The Fairchild Dornier 328-310 328JET belongs to Kumba Iron Ore in Kathu, which is a branch of the very widespread tree of the Anglo American Group.
This aircraft is one of the most fascinating planes I’ve flown in. The Dornier 328 Jet was designed and placed into initial production by the German aerospace firm Dornier Luftfahrt GmbH, but in 1996 that firm was acquired by the United States aerospace company Fairchild Aircraft.
The 328JET was therefore the last commercial aircraft to be produced by the former Dornier business before it became insolvent in 2002.
Following Dornier’s insolvency, AvCraft Aviation of Virginia acquired the rights to the 328 program in March 2003, including the 32-seat 328JET and 328 turboprop, 18 328JETs in various stages of assembly, and the development work on the 428JET. After the successful sale of these airplanes, AvCraft negotiated arrangements with suppliers to resume production.
The first newly built 328JET was delivered in 2004. AvCraft also took on the production of these aircraft, due to low profit expectations for its other projects, until it filed for bankruptcy itself in 2005.
The resulting firm was acquired by private equity investors and reformed as M7 Aerospace.
This is a plane with two pilots and one aircrew, 32 to 34 passengers. Two Pratt and Whitney turbofan engines that give the plane a 3 700 km range at a max cruising speed of 405 knots or 750 km/h.
Often the two pilots are woman, I wonder if the sun shields have mirrors on them to adjust their make up…
I must say I do prefer it when they are in the drivers seat… the flight just seems so much smoother…!!
The Photographic Journey of bulldog. 
Stunning aircraft. I really like how it is designed.
I do love this plane… been in it many times…
The aircraft has just one major drawback. It has no reverse thrusters causing the pilots to rely on the brakes only. This sometimes results in violent braking menouvers, aspecially at Sishen airport. I often wondered what if the brakes fail…..
Those violent braking stops makes the flying experience great
A great post, Bulldog! I am impressed with these captures!
Thank you Paula…
Great shots Rob. 😀
Thanks Sonel
Whew I do agree I would be much happier with them in the drivers seat LOL
Thanks Kymeem
This bird isn’t quite as colorful as the ones you usually show us…then again, they don’t usually spit out a bunch of people. Impressive! 🙂
Thanks Lorna, to be honest I’m glad this one is not painted like the helicopter that i posted on.. that would be quite frightening… lol
I totally understand that!
I have to say I am very proud of these women and I prefer to see them leading the forefront too☺
Ok… thank you..
Awesome and interesting!
Thanks…
That is an awesome aircraft and even more impressive are it’s talented, amazing pilots. A post that soars high. Thanks.
Thank you… they are impressive these two women…
I’m a nervous passenger in small planes, but they are graceful when you’re watch a good pilot land! You took some wonderful shots!
This is indeed a great plane to fly in… smooth powerful and can reach the heights of the big stuff… I love it…
Your comments about “make up” reminds me of travelling into London by train in the mornings and seeing girls applying their make-up in a carriage full of people. Still, it is safer doing it on a train as opposed to while driving on the motorway, which I have also seen.
I must admit I’ve seen that as well.. driving applying makeup and talking on the cell at the same time.. I thought maybe they had come out with a self drive car I had not heard about…
In that second to last shot, the pilot is definitely pulling down the mirror to check the makeup. The pilot in the last shot couldn’t be bothered. 🙂 Excellent shots.
Now that’s what I thought…
E’ veramente bello, ma ancora più belle sono le tue foto 🙂
Ciao, Pat
Thanks Patrizia…
Is there a subject you know nothing about?
Women’s Dress making… lol… but I do know how to shorten a dress with a pair of scissors…
so … um … you’re familiar when Men’s Dressmaking??? :p
Definitely not… if they can’t buy their shorts in a shop… they should look elsewhere… but if a man wanted to wear a dress ???? I don’t think he would hang in my circles, I might just feed him to a Lion…
sorry I couldn’t resist playing with your words!
I was just thinking that!
I never knew that you could fly?
It hardly looks as though it can.. but its fast and comfortable and has beautiful pilots and cabin crew…
New kind of bird watching ????!!!! …. great shots and great post. To me it doesn’t look that the captain is wearing makeup – a bit sexist remark there, Bob … *laughing.
I quite like to fly with this size of planes too .. there is an British airline, Flybe, that use smaller plane. I don’t know if it’s the same models as this. It was a great and comfortable way for me to get from Belfast George Best airport to Gatwick, London.
I love this plane as you almost have too much leg room, and I’m no shorty, so it is comfortable… I pulled the leg of the one woman pilot with the same question, she found it very funny and two weeks later actually gave me a tour of their flagship jet which is a gulfstream one of the top of the range and luxury personified… she wears makeup, actually a very pretty girl…
How interesting!
It is perhaps fitting that the pilots should be women – the plane looks a bit pregnant, and they’d have a natural knowledge of how to handle it! 🙂
How right you are Col… that is maybe why it’s a smoother ride with them than the men…