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VFW 614: AHEAD OF ITS TIME

The VFW-Fokker advertising brochures could have been written today: in the VFW 614 it offered the smaller airlines a modern, economic jet below the Boeing 737 as an alternative to propeller aircraft. The 44-seater was designed for high-frequency feeder services and combined the speed of a jet aircraft with the take-off and landing characteristics of a prop. In addition, at the time it was the quietest, jet-powered passenger aircraft around.

The most striking feature of the first German jet airliner after the Baade 152 was the overwing installation of the engines. The Bremen-based VFW development team headed by Dr. Rolf Stüssel chose this unusual design to permit operations from unprepared airfields. The engine position reduced the danger of foreign object ingestion and permitted one-piece landing flaps, which were more efficient. The robust undercarriage with its highly effective braking system also contributed to the good short take-off and landing characteristics of the 614. A pleasant side-effect of the engine layout was reduced aircraft noise, as the wings shielded the engines from the ground.

Another advantage was the low loading height. Thanks to the auxiliary power unit and an integrated access step, the aircraft was able to operate autonomously, and in fact originally the engineers had intended it to be a bush plane that would be deployable anywhere in the world.

In the mid-1960s, however, the risk of a transport in the DC-3 class that was tailored to developing countries seemed too big to the German aircraft builders. Instead, the strategists directed their gaze at international air transport. Here the jet was making inroads in the longhaul and medium-range segments. The Bremen designers noticed that there was a gap in the 150-500km range and estimated the total demand in this market niche at 1100 units. They wanted to be the first manufacturer with a good product on the market, and reckoned they would be able to sell up to 330 VFW 614's.

The designers therefore optimised their design for shorthaul operations and gave priority to short turnarounds, minimum maintenance and low noise levels. The airframe, which was designed for 60,000 cycles, had a large fuselage diameter. Even today's aircraft models such as the Embraer ERJ 145 are much slenderer than the VFW 614. Thus, maximum cabin width was 2.66m, compared with 2.1m on the ERJ, and maximum height 1.92m (ERJ 1.83m).

In 1966 the plant management entered into negotiations with Fokker, aimed at drawing on the marketing experience of the Dutch in promoting their big seller, the F.27 Friendship. In return, the Dutch wanted to get involved in German military work, of which there was plenty around. Marketing was assigned to Fokker, but the company was actually more interested in promoting its own F.28 Fellowship. Then in 1968 there was a financial crisis, in the course of which the programme was only rescued by massive financial support from the federal government.

Construction of the first prototype finally got under way on 1 August 1968. The nose and midsection of the fuselage were built by VFW, while MBB contributed the aft section. Responsibility for the wings and engine pylons was assigned to Fokker, while SABCA was responsible for the landing flaps and Fairey of Belgium for the spoilers and ailerons.

However, the problems did not let up. In the search for a new, economic and quiet twin-shaft engine, the Bremen engineers turned to Rolls-Royce after equivalent plans with Lycoming and General Electric had come to nothing. After some tough negotiations it was agreed with the UK company that the M45H Mk 501, a civil derivative of a military engine that was never implemented, would be used. The French manufacturer Snecma produced the fan and the medium-and low-pressure units.

By the time the aircraft rolled out on 5 April 1971, VFW-Fokker had notched up 26 options. Optimistically it was believed that it would be possible to reach the break-even point of 175 aircraft. Finally, on 14 July 1971 before an audience of 2,000 people the first prototype G-001 (D-BABA) took off for its maiden flight in Lemwerder.

It was just at this point that Rolls-Royce, having overstretched itself financially on the RB211 programme, declared itself bankrupt. It was not until 1972 that the British were able to resume serial production of the M45 engine. On 14 January of the same year the second prototype flew for the first time. But the exhilaration over this success was clouded shortly afterwards by a tragic accident. During a test flight with G-001 on 1 February 1972, the aircraft suddenly began to vibrate. Chief test pilot Leif Nielsen gave the order to abandon the aircraft. Although flight engineer Jürgen Hammer and he managed to escape using their parachutes, co-pilot Hans Bardill was killed. The subsequent accident investigation indicated that the cause of the accident was fluttering of the auxiliary elevator tab.

The third prototype finally took off on its maiden flight on 10 October 1972, its flight control system having undergone modification in the meantime. Subsequent endurance testing in the Libyan desert showed just how well the VFW 614 could operate from unpaved airstrips. Certification by the Federal Office of Civil Aeronautics (LBA) was granted on 23 August 1974, and the first flight of the production aircraft place on 28 April 1975. The aircraft was comfortable to fly, did not reveal any unpleasant surprises and offered good visibility from the spacious cockpit. Pilots especially liked the regional jet's short landing characteristics. The Danish airline, Cimber Air, was convinced of the aircraft's merits and became the launch customer.

But despite its good performance, only 16 of the VFW-Fokker were ever sold. Cimber bought two planes, and a further three were sold to the French airline, Air Alsace. Touraine Air Transport (TAT) ordered eight VFW 614's, but only took delivery of two, which flew in France from April 1976. The final customer was the Luftwaffe's VIP Air Service which operated three jets with special navigation equipment and a modified cabin layout between 1977 and 1998.

The poor sales were a consequence of the recession and the oil crisis of 1973. Demand for the VFW 614 was simply not big enough. Plans for a stretched VFW 614-200 for up to 56 passengers came to nothing, as the end of the programme seemed nigh. Glimmers of hope such as an order for 41 jets for the US Coast Guard or a licensing agreement with Rumania for 100 aircraft evaporated.

The ailing Fokker-VFW decided to terminate production of the airliner in 1978. Given that DM 650 million of development costs had been incurred, there were loud protests from the workforce and the public, but the politicians viewed programme termination as a precondition for restoring VFW to health in anticipation of the Airbus project. Nevertheless the VFW 614 inaugurated a new era in the post-war development of aircraft construction in Germany and was to prove the basis for German participation in the Airbus programme. As Rolf Stüssel put it on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the maiden flight of D-BABA, "With the VFW 614 we were simply 20 years ahead of our time."

From FLUG REVUE 10/2001, page 100