The detail of the two doors

    The history of aviation is fascinating, and gaining an in-depth understanding of a particular aircraft type even more so. When we began working on the Fokker F-28 Fellowship blog, we gathered a large number of images. As we examined them closely, one detail caught our attention.

    On some Fokker F-28 Mk.1000 Fellowship aircraft, the forward cargo hold was fitted with two doors, while others had only one. At first, we believed this feature to be exclusive to the Fairchild Hiller FH-228, as most of the complete fuselages built or assembled at the American manufacturer’s facilities displayed this configuration.

    Indeed, three of those four aircraft — with construction numbers 11991, 11992 and 11993 — had a forward hold with two doors, whereas cn 11994 (PH-FPT) was equipped with a single-door forward hold. It is worth noting that these F-28s carry out-of-sequence construction numbers, a characteristic used to identify their Fairchild origin.

    This detail also appeared in Fairchild Hiller advertising material, brochures, and in a Fokker diagram that ultimately clarified the matter: the forward cargo hold with two doors — one forward and one central — was not exclusive to Fairchild, but rather an optional feature offered by Fokker itself.

    This was further confirmed by photographs of the third Fellowship built, which was also the first production F-28, PH-MOL (cn 11003). This aircraft already featured a forward cargo hold fitted with both forward and central doors.

    The information was later verified with fellow enthusiasts and specialists with extensive experience on the Fellowship, who confirmed that this configuration was indeed a simple factory option: a forward cargo hold with two doors.

    Among the original operators to select this option were LTU — on the first two aircraft it acquired — Itavia, Linjeflyg, the first aircraft purchased by Aviaction (D-AHLA, cn 11027), and two F-28s operated by the Australian Department of Aviation.

    A total of ten Fokker F-28s were delivered to Fairchild Hiller in an attempt to market the type in the United States. These aircraft were N281FH (cn 11016), N282FH (cn 11018), N283FH (cn 11020), N284FH (cn 11024), N285FH (cn 11033), N286FH (cn 11038), N287FH (cn 11043), N288FH (cn 11044) and N289FH (cn 11047). All of them were fitted with the two-door forward cargo hold. However, there was one notable exception: N280FH (cn 11048), also operated by Fairchild Hiller, which did not feature this option.

 

   Three aircraft originating from Fairchild Hiller were later modified to the Mk.1000C standard, and the central door of the forward cargo hold was also sealed. These were aircraft cn 11018, 11020 and 11024, which became TC-54, TC-53 and TC-55 respectively, entering service with the Argentine Air Force. In the photographs below, details indicating the former presence of the sealed central door can be clearly observed.

    Garuda operated a mixed fleet. It included aircraft equipped with two-door cargo holds, such as cn 11037, originally ordered by Itavia but not taken up, which became PK-GJR, as well as two aircraft sourced from Fairchild Hiller: cn 11043 (N287FH), later registered PK-GVN, and cn 11044 (N288FH), re-registered PK-GVO.

    The F-28 cn 11053 was the prototype of the Mk.2000 and carried the registration PH-ZAX. It was later transferred to Nigeria Airways as 5N-ANB. Initially, it did not feature a two-door forward cargo hold, but after being returned to Fokker it was modified to include this configuration. It was subsequently seen in the colours of the French airline TAT, registered as F-GDUS.

    From the production Mk.2000 F-28s onwards, the two-door forward cargo hold became standard configuration, a feature also adopted on the Mk.6000 and Mk.4000 variants. This was not the case with the Mk.3000, which left the factory with a single-door forward cargo hold.

    Below is the list of all Fokker F-28 Mk.1000 aircraft fitted with a two-door forward cargo hold.

Msn. - Model - Registers

11003 Mk.1000 PH-MOL/ LN-SUM/ EP-PBF/ F-GOML/ P2-ANL/ F-GIMG/ F-GIMH/ C5-ADD/ TZ-AZH.

11004 Mk.1000 PH-ZAA/ D-ABAQ/ I-TIDU/ F-GECK/ C5-ADE.

11006 Mk.1000 PH-ZAB/ D-ABAX/ I-TIDB/ C-GTUU/ OB-1779-P.

11014 Mk.1000 PH-ZAI/ I-TIDA.

11015 Mk.1000 PH-ZAK/ I-TIDE.

11016 Mk.1000 PH-ZAL/ N281FH/ N27W/ N930TL/ VR-BNC/ C-FHCP/ N43AE/ N500WN.

11018 Mk.1000 PH-ZAN/ N282FH/ PH-EXW/ TC-54/ LV-VCS/ TC-54.

11020 Mk.1000 PH-ZAP/ N283FH/ TC-53.

11024 Mk.1000 PH-EXC/ N284FH/ TC-55.

11027 Mk.1000 D-AHLA/ PH-ZBG/ EP-PAS/ PH-ZBG/ F-GBBX/ C5-ACE/ F-GBBX/ 5V-TPO/ 5Y-AXH/ 5V-TPO.

11032 MK.1000 PH-EXB/ PH-ZAV/ LN-SUM/ PH-ZAV/ OB-R-390/ OB-R-1030/ TC-JAZ/ PH-ZAV/ PK-GVM/ N282N/ N461AU/ C-FAIF/ C-FCRU.

11033 Mk.1000 N285FH/ CF-TAV/ C-FTAV/ P2-ANE.

11037 Mk.1000 PH-EXE/ PH-EXH/ PH-ZBF/ PK-GJR/ PK-GVY/ PH-EZA/ N293N/ N458US/ C-FCRP.

11038 Mk.1000 PH-EXM/ N286FH/ CF-TAY/ P2-ANF/ VH-XNG.

11043 Mk.1000 PH-EXA/ N287FH/ PH-EXM/ PK-GVM/ PH-EZY/ N291N/ N459US/ C-FCRI.

11044 Mk.1000 N288FH/ PH-EXR/ PK-GVO/ PH-EXV/ N286N/ N460AU/ C-FCRC.

11047 Mk.1000 N289FH/ PH-EXI/ VH-ATD/ C-FTAR/ TU-PAB/ TU-TGW.

11049 Mk.1000 PH-EXD/ 5N-AGN/ P2-ANB.

11053 Mk.2000 PH-ZAX/ 5N-ANB.

11067 Mk.1000 PH-EXL/ SE-DGA.

11068 Mk.1000 PH-EXI/ SE-DGB.

11069 Mk.1000 PH-EXK/ SE-DGC.

11082 Mk.1000 PH-EXN/ VH-ATE/ C-GTAH.

11084 Mk.1000 PH-EXP/ VH-ATG/ C-FTAY.

11991 Mk.1000 I-TIDI/ C-GTEO.

11992 Mk.1000 FAC001/ FAC0002.

11993 Mk.1000 PH-ZAU/ 5N-ANA.

Acknowledgments: Sebastian Acosta, Daniel Carneiro, & Ron Mak.