In "Dream Baby" (Flight International, 19-25 March) you state that the 728 aircraft family dates back to the days of the MPC75 in the mid-1980s, was passed down from Deutsche Aerospace and finally revived as the 728 family after Fairchild took over Dornier from Daimler Benz. I was head of the Fairchild Dornier future projects team which was involved in the RegioLiner as well as the 728 concept development, and I would like to correct this misconception.
Dornier in the early 1990s was involved in the RegioLiner programme, a successor of the MPC75. In general it is true to say that knowledge we acquire through participation in different programmes forms the foundation of our know how. However to say that the 728 family is a revived MPC75 programme is wrong.
The 728 family is a unique design concept, which differentiates substantially from the MPC75 or RegioLiner approach. From its beginning in September 1997 it was tailored for maximum passenger comfort and cabin flexibility, optimised turnaround times, best operating cost and simplicity of design. The MPC75 as well as the RegioLiner were much more technologically ambitious and risky.
Thomas Ahn
Head of Future Projects & Technologies
Fairchild Dornier, Wessling, Germany
Source: Flight International
