The Fokker F.27 Friendship is perfect for rural Norway. It was built to be able to land on short runways, of which there are many in Norway. The aircraft is also equipped with a pressurized cabin and turbine engines, enabling it to fly both high and fast. These were remarkable innovations when the aircraft was developed in the mid-1950s. In addition, the engines are mounted so high that there is room for large propellers, which makes the aircraft safer if one of the engines should fail.
The museum’s aircraft is painted in the livery it wore while flying for Braathens SAFE from 1966 to 1976.
Braathens SAFE received its first of eight Fokker F.27 Friendship in 1958, at the same time the company began operating the routes Oslo-Ålesund and Bergen-Ålesund-Trondheim. With this aircraft, the company increased its capacity by 600 percent, from an annual passenger total of 101,000 in 1958 to 628,000 in 1959. At the time, the aircraft became the most dominant type on its domestic routes. It was also used to transport flowers from Italy, as well as distributing mail and newspapers throughout Norway.
The first pilots to operate the aircraft must have felt tremendous excitement. The pressurized cabin and powerful turbine engines were one thing, but the aircraft was also much lighter than comparable aircraft. Instead of being riveted together, many of the rivets were replaced with adhesives, and much of the metal was replaced with fiberglass. The landing gear can be raised and lowered using pneumatics (compressed air) instead of hydraulics. With all these innovations, the aircraft set a new standard for future smaller passenger aircraft.
In January 1969, Braathens SAFE acquired its first jet aircraft, a Boeing 737-200. In March of the same year, the company acquired the Fokker F.28 Fellowship jet, which was the successor to the Fokker F.27 Friendship. Nevertheless, the old turboprop aircraft remained in service until Braathens SAFE’s last scheduled flight with the type on 31 May 1976. The company sold its last three Fokker F.27 Friendship aircraft to Busy Bee Air Service.
The museum’s aircraft
The museum’s aircraft was purchased by Braathens SAFE in 1966 and sold to Busy Bee Air Service in 1976. When Busy Bee went bankrupt in 1992, the aircraft was bought back by Braathens SAFE, which repainted it in the livery it had worn when they owned it in the 1960s. Once fully repainted, it was donated to Flyhistorisk Museum Sola in 1993.
Spesifications
| Type | Short-range passenger aircraft |
| First flight | 1955 |
| Length | 23,6 m |
| Wingspan | 29 m |
| Height | 8,7 m |
| Weight, empty and max | 10 260 / 17 710 kg |
| Engines | 2x Rolls-Royce Dart |
| Engine power | 2x 2 320 hp |
| Maximum speed | 480 km/h |
| Range | 2600 km |
| Crew | 2x pilot, 2x cabin crew |
| Passenger capacity | 44 |
| Country of origin | The Netherlands |
| Museum number | FMSG2010.20.01 |