The British Aerospace regional turbo-prop Jetstream 41 made its first flight on this day in 1991.
The Jetstream 41 prototype
The history of the designation Jetstream 41 goes back to the 1950s and the British aircraft manufacturer Handley Page, had a design concept with that name. When Handley Page collapsed in 1970, the project continued with Scottish Aviation. They in turn ended up, after several mergers and a privatisation being incorporated in British Aerospace (BAe).
BAe adopted the 'Jetstream'name for its twin turboprop line of regional aircraft.
The first prototype was rolled out of the factory at Prestwick (UK) on the 27th of March 1971, in total there would be 4 prototype aircraft, The first production aircraft went into service with Manx Airlines in November 1992.
The Jetstream 41 was aimed at the same market as the Embraer Brasilia and Saab 340. It had a new fuselage design which was stretched compared to its smaller predecessor the Jetstream 31 but had a 16 feet (4.88 meters) stretched fuselage. This was done by adding a 8' 3" plug forward of the wing and a 7' 9" plug aft of the wing.
Also the wing was changed, the span increased an aileron and flaps were newly designed. Compared to the Jetstream 31 another big difference was that the fuselage was mounted on top of the fuselage. This solved the "problem" on the Jetstream 31 that had its wing spar running through the cabin which was a real trip hazard. Another benefit of the fuselage being mounted on the wing it created extra baggage capacity in the (enlarged) wing to body fairings.
As powerplant the Allied Signal TPE331−14 engines were selected, the initial version was rated at 1500 shp, later models were rated at 1650 shp. Also, the flightdeck received an update besides new windows also the flightinstruments were presented on an EFIS setup.
In 1986 the Jetstream 41 program became part of the marketing consortium consisting of ATR, Aérospatiale, Alenia and BAe. Although a success in sales in mid-1997 BAe announced it would stop the jetstream program, at that time 100 airframes were delivered. On the 19th of February 1998, the last aircraft, s/n G-4-104) left the Prestwick factory, after completion, it would be delivered to the Hong Kong Government. According to www.baesystems.com, in July 2018 51 Jetstreams were still operational. Specifications for the Jetstream 41:
General characteristics
Crew: 3 (2 Pilots + Flight Attendant)
Capacity: 29 passengers
Length: 63 ft 2 in (19.25 m)
Wingspan: 60 ft 0 in (18.29 m)
Height: 18 ft 10 in (5.74 m)
Empty weight: 14,272 lb (6,474 kg)
MZFW: 21,400 lb (9,707 kg)
MTOW: 24,000 lb (10,886 kg)
MRW 24,100 lb (10,932 kg)
MLW: 23,300 lb (10,569 kg)
Fuel capacity: 727 imp gal (873 US gal; 3,305 l) / 5,960 lb (2,703 kg) maximum
Powerplant: 2 × Allied Signal TPE331-14GR/HR turboprop engines, 1,650 shp (1,230 kW) each (handed GR / HR)
Propellers: 5-bladed McCauley, 9 ft 6 in (2.9 m) diameter (handed GR / HR) constant-speed feathering metal propellers
Performance
Maximum speed: 295 kn (339 mph, 546 km/h) at 20,000 ft (6,096 m)
Cruise speed: 295 kn (339 mph, 546 km/h) max at 20,000 ft (6,096 m) 260 kn (299 mph; 482 km/h) at 20,000 ft (6,096 m) economical cruise
Vmo: 315 kn (362 mph, 583 km/h) CAS sea level to 17,400 ft (5,304 m)
Mmo: 0.65 above 17,400 ft (5,304 m)
Range: 774 nmi (891 mi, 1,433 km) with 29 pax + IFR reserves
Service ceiling: 26,000 ft (7,900 m)
Service ceiling on one engine: 15,000 ft (4,572 m)
Rate of climb: 2,200 ft/min (11 m/s)
Take-off run: 5,000 ft (1,524 m)
Landing run: 4,200 ft (1,280 m)
Avionics
Honeywell avionics with four screen EFIS
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