If there is a resurgence in demand for fuel-efficient turboprops once commercial aviation recovers, Deutsche Aircraft plans to be ready.
The Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany-based company is working to have its upgraded version of the Dornier 328, the D328eco, ready for market by 2025.
“We are targeting a sweet spot in the replacement market—the Saab 340, Jetstream 31/32 and Dash 8-100/200 are all now into an average age of 29-30 years,” said Dave Jackson, managing director of Deutsche Aircraft.
Into that anticipated market, the company is pitching a development of the 328 that is stretched to seat 37-43 passengers, with an updated cockpit that will be ready to meet future requirements for single-pilot operation and an airframe fully compatible with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
The D328eco has just entered the preliminary design review phase and Deutsche Aircraft plans to fly a test aircraft in early 2024, aiming for certification and entry into service in late 2025.
The D328eco is a derivate of the turbofan-powered 328Jet, which has a higher takeoff gross weight than the turboprop for increased payload and a higher cruise altitude capability of 35,000 ft. The fuselage is stretched by almost 2 m (6.6 ft.) over the 328.
Where the original turboprop 328 was powered by Pratt & Whitney PW119s, D328eco is planning to have more modern and powerful PW127Ss to take advantage of the higher gross-weight capability. “We are aiming to keep the fast turboprop credentials,” Jackson said.
The Dornier 328 was last produced in 2000. U.S. company Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) acquired the type certificate and manufacturing rights in 2015 when it took over 328 Support Services. Deutsche Regional Aircraft was formed in 2019 to return the 328 to production.
That original name was just a placeholder, Jackson told The Weekly of Business Aviation. The 328 is widely deployed as a special-mission aircraft–that was the reason SNC acquired the program–and “Regional” was too limiting, so the company has been rebranded Deutsche Aircraft.
The company is now actively seeking investment to complete development of the D328eco. Deutsche Aircraft has a €125 million ($150 million) loan from the German federal ministry of economics and a $6.5 million regional development grant from the state of Saxony.
While the government support helps, “we are required to provide our own financing. SNC is behind us and we are open to risk-sharing partners,” Jackson said. “We have a solid business case that has been validated externally.” The leadership team has been boosted by hiring several ex-Airbus executives.
Work has begun on the new final assembly plant in Leipzig, in Saxony. Most of the 328 was outsourced, so Deutsche Aircraft is re-establishing the supply chain. This will be a mix of former and new vendors, reflecting use of new technologies or because previous suppliers have moved out of the segment.
There will be a new landing gear supplier, Jackson said, and the aircraft will continue to have unprepared-surface capability. The cabin interior will be new, with a focus on passenger health. The airframe is being updated and older materials replaced to comply with European REACH regulations on chemicals and the environment.
When it comes to sustainability, SAF compatibility is just a starting point. Returning the 328 to production is an opportunity to ensure the aircraft is “capable of supporting whatever is bolted onto the wing,” Jackson said.
Deutsche Aircraft is working with German aerospace research center DLR on two main programs. One involves how to integrate a hybrid-electric propulsion system and the other is looking at alternative energy sources, he said, primarily zero-emission hydrogen fuel cells.
DLR has launched the €26 million BALIS project to develop and test a 1.5-megawatt fuel-cell power train, aimed at 40-60-seat regional aircraft with a range of 1,000 km (540 nm). Under the project, DLR will build a ground-test facility with the complete propulsion system and supporting infrastructure.
Deutsche Aircraft has recently established a customer advisory board. With the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on commercial aviation, “we’re not the highest on the customer priority list, but the interest is there,” Jackson said. “The segment is being forced back into their thinking and the day of the fast, fuel-efficient turboprop could be coming back.”
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