VFW-Fokker
Encyclopedia
Fokker
Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names, starting out in 1912 in Schwerin, Germany, moving to the Netherlands in 1919....
and Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke
Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke
Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke was a German aerospace company formed by the 1964 merger of Focke-Wulf and Weser Flugzeugbau GmbH...
(VFW) started in 1969 that, from then on, controlled the ERNO
Entwicklungsring Nord
The Entwicklungsring Nord - abbreviated ERNO - was a 1961 joint venture of Bremen-based Weserflug and Focke-Wulf with Hamburger Flugzeugbau to develop parts for rockets and get involved in space activities....
initiative.
The Entwicklungsring Nord (Northern development circle) — abbreviated ERNO — was a 1961 joint venture of Bremen-based Weserflug and Focke-Wulf
Focke-Wulf
Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG was a German manufacturer of civil and military aircraft before and during World War II. Many of the company's successful fighter aircraft designs were slight modifications of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190.-History:...
with Hamburger Flugzeugbau
Hamburger Flugzeugbau
Hamburger Flugzeugbau was an aircraft company, located in the Finkenwerder quarter of Hamburg, Germany. Originally established in July 1933 as a subsidiary of the Blohm & Voss shipyards, it has managed to survive under different names as part of different consortia from its German national...
to develop parts for rockets and get involved in space activities.
In 1961 work began on a small, jet-powered transport aircraft initially styled Erno-61-4.
After Weserflug and Focke Wulf formally merged into Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke
Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke
Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke was a German aerospace company formed by the 1964 merger of Focke-Wulf and Weser Flugzeugbau GmbH...
(VFW) in 1964, the machine was redesignated VFW 614. The draft design was amended to a STOL
STOL
STOL is an acronym for short take-off and landing, a term used to describe aircraft with very short runway requirements.-Definitions:There is no one accepted definition of STOL and many different definitions have been used by different authorities and nations at various times and for a myriad of...
40-44 passenger jet with overwing engines, for easier operation from unprepared runways. German government subsidies
Subsidy
A subsidy is an assistance paid to a business or economic sector. Most subsidies are made by the government to producers or distributors in an industry to prevent the decline of that industry or an increase in the prices of its products or simply to encourage it to hire more labor A subsidy (also...
enabled development to start in earnest in 1966. The first prototype started in August 1968, but then VFW and Fokker
Fokker
Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names, starting out in 1912 in Schwerin, Germany, moving to the Netherlands in 1919....
of the Netherlands formed a joint transnational holding company.
The prototype flew on July 14, 1971, but crashed next February. Two more prototypes flew in 1972. German, FAA
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
, and French DGA certifications completed in 1974, 1975, and 1976 respectively. The collaborative production arrangements involved Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm
Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm
Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm was a German aerospace company formed as the result of several mergers in the late 1960s. Among its best-known products was the MBB Bo 105 light twin helicopter...
(MBB) in Germany, Fokker VFW in the Netherlands and SABCA
Société Anonyme Belge de Constructions Aéronautiques
SABCA is a Belgian aerospace company, a subsidiary of the Dassault Group.Its main sectors of activity are civil aviation, space and defence.The company has three locations:...
and Fairey
Fairey
-People:*Charles Richard Fairey, British aircraft manufacturer*Francis Fairey, , Canadian politician,*Jim Fairey, outfielder*Shepard Fairey, American artist-Companies:*Fairey Aviation Company, British aircraft company...
in Belgium. The first sale was to Cimber Air, which started commercial flights in November 1975.
The VFW-Fokker alliance affected the VFW 614 negatively, as Fokker needed to sell its competing F27
Fokker F27
The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker.-Design and development:Design of the Fokker F27 started in the 1950s as a replacement to the successful Douglas DC-3 airliner...
and F28
Fokker F28
The Fokker F28 Fellowship is a short range jet airliner designed and built by defunct Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker.-Design and development:...
. National subsidies were diverted to the Airbus
Airbus
Airbus SAS is an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company. Based in Blagnac, France, surburb of Toulouse, and with significant activity across Europe, the company produces around half of the world's jet airliners....
program, and the end came for the VFW-614. On August 19, 1977 the nineteenth (including prototypes) and last machine was completed.
Few VFW 614 aircraft remained in use. Only the Koln/Bonn Flugbereitschaft der Luftwaffe continued flying VFW 614 until they finally ceased in 1998. Only DLR
German Aerospace Center
The German Aerospace Center is the national centre for aerospace, energy and transportation research of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has multiple locations throughout Germany. Its headquarters are located in Cologne. It is engaged in a wide range of research and development projects in...
in Braunschweig (region)
Braunschweig (region)
Brunswick is one of the four former administrative regions of Lower Saxony, Germany, located in the southeast of the state. The region covers roughly the area of the former state of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
and EADS
EADS
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company N.V. is a global pan-European aerospace and defence corporation and a leading defence and military contractor worldwide...
Airbus
Airbus
Airbus SAS is an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company. Based in Blagnac, France, surburb of Toulouse, and with significant activity across Europe, the company produces around half of the world's jet airliners....
at Bremen now retain the machines for research duties.
The European Space Agency
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
ESA in June 1974 named a consortium headed by ERNO-VFW Fokker (Zentralgesellschaft VFW-Fokker GmbH) to build pressurized modules for Spacelab
Spacelab
Spacelab was a reusable laboratory used on certain spaceflights flown by the Space Shuttle. The laboratory consisted of multiple components, including a pressurized module, an unpressurized carrier and other related hardware housed in the Shuttle's cargo bay...
. British Aerospace
British Aerospace
British Aerospace plc was a UK aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was in the Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire...
, under contract to ERNO-VFW Fokker, built five 10 ft (3 m)-long, unpressurized, U-shaped pallet segments.
West Germany provided 53.3% of Spacelab's cost and fulfilled 52.6% of all Spacelab work contracts. ERNO VFW Fokker, in competition with MBB, submitted the winning design, and became the prime contractor for Spacelab. MBB in 1981 took over VFW Fokker. The ERNO plant in Bremen continued as the headquarters for Spacelab design, production management, component testing, and assembly. Today, it is a part of EADS Astrium Space Transportation.