Fairchild Dornier plans a full-fledged development launch of its 50-seat 528JET regional jet around January 1998, says company president Jim Robinson.
The company is seeking two more risk-sharing partners to join the programme along with Aermacchi.
Development costs for the 528JET are expected to reach about $300 million. By the end of July, Fairchild Dornier is expected to have decided which of the two design concepts it should pursue an evolutionary approach that would in essence be a stretched 328JET, or a revolutionary approach based on a new airframe design. But the anticipated three-year development programme puts pressure on Fairchild Dornier to be innovative because other 50-seat jets, such as the Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) and the Embraer EMB-145, are already firmly established in the marketplace.
By contrast, Robinson believes Fairchild Dornier's other planned regional jet, the 328JET, will benefit greatly from its head start in the emerging 30-seat jet marketplace. "I think this has come out at the right time and we are out there early," says Robinson.
Source: Flight Daily News
