Country of origin:

Germany

Description:

Commercial airliner / maritime search and rescue aircraft

Power Plant:

(Dornier 328-110)

Two 1,626 kw (2,180 shp) Pratt & Whitney PW 119B turboprops

Specifications:

History:

In 1987 it was announced that Dornier was incorporating the latest technology into its new 30 passenger Model 328 regional airliner. It was stated it had carried out extensive market research amongst the worlds airlines, including Australian Airlines and Ansett Airlines, and that emphasis had been placed on passenger comfort. Features included the availability of a large cargo door 1.38 m by 1.68 m in size (4 ft 8 in by 5 ft 6 in), provision of a hot food galley, propeller brakes and an APU for cabin air conditioning, the cabin arrangement being of two-one configuration, seating 32 with a crew of three, with up to 39 passengers able to be carried in a four-abreast configured cabin. In the cockpit was a Primus 2000 EFIS avionics suite supplied by Honeywell with five display screens.

Industrial partners in the construction of the type included Daewoo Heavy Industries for the fuselage, Aermacchi for the nose, Westland for the nacelles, and Israel Aircraft Industries for the wing.

In 1988 there was a dispute between the major shareholder, Daimler-Benz, and members of the Dornier family and there were questions asked about whether the project would be cancelled. In the event the project proceeded.

The prototype D-CHIC was rolled out in October 1991, making its first flight on 6 December 1991, followed by a second prototype D-CATI on 4 June 1992, and the third aircraft for development and certification D-CDOL followed on 20 October 1992. The first production model was the Dornier 328-100 D-CITI which flew on 23 January 1993. JAA and FAA certifications were received in October and November 1993.

The prototype Dornier 328 flew with Pratt & Whitney Canada PW119 turboprops, these providing 1,212 kw (1,625 shp) for take-off and 1,029 kw (1,380 shp) continuous, but initial sales expectations did not materialise and by mid 1999 only 109 had been ordered.

In early 1996 Dornier Luftfahrt’s then parent, Daimler Chrysler Aerospace, elected to dispose of its loss-making regional aircraft subsidiary and its 80 per cent share was acquired by Fairchild Aerospace. Fairchild then initiated a study into a turbofan variant.

The Model 328-100 was replaced on the production line by the Model 328-110, which had the max take-off weight increased by 350 kg (772 lb) to 13,990 kg (30,842 lb), had the range increased to 1,852 km (1,150 miles) and had some other minor changes made. The Model 328-120 was offered to improve short-field performance by an increase in power of the Pratt & Whitney PW119C engines; and the Model 328-130 had a rudder-enhanced deflection system to give progressive reduction of authority, providing a 20 degrees flap setting for take-off, and ground spoilers.

A variant was the Model 328 Hydrogen Power test bed, variants of the Pratt &n Whitney PW119 turboprops having specially developed combustion chambers burning a hydrogen/oxygen mixture. Total production of the 328 turboprop series was 112 aircraft, the last aircraft (OE-LKC) being delivered to Air Alps Aviation of Austria in October 1999.

In late 1997 Dornier at Oberpfaffenhofen in Germany rolled out the prototype of a turbofan-powered variant, this being a conversion of the second prototype DO 328 turboprop variant. This new model had 6,000 lbst Pratt & Whitney Canada PW306B engines, at that time a second prototype being near completion. By then the fuselage was being manufactured in Italy by Aermacchi in partnership with OGMA of Portugal. Launch customer was Proteus Airlines in France, followed by Aspen Mountain Air in the United States. A variant was the Envoy 3 business jet. The turbofan variant which became known as the Model 328JET, the prototype of which flew in January 1998, had a high wing and was pressurised.

In April 2005 the Australian Government announced it was ordering five Dornier 328 series aircraft for maritime search-and-rescue (SAR) for operation around the Australian coastline by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA). The aircraft were fitted with radar and infra-red sensors for use in all weather conditions. Deliveries commenced in late 2005, the first aircraft becoming operational by the middle of the following year.

It was stated the new turboprop aircraft would be faster and would fly further than the existing piston-engined aircraft used for search-and-rescue. The aircraft would be able to carry out searches at night and in poor weather, and would be able to home in on emergency beacons and radio distress calls. They would also be capable of dropping emergency equipment. They were equipped with self-locating datum marker buoys which were dropped into the sea to help predict where the survivors of an accident could have drifted, the readings being communicated directly to the AMSA Rescue Co-ordination Centre by satellite.

Up to that time the work had been carried out by charter specialists using Piper Navajos, etc. AeroRescue Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Paspaley Pearling Company, and a sister company of Pearl Aviation Australia, in 2005 acquired a Beech King Air 200 and ordered a Dornier 328 for search-and-rescue work.

The first Dornier 328-100 was commissioned into service on 17 October 2005, having been registered on 20 September 2005 as VH-PPG² (c/n 3053 – D-CIAB, G-BZIF, F-GNBS, D-CDXU), based in Darwin, NT and was fitted with an ELTA 2022 surface search radar with surveillance, navigation and weather modes; an FSI Star SaFire III FLIR pod, twin satellite phones, an AeroData mission management system, large windows for visual search and identification, rafts able to be deployed, and other emergency equipment.

It was immediately pressed into service in a search for a missing Department of Immigration vessel which was lost in the Torres Strait. It was followed in August 2006 by a Model 328-100 VH-PPF5 (c/n 3057 – ex D-CAAD, N439JS, D-CDXY) based in Perth, WA. The third aircraft became VH-PPJ³ (c/n 3059 – ex N441JS, D-CDXA) in September 2006 and was based in Cairns, QLD. Thereafter VH-PPQ² (c/n 3051) in December 2006 was based at Essendon, VIC; and VH-PPV4 (c/n 3059) in January 2007 was based in Brisbane, QLD. All five aircraft operated under contract and were coordinated by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority Rescue Coordination Centre in Canberra, ACT. All aircraft were on a 30 minutes standby all year round.

In 2014 a new contract was entered into by the Australian Government with Cobham Search & Rescue Services / Surveillance Australia to carry out the role previously operated by AeroRescue, the new company receiving its first Bombardier CL-600-2B16 Challenger 604 in August 2016 in Perth. Subsequently the Dornier 328s were put to other use. One example VH-PPG² has since taken up duties with Air Affairs Australia Pty Ltd at Nowra, NSW.