I Flew For MMA (MacRobertson Miller Airlines): F-27 Data

Fokker F.27
Friendship in MMA Service

**Specifications**
In MMA Service:	31st December 1959 to April 1972 (6 aircraft peak)
Wingspan:	95ft 1 3/4in, 29m
Length:	82ft 2 1/2in, 25.06m
Height:	28ft 7 1/4in, 8.71m
Cruising Speed:	240knots, 276mph, 444kmph
Max takeoff weight	42,000lb, 19tonnes
Max Altitude:	25,000ft
Engines	2 Rolls Royce Dart turboprops producing 1970 shaft HP, and 495lb of thrust
Seating Capacity	2 pilots, 2 Hostesses, 36 passengers

"A view from the Office"; F.27 in flight The introduction of the Fokker F.27 Friendship marked a quantum leap forward in speed, sophistication and passenger comfort. Gone were the incessant bumps down at 10,000ft, the Friendship being pressurised and cruising above most of the weather with the passengers in airconditioned comfort.

MMA's pilots, for the first time, savoured the simple operation of the turbo-prop with its smoothness and quietness. But along with the new aircraft came greater speed (240 knots cruise, rather than the 140 knots of the DC-3) and the increased sophistication of more complex aircraft systems and navigation aids. After years flying the lumbering DC-3, the Friendship heralded the "Big Time" for the pilots.

F.27 VH-MMO ready to fly: "The Jetsream Service" The passengers, for the first time, enjoyed a hot meal service, and were able to easily fly from Darwin, in the Northern Territory, to Perth in one day. In fact, the Friendship was so much more appealing than the DC-3 that MMA called it "The Jetstream Service".

The author flew 4,100 hours in the Friendship, enjoying every minute of it. Read all about it in "I Flew For MMA".