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The HFB 320 Hansa Jet is a twin-engine, ten-seat business jet that was designed and produced by German aircraft manufacturer Hamburger Flugzeugbau between 1964 and 1973. The most recognisable and unconventional feature of the aircraft is its forward-swept wing.
The Hansa Jet began development during the 1960s, the selection of the forward-swept wing can be largely attributed to head engineer Hans Wocke, who had previously worked on the experimental Junkers Ju 287. It possessed a spacious cabin, which was achieved due to its wing design, but was a relatively heavy aircraft, posing some issues during both take-off and landing. On 21 April 1964, the prototype conducted its maiden flight. On 12 May 1965, the first prototype was lost during a test flight, killing Hamburger Flugzeugbau's chief test pilot; several design changes were made to change the Hansa Jet's stall characteristics.
Type certification of the Hansa Jet was received during early 1967 and the first deliveries commenced during the following year. The largest customer of the type was the German Air Force, who tasked it with both training and VIP transport duties. During 1973, it was decided to end production of the Hansa Jet. Reasons for the programme's termination include increased competition from newer executive jets, a decline in the value of the US dollar, and the limited sales of the type. The German Air Force continued to operate their Hansa Jets into the early 1990s. A limited number continued to be used amongst civilian operators into the 21st century.
Development
Origins
thumb|The selected [[General Electric CJ610 turbojet is derived from the military J85, pictured.]]
During the early 1960s, American businessman and inventor Bill Lear successfully launched the Learjet 23, one of the first light business jets. This experience strongly influenced the decision to adopt a forward-swept wing for the new design, which became known as the HFB 320 or the Hansa Jet. A more spacious cabin could be achieved than that of the Learjet, while remaining just as fast by minimising drag.
The selection of the American General Electric CJ610 turbojet engine to power the design was a straightforward choice; at the time, there were no other compact turbojets that had reached quantity manufacture yet. After a year of certification flight testing, on 12 May 1965, the first prototype crashed resulting in the death of Hamburger Flugzeugbau's chief test pilot; the cause was determined to have been the occurrence of an unrecoverable deep stall which had been induced by the design of the T-tail. As a consequence of the accident, various modifications were introduced to improve the aircraft's stall characteristics, including the installation of a stick pusher.
Assembly of the first ten production aircraft commenced during May 1965, the first of these reportedly flew on 2 February 1966. The granting of type certification by German authorities was achieved on 23 February 1967, certification from the American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) followed on 7 April 1967. Deliveries commenced during the following year.
In 1969, the $840,000 HFB 320 was to be developed into the $1.7 million, Mach 0.76 HFB 330: flight-testing was to start in 1971 for FAR 25 certification by late 1972.<!--ref name=Flight9oct1969-->
It would have been stretched by and powered by Garrett ATF3 turbofans with thrust reversers for short-field operation.<!--ref name=Flight9oct1969-->
A fuel capacity would have given it a maximum endurance of over seven hours and a transcontinental range of with five people.
Design
thumb|HFB 320 schematic
The HFB 320 Hansa Jet is a mid-wing monoplane of basically conventional layout, powered by twin rear-mounted jet engines beneath a T-tail. Constructed entirely of metal, it has a 10-seat passenger cabin and retractable undercarriage. As certified, the Hansa Jet can carry up to 12 passengers. Its General Electric CJ610 turbojet engines enabled the aircraft to achieve a maximum speed of along with a maximum endurance in excess of .
As part of the evaluation of the type, two preproduction aircraft were delivered to the ErpSt 61 test wing at Oberpfaffenhoffen in 1966. As a consequence of this evaluation, a total of six aircraft were ordered for VIP transport duties by the German Air Force; deliveries of these aircraft commenced during 1969. a 20 percent hull-loss rate; but only the crash of the prototype was directly attributable to the aircraft's design. Pilot error was blamed in a majority of the accidents. According to aviation publication "AIN Online", perhaps the last flying Hansa in the U.S. crashed on 30 November 2004.
- Midwest Air Charter
- Modern Air Transport
- Zantop Airways
Military operators
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- West German Air Force