The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker.
Design of the Fokker F27 started in the 1950s as a replacement to the successful DC-3 airliner. The manufacturer evaluated a number of different configurations before finally deciding on a high wing twin Rolls-Royce Dart engine layout with a pressurised cabin for 28 passengers.
The first prototype, registered PH-NIV, first flew on 24 November 1955. The second prototype and initial production machines were 3 ft (0.9 m) longer, addressing the first aircraft's slightly tail-heavy handling and also providing space for more (32) passengers. These aircraft also used the more powerful Dart Mk 528 engine. The first production model, the F27-100, was delivered to Aer Lingus in September 1958.
In 1956 Fokker signed a licensing deal with the US aircraft manufacturer for the latter to construct the F27 in the USA. The first U.S.-built aircraft flew on 12 April 1958 that also independently developed a stretched version, called the FH-227.
At the end of the Fokker F27s production in 1987, 793 units had been built, which makes it the most successful western European civil turboprop airliner.
Many aircraft have been modified from passenger service to cargo or express-package freighter roles.
In the early 1980s, Fokker developed a successor to the Friendship, the Fokker 50. Although based on the F27-500 airframe, the Fokker 50 is virtually a new aircraft with Pratt & Whitney Canada engines and modern systems. Its general performance and passenger comfort were improved over the F27.
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