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The Dornier 328 is 30-34 seat turboprop powered commuter
airliner designed and engineered by Dornier in Oberpfaffenhofen,
Germany. Development of the 328 started in 1985, after Dornier decided
to redesign the fuselage of the Dornier 228. After Dornier's market
research had indicated a substantial market for regional airliners in
the 30-seat class it was decided to develop the Dornier 328. Work began
in December 1988, culminating in the first development aircraft's
rollout on 13 October 1991 and the first flight on 6 December 1991. The
328 was awarded EJAA certification on 15 October 1993. First customer
deliveries occurred on 21 October 1993, when the Dornier 328-110 s/n
3005 HB-AEE was handed over to the Swiss scheduled carrier Air
Engiadina. The initial 328-100 was followed by the production standard
328-110 with redesigned aerodynamics and increased performance. Other
models are the 328-120 with improved short field performance and the
328-130 with progressive rudder authority reduction with increasing
airspeed. In June 1996 Fairchild Aerospace acquired 80% of Dornier to form
Fairchild-Dornier GmbH, but production of the 328 had stopped already before the
Fairchild Dornier name became effective on 8 August 2000. 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 328 production line at Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany.
Early 2005 AvCraft Aerospace GmbH, the German subsidiary of AvCraft
Aviation 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 near Munich. 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 was to work towards returning to service the Dornier 328
aircraft which were parked in Europa and US.In February 2015, 328 Support Services GmbH itself was
acquired by the US engineering company Sierra Nevada Corporation. Shortly thereafter, Seirra Nevada's owner,
Turkish-American Engineer Fatih Ozmen, established a private corporation named Özjet Havacilik Teknolojileri A.S.
at Technopark of Bilkent University, Ankara and signed a Memorandum of understanding with the Turkish Ministry of
Transport, Maritime Affairs & Communications in order to manufacture the 328 at Ankara. |
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The 1995-built Dornier 328-110 s/n 3056 was testflown as D-CDXX and delivered
as N438JS to Jetstream International Airlines on 14 September 1995.
Jetstream International Airlines was a wholly owned subsidiary of US
Airways Group, and the aircraft was operated for US Air. On 1 November 1995,
USAir renamed Jetstream International Airlines to PSA Airlines. In July
2000, Dornier N438JS was transferred to Air Wisconsin which leased the
aircraft from Wells Fargo Bank Northwest NA Trustee and operated the
Dornier for United Express. On 27 September 2007, registration N438JS
was cancelled as exported to the Netherlands and on 2 October 2007 the
aircraft was registered PH-EEV with Elas Professional Services Network BV, Valkenswaard.
Registration PH-EEV was cancelled on 12 February 2008 and the aircraft was given as registered I-IRTI with Rotor Jet Group.
Registration I-IRTI was cancelled on 25 October 2011 and the aircraft was registered HB-AEV in Switzerland with Centaurium
Aviation AG as owner and SkyWork Airlines AG, Belp, as holder. Dornier DO 328-110 HB-AEV was seen in service with
SkyWork Airlines at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, the Netherlands, on 22 November 2012. |
Luchtvaart déjà vu
