Dornier Do 28
Encyclopedia
The Dornier Do 28 Skyservant is a twin-engine 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...

 utility aircraft
Utility aircraft
A utility aircraft is a general-purpose light plane or helicopter, usually used for transporting people or freight, but also for other duties when a more specialised aircraft is not required or available....

, manufactured by Dornier Flugzeugbau GmbH. It served with the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....

and Marineflieger
German Navy
The German Navy is the navy of Germany and is part of the unified Bundeswehr .The German Navy traces its roots back to the Imperial Fleet of the revolutionary era of 1848 – 52 and more directly to the Prussian Navy, which later evolved into the Northern German Federal Navy...

and other air forces around the world in the communications and utility role.

Design and development

The Do 28 was developed from the single-engine Do 27
Dornier Do 27
-See also:-Bibliography:*Green, William. Macdonald Aircraft Handbook. London. Macdonald & Co. Ltd., 1964.*Jackson, Paul A. German Military Aviation 1956-1976. Hinckley, Leicestershire, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1976. ISBN 0-904597-03-2.-External links:**...

 at the end of the 1950s. The design shared the high-wing cantilever layout and the lift augmentation devices of the Do 27, together with the rear fuselage
Fuselage
The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull...

 which seated six passengers.

The most defining feature of the new design was the unusual incorporation of two Lycoming
Lycoming Engines
Lycoming Engines is a U.S. aircraft engine company, known primarily for its general aviation engines. For most of its history Lycoming has been part of the AVCO group as AVCO Lycoming. In 1987 AVCO was purchased by Textron to become Textron Lycoming...

 engines, as well as the two main landing gear
Undercarriage
The undercarriage or landing gear in aviation, is the structure that supports an aircraft on the ground and allows it to taxi, takeoff and land...

 shock struts of the faired main landing gear attached to short pylons on either side of the forward fuselage.

The internal space of the Do 28 was the same as the Do 27 and the company was given financial assistance from the German government to develop a larger STOL transport to carry up to 13 passengers. The type was designated the Do 28D and later named Skyservant. The Do 28D was a complete redesign and shared only the basic layout and wing construction of the earlier versions. The fuselage and engine nacelles were rectangular, unlike the rounded Do 28A/B. The aim was to develop a simple and rugged aircraft for use under arduous conditions, which could be easily maintained. With a crew of two pilots, the cabin
Aircraft cabin
An aircraft cabin is the section of an aircraft in which passengers travel. At cruising altitudes of modern commercial aircraft the surrounding atmosphere is too thin to breathe without an oxygen mask, so cabins are pressurized at a higher pressure than ambient pressure at altitude.In commercial...

 accommodated up to 12 passengers; freight could be loaded easily through large double doors and with the seats removed the cabin gave 283 sq ft (26.3 m²) of unobstructed space. The first flight of a Do 28D took place on 23 February 1966 and the type was publicly exhibited at the Paris Air Show
Paris Air Show
The Paris Air Show is the world's oldest and largest air show. Established in 1909, it is currently held every odd year at Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France...

 at Le Bourget airport in June 1967.
A further variant of the Skyservant was the Do 28D-2/OU (Oil Unit). Two aircraft were fitted with radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...

 and SLAR (Side-Looking Airborne Radar) to monitor oil pollution in the Baltic
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

 and North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

s. Painted in a white scheme, they were operated between 1984 and 1995 by MFG 5 of the Marineflieger, on behalf of the German Transport Ministry. These aircraft are easily recognised by the fuselage-mounted SLAR antenna and a radome
Radome
A radome is a structural, weatherproof enclosure that protects a microwave or radar antenna. The radome is constructed of material that minimally attenuates the electromagnetic signal transmitted or received by the antenna. In other words, the radome is transparent to radar or radio waves...

 under the cockpit
Cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft. Most modern cockpits are enclosed, except on some small aircraft, and cockpits on large airliners are also physically separated from the cabin...

. In 1991, both aircraft operated for several weeks in the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...

 during the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...

 under the control of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

. These two aircraft were replaced by the Do 228 at the end of 1995. These Skyservants are preserved in the museum at Nordholz
Nordholz
Nordholz is a municipality in the district of Cuxhaven, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approx. 25 km north of Bremerhaven, and 12 km southwest of Cuxhaven.Nordholz belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, established in 1180...

.

Like the Do 27, the Dornier Do 28 possessed a high cruising speed, excellent low-speed handling characteristics, as well as very short takeoff and landing (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...

) performance. The Do 28 was readily accepted as a natural progression from its single-engine forebear. With many of the same STOL characteristics, most Do 28 production was destined for military customers, notably Germany, although a small number were in service for commercial operators as a rugged, low-cost utility transport
Cargo aircraft
A cargo aircraft is a fixed-wing aircraft designed or converted for the carriage of goods, rather than passengers. They are usually devoid of passenger amenities, and generally feature one or more large doors for the loading and unloading of cargo...

. The design proved remarkably adaptable and was developed into a number of progressively improved variants, from the original D, through the D1 and D2 to the 128-2, introduced in 1980. Each variant introduced a number of detail changes that enhanced its already versatile performance capabilities.

In 1997, the Hungarian engineer Andreas Gál developed a conversion based on a D-variant, that was intended to meet the requirements of skydivers. Instead of the Lycoming piston engines, Gál had two Walter M601-D2 turboprop
Turboprop
A turboprop engine is a type of turbine engine which drives an aircraft propeller using a reduction gear.The gas turbine is designed specifically for this application, with almost all of its output being used to drive the propeller...

s, modified three-blade propellers and a skydiving kit installed by Aerotech Slovakia on seven planes. Although CAA, Hungary's aviation authorities, instantly certified the conversion, the JAA
Joint Aviation Authorities
The Joint Aviation Authorities, or JAA, was an associated body of the ECAC representing the civil aviation regulatory authorities of a number of European States who had agreed to co-operate in developing and implementing common safety regulatory standards and procedures...

-certification could not be applied for before 2007, due to certification restrictions on the engines. In 2008, there have been six planes flying in Europe, all of them Hungarian registered, mainly at dropzones in Soest
Soest, Germany
Soest is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Soest district. After Lippstadt, a neighbouring town, Soest is the second biggest town in its district.-Geography:...

, Germany, Wiener Neustadt
Wiener Neustadt
-Main sights:* The Late-Romanesque Dom, consecrated in 1279 and cathedral from 1469 to 1785. The choir and transept, in Gothic style, are from the 14th century. In the late 15th century 12 statues of the Apostles were added in the apse, while the bust of Cardinal Melchior Klesl is attributed to...

, Austria and Target Skysports
Target Skysports
Target Skysports is a BPA affiliated parachuting centre and skydiving drop zone at Hibaldstow, in North Lincolnshire.-History:The airfield is the former RAF Hibaldstow, a former satellite fighter airfield for RAF Kirton in Lindsey and first opened in May 1941. 255 and 253 Squadrons were based their...

, Hibaldstow in the United Kingdom.

Operational history

A total of 121 Dornier Do 28D-2s were built between 1971 and 1974 at Oberpfaffenhofen for the Bundeswehr
Bundeswehr
The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...

(German Federal Armed Forces) where they replaced ageing Percival Pembroke
Percival Pembroke
-See also:-Bibliography:* The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft London: Orbis Publishing, 1985.* Jackson, A.J. British Civil Aircraft since 1919 . London: Putnam, 1974. ISBN 0-370-10014-X....

s, they served until the introduction of the Dornier Do 228
Dornier Do 228
The Dornier 228 is a twin-turboprop STOL utility aircraft, manufactured by Dornier GmbH from 1981 until 1998. In 1983, Hindustan Aeronautics bought a production licence and manufactures the 228 for the Asian market sphere. Approximately 270 Do 228 were built at Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany and...

 in 1994, predominantly as a transportation and communications aircraft. 20 aircraft were transferred to the Marineflieger, 10 served from 1978 in the maritime reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance that is conducted using unmanned aerial vehicles or reconnaissance aircraft. Their roles are to collect imagery intelligence, signals intelligence and measurement and signature intelligence...

 role, additional underwing fuel tank
Fuel tank
A fuel tank is safe container for flammable fluids. Though any storage tank for fuel may be so called, the term is typically applied to part of an engine system in which the fuel is stored and propelled or released into an engine...

s were fitted for extended endurance (see photo). The high noise levels and vibration in the cabin led to the type's replacement by the significantly quieter turboprop-powered Do 228. During the 20 years in German military service, only three aircraft were lost to accidents.

The Do 28D was flown in 30 countries around the world and is still in service today. More than 150 aircraft were built. In the German Federal Armed Forces jargon, the Skyservant was called the "farmer's eagle" and was regarded as a reliable "workhorse". Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 received two specially equipped SIGINT
SIGINT
Signals intelligence is intelligence-gathering by interception of signals, whether between people , whether involving electronic signals not directly used in communication , or combinations of the two...

 aircraft with the code name of 'Anadolou' as well as the normal transport version.

Variants

Do 28
Prototype, first flew 29 April 1959 with two 180 hp Lycoming O-360-A1A engines and fixed pitch two-blade propeller
Propeller (aircraft)
Aircraft propellers or airscrews convert rotary motion from piston engines or turboprops to provide propulsive force. They may be fixed or variable pitch. Early aircraft propellers were carved by hand from solid or laminated wood with later propellers being constructed from metal...

s.

Do 28A-1
Designation of production aircraft with 250 hp Lycoming O-540-A1A
Lycoming O-540
|-Specifications :-See also:-External links:...

 engines and a 7 ft increase in wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...

, 60 built. First flown on 20 March 1960 at Oberpfaffenhofen
Oberpfaffenhofen
Oberpfaffenhofen is a village which is part of the municipality of Weßling in the district of Starnberg, Bavaria, Germany. It is 20 kilometers from the city center of Munich....

. One aircraft was used for the personal transport of the German Defense Minister, Franz Josef Strauss.

Do 28A-1-S
Floatplane
Floatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane, with slender pontoons mounted under the fuselage; only the floats of a floatplane normally come into contact with water, with the fuselage remaining above water...

 conversion of the Do 27A-1 by the Jobmaster Company of Seattle, Washington, USA.

Do 28B-1
Do 28A with enlarged nose, additional fuel tanks, increased tailplane
Tailplane
A tailplane, also known as horizontal stabilizer , is a small lifting surface located on the tail behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplanes...

 area and powered by 290 hp Lycoming IO-540
Lycoming O-540
|-Specifications :-See also:-External links:...

 fuel injected
Fuel injection
Fuel injection is a system for admitting fuel into an internal combustion engine. It has become the primary fuel delivery system used in automotive petrol engines, having almost completely replaced carburetors in the late 1980s....

 engines and three-blade constant speed propeller
Constant speed propeller
A constant speed propeller is a type of propeller that can change its blade pitch to take better advantage of the power supplied by an engine in much the same way that a transmission in a car takes better advantage of its power source...

s, 60 built.

Do 28B-1-S
Proposed floatplane conversion of the Do 28B-1 by the Jobmaster Company of Seattle, Washington, USA.

Do 28B-2
Variant with turbocharged
Turbocharger
A turbocharger, or turbo , from the Greek "τύρβη" is a centrifugal compressor powered by a turbine that is driven by an engine's exhaust gases. Its benefit lies with the compressor increasing the mass of air entering the engine , thereby resulting in greater performance...

 Lycoming TIO-540
Lycoming O-540
|-Specifications :-See also:-External links:...

 engines, one built.

Do 28C
Designation of a proposed eight-seat version with two 530 shp turboprop
Turboprop
A turboprop engine is a type of turbine engine which drives an aircraft propeller using a reduction gear.The gas turbine is designed specifically for this application, with almost all of its output being used to drive the propeller...

s but this design was not pursued.

Do 28D
Redesigned aircraft with box fuselage, larger wing, new tail and two 380 hp IGSO-540
Lycoming O-540
|-Specifications :-See also:-External links:...

 engines, seven built.

Do 28D-1
Production version of the Do 28D, with 0.5 m (1 ft 7½ in) greater wingspan and higher gross weight. 54 built.

Do 28D-2
Increased maximum takeoff weight, strengthened fuselage with enlarged cabin, 172 built.

Do 28D-2/OU
Do 28D modified as a pollution patrol aircraft

Do 28D-2T
In 1980 one Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....

Do 28D-2 aircraft was fitted with two Avco Lycoming TIGO-540 turbochared engines.

Do 28D-5X Turbo Skyservant
Prototype version powered by Lycoming LTP-101-600 turboprop
Turboprop
A turboprop engine is a type of turbine engine which drives an aircraft propeller using a reduction gear.The gas turbine is designed specifically for this application, with almost all of its output being used to drive the propeller...

s rated at 298 kW (400 shp) each. One built, first flying on 9 April 1978. Also known as the TurboSky.

Do 28D-6X Turbo Skyservant
Prototype version powered by PT6A-110 turboprops, also rated at 298 kW (400 shp) each. One built, first flying on 4 March 1980 later redesignated Dornier 128-6.


Do 28E-TNT
A Do 28D fitted with a new, high technology wing (Tragflugel Neuer Technologie - New Technology Wing) of 19.97 m (55 ft 8 in) span for trials, powered by two 533 kW (715 shp) Garrett TPE331-5-252D mounted on the wing. One built, first flown on 14 June 1979. Wing later used in the Dornier Do 228
Dornier Do 228
The Dornier 228 is a twin-turboprop STOL utility aircraft, manufactured by Dornier GmbH from 1981 until 1998. In 1983, Hindustan Aeronautics bought a production licence and manufactures the 228 for the Asian market sphere. Approximately 270 Do 228 were built at Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany and...

.

Do 28 G.92
1997 Slovakian conversion of Do 28D powered by two Walter Engines M601-D2 450 hp turboprops used for skydiving
Parachuting
Parachuting, also known as skydiving, is the action of exiting an aircraft and returning to earth with the aid of a parachute. It may or may not involve a certain amount of free-fall, a time during which the parachute has not been deployed and the body gradually accelerates to terminal...

 operations, seven built

Do 128-2
Improved version of Do 28D-2, replaced D-2 in 1980.

Do 128-6
Production version of the Turbo Skyservant, six built.

Military operators

  • Angolan Air Force

:
  • Benin Air Force

:
  • Cameroon Air Force
    Cameroon Air Force
    The Cameroon Air Force is the air force of the African nation of Cameroon. The Cameroon Air Force, along with the Cameroon Army, the Cameroon Navy , the National Gendarmerie, and the Presidential Guard make up the Cameroonian Armed Forces.The Cameroon Air Force theoretically possesses a fairly...


  • German Air Force
    Luftwaffe
    Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....

  • German Navy
    Marineflieger
    The Marineflieger is the naval air arm of the German Navy.-History:During the First World War, naval aviators were part of the Kaiserliche Marine...


  • Hellenic Air Force
    Hellenic Air Force
    The Hellenic Air Force, abbreviated to HAF is the air force of Greece. The mission of the Hellenic Air Force is to guard and protect Greek airspace, provide air assistance and support to the Hellenic Army and the Hellenic Navy, as well as the provision of humanitarian aid in Greece and around the...


  • Israel Defence Force

  • Kenya Air Force
    Kenya Air Force
    The Kenya Air Force is the national Air Force of Kenya.The main airbase operating fighters is Laikipia Air Base in Nanyuki, while Moi Air Base in Eastleigh, Nairobi is the HQ & operations Kenya Air Force. Other bases include FOB Mombasa The Kenya Air Force (KAF) is the national Air Force of...


  • Police Mobile Unit

  • Malawi Army Air Wing
    Military of Malawi
    The Armed forces of Malawi are the state military organisation responsible for defending Malawi. They originated from British colonial units formed before independence in 1964.-Army structure:...


  • Royal Moroccan Air Force
    Royal Moroccan Air Force
    The Royal Moroccan Air Force is the air force branch of the Moroccan Armed Forces.-History:...


  • Military of Mozambique
    Military of Mozambique
    The Armed Forces for the Defence of Mozambique or FADM were formed in mid August 1994 from the previous warring factions of the Mozambique Civil War, which ended in 1992...

     3 Dornier 28 in service

  • Nigerien Air Force
    Military of Niger
    The Niger Armed Forces comprises both the military and national police services of the West African nation of Niger, totaling around 12,000 active personnel and 5,000 reservists...


  • Nigerian Air Force
    Nigerian Air Force
    The Nigerian Air Force is the air arm of the Nigerian Armed Forces.It is one of the largest in West Africa, consisting of about 15,000 personnel and aircraft including 15 Chengdu F-7s, and 24 Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jets, armed helicopters, and military transport aircraft. However in recent years...


  • Spanish Air Force
    Spanish Air Force
    -The early stages:Hot air balloons had been used with military purposes in Spain as far back as 1896. In 1905, with the help of Alfredo Kindelán, Leonardo Torres y Quevedo directed the construction of the first Spanish dirigible in the Army Military Aerostatics Service, created in 1896 and located...


  • Serbian Air Force
    Serbian Air Force
    The Serbian Air Force and Air Defence is the air force of Serbia and service branch of the Serbian Armed Forces. Established in 1912, it is one of the oldest air forces in the world.-History:...


  • Turkish Army Aviation
    Turkish Army
    The Turkish Army or Turkish Land Forces is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The modern history of the army began with its formation after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire...


  • Zambian Air Force
    Zambian Air Force
    The Zambian Air Force is the air force of Zambia.Following the creation of the Republic of Zambia in 1964, Zambian military avaition was organized as the Zambia Air Wing which lasted until 1968. The Zambian Air Force was then established....


Specifications (Do 28B-1)

Specifications (Do 28D-2)

See also

External links

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