Dornier 228
| Dornier 228 | |
|---|---|
| A RUAG Dornier 228NG in 2012 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Utility aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Dornier GmbH RUAG General Atomics AeroTec Systems GmbH |
| Built by | Hindustan Aeronautics Limited |
| Status | In service |
| Primary users | Indian Air Force |
| Number built | Dornier: 245 HAL: 125 |
| History | |
| Manufactured | Dornier: 1982–1997 HAL: 1985–present RUAG: 2010–2020 General Atomics: 2021-Present |
| Introduction date | July 1982 |
| First flight | 28 March 1981 |
| Developed from | Dornier Do 28 |
The Dornier 228 is a twin-turboprop STOL utility aircraft, designed and first manufactured by Dornier GmbH (later DASA Dornier, Fairchild-Dornier) from 1981 until 1998. About 245 such aircraft were built in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. In 1983, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) bought a production licence and manufactured 125 aircraft in Kanpur, India.
Swiss manufacturer RUAG acquired the rights of the aircraft from Fairchild in 2002, and introduced the Dornier 228 NG variant in 2009. The fuselage, wings, and tail assembly were manufactured by HAL in Kanpur, and were transported to Oberpfaffenhofen, where RUAG carried out the final assembly. It used the same airframe as its predecessor with a new five-blade propeller, improved avionics, glass cockpit, and was capable of flying a longer range.
In late 2017, HAL announced the introduction of a new civilian variant Hindustan-Dornier 228 for operations in India. In 2020, RUAG sold the Dornier 228 to AeroTec Systems, a subsidiary of US-based General Atomics. General Atomics announced plans to resume production of a new version Do228 NXT.