The Dornier 328 is a turboprop-powered commuter airliner. Initially produced by German company Dornier Luftfahrt GmbH, the firm was acquired in 1996 by US firm Fairchild Aircraft. The resulting firm, named Fairchild Dornier, manufactured the Fairchild Dornier 328 family in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, conducted sales from San Antonio, Texas, United States, and supported the product line from both locations. A jet-powered version of the aircraft, the Fairchild Dornier 328JET, was also produced. While the Dornier name was later bought by Airbus Industries, the Dornier 328 type certificate (but not the Dornier brand name) has passed through a series of other investors, culminating with a company that, as of 2025, intended to roll out the prototype of an updated version under the name D328eco.
Development
Origins The Dornier 328 program started when Dornier was still owned by Deutsche Aerospace. Feedback from 1984 market research indicated a desire for a fast, quiet, and easy-to-maintain commuter airliner with a 30-seat capacity.Moxon 1991, p. 69. Sales were projected to reach at least 400 units.Moxon, Barrie and Goold 1991, pp. 31–32. Favorable features included a high cruising speed of , and a higher cruising altitude and range, making the aircraft almost as fast as jet airliners while being more fuel-efficient. A trend away from spoke–and-hub distribution in favor of point-to-point transit was also viewed as being favorable to the 328.Moxon, Barrie and Goold 1991, pp. 32–33.
In December 1988, the 328 project was relaunched following the granting of shareholder approval after negotiations between the Dornier family and Daimler Benz. As the result of a six-month evaluation, a selection of powerplants deemed to be appropriate for the 328 was formed, these being the General Electric CT7-9D, the Garrett TPE-341-21, and the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW119A. While the Garrett engine was viewed by Deutsche Aerospace as being technically superior, Pratt & Whitney's powerplant was more advanced in development, thus was chosen.Moxon, Barrie and Goold 1991, p. 34. The engine selection was soon followed by the selection of a six-bladed composite propeller from Hartzell, Hartzell's submission being reportedly substantially lighter than competing bids from Dowty and Hamilton Standard. Following various considerations between electromechanical and digital instrumentation, Dornier opted for a digital glass cockpit and selected Honeywell to provide this after considering options from Saab Group, Rockwell Collins, and Smiths Aerospace.Moxon, Barrie and Goold 1991, p. 38.
In May 1991, Horizon Air, a US-based airline, placed an order for 35 aircraft; this was the largest order for the 328 at that point and was larger than any other order for it or its competitors to be placed that year.Moxon, Barrie and Goold 1991, p. 32. In October 1991, the first prototype of the 328 was formally rolled out.Moxon, Barrie and Goold 1991, p. 31. On 6 December 1991, the first prototype conducted the type's maiden flight.Swanborough 1992, p. 123. On 4 June 1992, a second 328 prototype performed its first flight."Second Dornier 328 Joins Test Programme." Flight International, 23 June 1992. p. 9. On 14 December 1992, one of the 328 prototypes suffered a near-catastrophic in-flight propeller failure when all six propeller blades on one engine detached before puncturing the fuselage; the subsequent temporary loss of control caused the aircraft to roll 280° and descend before control was recovered.Barrie, Douglas. "Dornier 328 prototype hit by propeller failure." Flight International, 12 January 1993. p. 4.
On 13 October 1993, the 328 formally entered commercial service.Taylor 1999, p. 195."Premiere: Dornier 328." Flight International, 8 October 1991. p. 28. The 328 was launched into the market during a period of large numbers of competing turboprop aircraft, as well as increasing competition from newly launched regional jets, which were becoming increasingly popular during the early 1990s."Fairchild Dornier Gmbh Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on Fairchild Dornier Gmbh." Reference for Business, Retrieved: 5 May 2008."DASA warns of clash in regional launch plans." Flight International, 10 December 1991. p. 6. The 328 had the advantages of being both quieter and faster than many of its rivals, but this did not ensure its commercial success. The latter half of the 328 program took place during a recession, which curtailed demand for new aircraft from operators. Both the 328 and the wider Dornier division of Deutsche Aerospace proved to be losing money; accordingly, Deutsche Aerospace wavered in committing more resources to the regional aircraft market, repeatedly delaying a decision to proceed with a 48-seat stretched model of the 328, which had originally been unveiled in 1991.Barrie, Douglas. "Domier details a stretched Do.328." Flight International, 29 October 1991. pp. 4–5."DASA dithers on Dornier 328 stretch." Flight International, 11 May 1993. p. 10."Buyers demand stretched Dornier 328." Flight International, 11 June 1991. p. 5.
Further development During the early 1990s, Deutsche Aerospace and Fokker explored the prospects of a commercial relationship to mutually engage the regional aircraft market;"Decisions, Decisions." Flight International, 2 June 1992. pp. 35, 38. this culminated in Deutsche Aerospace purchasing a 40% stake in Fokker in 1993. In June 1995, Deutsche Aerospace and Daewoo Heavy Industries were reportedly conducting talks on the establishment of a second 328 assembly line in South Korea for the Asian market.Jeziorski, Andrzej. "DASA in talks over Korean 328 deal production." Flight International, 14 June 1995. In 1995, both Fokker and Deutsche Aerospace suffered substantial financial difficulties, which ultimately led to the end of the latter's ambitions to dominate the European regional aircraft market.Jeziorski, Andrzej. "DASA dealt double blow." Flight International, 23 August 1995.Jeziorski, Andrzej. "DASA folds its wings." Flight International, 31 January 1996. In June 1996, Deutsche Aerospace sold the majority of Dornier Luftfahrt GmbH to American manufacturer Fairchild Aircraft, leading to the creation of Fairchild Dornier GmbH. The newly combined Fairchild Dornier company emerged as the third-largest regional aircraft manufacturer in the world, and viewed the 328 as being both a key product in its lineup and the basis for a future family of aircraft.
Continuing development of a jet-powered variant of the 328 was initially designated as the Dornier 328-300 and later simply known as the Dornier 328JET, which had been started under Deutsche Aerospace. Fairchild Dornier also sought to develop a stretched version, designated as the Dornier 428JET, and a dedicated freighter model."Dornier sets jet date." Flight International, 17 September 1996. p. 9.Doyle, Andrew. "Regional Aviation: Joining the Jet Age." Flight International, 28 September 1999. Additionally, Farchild Dornier developed a larger aircraft, the Fairchild Dornier 728 family. In addition to typical passenger models, business jet configurations of both the 728JET and 928JET were projected, tentatively referred to as Envoy 3 and Envoy 7, respectively. The ambitious family project drew the support of the German government, which guaranteed US$350 million in loans for the scheme. During the late 1990s, Fairchild Dornier struggled to find both capital and strategic partners to support the project, and the company entered bankruptcy in April 2002.
Dornier aftermath
Following the bankruptcy of Fairchild Dornier, AvCraft Aviation acquired the Dornier 328/328JET rights, but this company entered bankruptcy less than three years later. In June 2006, 328 Support Services GmbH acquired the type certificate for the Dornier 328. It provides maintenance, repair, and overhaul services to the existing in-service fleet.
In February 2015, US engineering company Sierra Nevada Corporation acquired 328 Support Services GmbH. Shortly thereafter, Sierra Nevada's owner, Turkish-American engineer Fatih Ozmen established a private corporation named Özjet Havacılık Teknolojileri A.Ş. at Technopark of Bilkent University, Ankara, and signed a memorandum of understanding with the Transportation Ministry of Turkey to manufacture the 328 at Ankara. In June 2015, the Turkish government launched the Turkish TR328 and TRJ328 regional aircraft project, a modernized 328/328JET, with either turboprops or jets for civil and military use and a larger TR628/TRJ-628 forecasting a break-even level and market of 500–1000 for each type.
First flight was anticipated in 2019, but Turkey abandoned the program in October 2017, after facing increasing costs and no longer being confident of market demand forecasts.
Existing aircraft can be sourced by 328 Support Services and converted for civil transport, military operations, medical evacuation, or freighter or utility missions for $7–9 million, including zero time turboprops.
D328eco On 21 August 2019, 328 Support Services announced the formation of DRA GmbH to establish its final assembly line for a new version of the aircraft, named 328NEU, at Leipzig/Halle Airport, creating of up to 250 new jobs there and over 100 jobs in Oberpfaffenhofen, near Munich; the programme should be detailed late in the first quarter of 2020. The company signed a memorandum of understanding with the federal authorities of Germany, and State of Saxony ministries. To revive the turboprop design, SNC was set to invest €80 million ($88.75 million) in DRA while the state of Saxony pledged €6.5 million. On 29 April 2020, DRA GmbH rebranded the new version as the "D328eco". DRA GmbH was not able to use the Dornier name as the trademark belongs to Airbus and is used by its subsidiary Dornier Consulting. Instead, DRA GmbH created a new brand, Deutsche Aircraft.
The redesigned aircraft is stretched by to , permitting it to carry up to 40 passengers, 20% more than the original Dornier 328. The adoption of advanced avionics, such as the Garmin G5000 avionics suite, may permit single-pilot operations under some circumstances. It will be powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127XT-S; the engine output increases from with 2-3% better brake specific fuel consumption, and maximum take-off weight is increased by , similar to the 328JET. The company has targeted a speed, a altitude, operations from runways, and a fuel consumption of each for 40 passengers; its length would be and its wingspan
In January 2021, it was reported that the first flight was scheduled to take place during 2024, while Supplemental type certification and service entry were both planned for 2025; the production facility has been sized to accommodate up to 48 aircraft per year. During June 2023, the company announced that it has commenced the fabrication of the first prototype aircraft. Deutsche Aircraft suppliers include Liebherr-Aerospace Toulouse, Aciturri, and Heggemann. Private Wings is the launch customer with an initial purchase of five aircraft.
In May 2023, the ground-breaking ceremony for the new final assembly line occurred at Leipzig/Halle Airport with a capacity of 48 aircraft per year, featuring a commissioning hangar and logistics centre. In early May 2025, the rear fuselage assembly line was inaugurated within Dynamatic Technologies in Bengaluru, India. By then, Deutsche Aircraft was preparing to roll out on 28 May at Oberpfaffenhofen its first prototype, assembled from the centre section of one Dornier 328 airframe and the nose and empennage of another one, planning to fly it later in 2025.
Design