours, bearing the titles “Fokker F-28 Fellowship” on the fuselage and “F28” on the tail. This was PH-MOL’s fourth demonstration tour.
Demonstrations began in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Colombia. From Bogotá, the aircraft flew to Montería — the first jet flight ever to that airport — as well as Corozal and Bucaramanga. In these cities, the F-28 proved to be the most capable jet for operations on short and medium-length runways.
It then continued on to Lima (Peru) and Antofagasta (Chile). By the end of May 1970, it landed at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was also tested on an unpaved runway at La Rioja Airport. In Argentina, a total of 487 people flew on the Fellowship, including senior civil aviation authorities. Eleven demonstration flights were conducted, including evaluations by Aerolíneas Argentinas, ALA, Austral, and the Argentine Air Force.
A few days later, PH-MOL continued its journey to Montevideo (Uruguay), and subsequently to Brazil. It was seen on 6 June at Rio de Janeiro's Galeão and Santos Dumont airports, and on 9 June at Congonhas Airport in São Paulo, followed by visits to Brasília, Itabuna and Belém.
The journey continued through Paramaribo (Suriname), and in Venezuela, it visited Caracas and Curaçao (on 17 June 1970), before heading to Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago) and Antigua.
The Fokker F-28 Fellowship operated on all types of surfaces — grass, gravel, dirt, sand, and paved runways. In many cases, it visited small towns that had previously only been accessible to aircraft like the Douglas DC-3.
The PH-MOL returned to Amsterdam on 23 June 1970 and, in September, it participated in the Farnborough Air Show sporting the manufacturer’s new paint scheme.
Gonzalo Carballo
Sources: “I Flew for MMA” – Red Atkins; Focus on F.28 (video), Fokkernews, Revista Extra, Interavia magazine, Vol. 25, 1970, Aero Digest Vols. 67–72 (1970), Arms Transfers to Latin America: Toward a Policy of Mutual Respect, Ed. 1173 – Luigi R. Einaudi, 1973.
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