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https://www.flightglobal.com/airframers ... 33.article29 April 2020
Fledgling airframer Deutsche Regional Aircraft (DRA)
has rebranded its proposed revival of the Dornier 328 twin-turboprop as the “D328eco”
and hired a former Airbus specialist in alternative propulsion as its chief technology officer (CTO).
Although DRA has released no details of its aircraft,
which it says is at the preliminary design review (PDR) stage,
the moves suggest that it is likely to be considering electric- or hybrid-electric power for the platform,
which was launched last year.
Announcing the appointment of Martin Nusseler as CTO,
the airframer says the “technical mission” for the aircraft is driven by a “clear commitment for more sustainable aviation”
versus “today’s standard technologies”.
Nusseler was at Airbus for 17 years,
with the last five spent leading the manufacturer’s alternative propulsion systems and technologies unit.
DRA says the D328eco will deliver “significant improvements in operational and maintenance costs,
as well as substantial reductions in [its] overall carbon footprint.”
As part of the PDR process,
DRA is examining the “trades and maturity” of new systems and materials ahead of firming up its supplier list.
Service entry is set for 2024.
A final assembly facility for the D328eco will be constructed at Leipzig Halle airport,
while design and engineering activities are taking place in Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich.
The original Dornier 328 could carry up to 33 passengers
and was available in both jet- and turboprop-powered variants.
DRA is an offshoot of 328 Support Services – the type certificate holder for the Dornier 328 –
which in turn is owned by US-based Sierra Nevada.
Under a now abandoned plan,
Sierra Nevada and 328 Support Services intended to build re-engined versions of the 328 in Turkey under the TRJet brand.
How Deutsche Aircraft plans to tackle regional resurgence with reborn Dornier 328
8 January 2021
Of all the schemes designed to take advantage of a potential resurgence in regional aviation demand,
the revival of the Dornier 328 twin-turboprop is one of the more curious.
Now billed as the D328eco, manufacturer Deutsche Aircraft – a sister company of type certificate holder 328 Support Services –
plans to modernize the legacy type with new engines and avionics,
while a 2.1m stretch of the fuselage will raise accommodation to 43 passengers,
an increase of 10 over the previous maximum.
If all goes to plan, certification and service entry will be achieved in 2025,
at which point new aircraft will be rolling off a purpose-built final assembly line at Leipzig/Halle airport.
The update of the turboprop is, on paper at least, relatively straightforward.
New Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127S engines will replace the PW119Cs of the earlier 328-100,
raising maximum take-off power on each powerplant to around 2,750shp at 1,200rpm, from 2,180shp at 1,300rpm.
The longer fuselage, additional payload and marginally heavier engines combine
to increase maximum take-off weight by 1,700kg (3,750lb) to 15.6t –
the same as the legacy jet-powered 328-300.
Two other key changes are also planned:
a new digital avionics suite which is “designed for future single-pilot operation”;
and fuel tanks which will be compatible with 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
These changes, says Deutsche Aircraft managing director Dave Jackson,
will be incorporated via an amendment to the current type certificate, rather than approval for an all-new aircraft;
a quicker and lower-risk route to market.
“I think [the D320eco is] more than just dusting off an old airplane and pushing it out of the hangar,” he says.
Besides, argues Jackson,
although the 328-100 dates from the early 1990s, it was an extremely modern aircraft for its time,
boasting a full glass cockpit and an airframe made from 25% composite material.
With a range of 1,000nm (1,800km), a 31,000ft ceiling and a maximum cruise speed of 270kt (500km/h)
– “the fastest in its segment” – it was, he says,
an aircraft “prematurely brought to the end of production” due to the 2002 collapse of its then manufacturer Fairchild Dornier.
The D328eco maintains those performance figures,
plus boasts short-field capability on runways down to 1,000m (3,200ft), and a maximum speed of 324kt.
...far more thruDeutsche Aircraft is fully owned by US firm Sierra Nevada – which acquired 328 Support Services in 2015
– with the programme financed by the parent in addition to support from German state and federal governments.
However, Jackson says the company is still looking for risk-sharing partners on the programme, whether their expertise is in production, technology or finance.
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