I Flew on a RARE Fokker 50!

The Fokker 50 is a Dutch-built turboprop airliner developed in the 1980s from the older Fokker F27 Friendship.
Unlike its older relative, only 200 of these planes were built, and they're a bit tricky to find in passenger service these days.
Many of those still flying passengers can be found in Sweden, however some are also in Central America flying with Air Panama!
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FLIGHT INFORMATION
Airline: Air Panama (7P/PST)
Aircraft: Fokker 50 (F50)
Flight Number: 7P680/981
Seat: 4F/1A (Economy)
Livery: Standard
Engines: 2x Pratt & Whitney Canada PW125B
Registration: HP-1793PST
Route: Panama City (PAC) - Bocas del Toro (BOC) - Panama City (PAC)
Callsign: AIR PANAMA 680/981
Runway used: 01 (PAC), 27 (BOC)
Date filmed: January 2024
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Outro song - "Take Flight" by Nyhtian: • Nyhtian - Take Flight ...
© Alex Praglowski Aviation 2024
This video is the property of Alex Praglowski Aviation and may not be used for any purpose without prior permission. Contact me at the email in the "About" section of my channel for usage.

[@user-gm4zw7ng8r]

These prop planes are going to get rarer and rarer. Must have been cool to fly on one!

[@F50Aircraft]

I flew on Fokker 50s (Skywest Airlines) from 1995 to 2010. Great aircraft.

[@DeltaLover93]

Well q400 are common on west jet and porter

[@user-gm4zw7ng8r]

@@DeltaLover93 Im talking about older props that are less efficient

[@dehavillandcanadatwinotter9621]

@@DeltaLover93I think they meant this prop plane in general, not necessarily prop planes in general. Turboprops aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, as long as small airports and communities exist they’ll be needed. DHC is considering updating the Q400 and plenty of Q400’s and ATR’s still and will fly for many years

[@BobSquarepants-zx7mw]

In Sweden the airline populair operates fokker 50’s

[@randyrohe]

Fun fact: your second ride DID have the APU. You can see it in the extended right engine nacelle. Whether or not it is serviceable or has been deactivated by the operator, I couldn't know.

[@Manneboy]

Theres still plenty of Fokker 50's in Sweden!

[@alberdehaas9858]

My first flight was on a fokker F27 Friendsip. This was in July 23 1971. Short flight from Eelde airport The Netherland to Amsterdam Shiphol airport. It was the start of my trip to Canada and 53 years later I am still here on Vancouver Island and loving it. Thanks for sharing Alex

[@susanableton8647]

Thank you for posting this. At 70, I still love most the prop planes. Came to Canada in 1967 on an Air Canada Vickers Vanguard. That started my love of propeller planes. In high school I became interested in the war planes of the different countries in World War II. So nice to see younger people having an interest in the older planes.🥰

[@GavinsAviation]

A vanguard? Cool!

[@MLXaviation]

as a Panamanian Avgeek i can say that seeing a Fokker 50 take off or land at my local airport is a one-of-a-kind sight, thanks for flying on one of our F50s!

[@robinstevens9189]

This was super cool. The only Fokker I've ever flown was a F100 YXE-YYC in 1999 just before they scrapped them all. Good 'Ol Canadian Airlines. Thanks for the Fokker video!

[@viscount757]

Pretty sure that would have been an F28, not F100.

[@viscount757]

Best to sit near the rear on any prop aircraft - the quietest part of the cabin, opposite of jets. First class on prop aircraft with 2-class service was always at the back

[@robinstevens9189]

@@viscount757 Totally possible! I had assumed it was an F100 but may have been the smaller F28. It was quite a while ago.

[@GeoMeridium]

The mother of all Fokkers!

[@ice711real]

Great review! Loved seeing the views of a fairly rural Panama 🇵🇦

[@Klink330]

These aircraft did stellar service for many years in Australia with Alliance airlines, flying miners in and out of their mines. May Panama fly them for many years to come.

[@jimbee7342]

All across the WA interior with Skywest/VARA too. Miss seeing them.

[@aisle9]

Did you know Fokker was researching a larger successor when they went out of business? It's too bad. The Fokker 69 would have been a sight to behold!

[@ianghose1]

Fokker 69......hehehe

[@pta3407]

I've always enjoyed the Fokker's - had many flights in KLM's F50/70/100s all across Europe as well as CP's F28 across Western Canada. Grateful that I lived in a time where one didn't have to travel out of the way to fly on an aircraft that wasn't a 737 or 777.

[@normanmcdonald9158]

It brings back memories of Quebecair and their F27 thatI had the pleasure of experiencing in my younger years between BaieComeau and Montreal several times. Thanks for the memories.

[@slundal]

I flew on these quite a lot as a kid going from Sweden to visit relatives in Norway. They had direct flights from Stockholm to Bergen with the now defunct carrier Skyways. I always loved the sound of those engines.

[@ckamin]

This video should have been named “Meet the Fokker 50”. 😂

[@maus3454]

I flew with the Fokker F50 as a passenger for many years commuting between Rotterdam Airport and London City Airport with VLM (Flamish Air Services) back in the early 2000's

[@RobvanLeuven]

in the 1980's I flew regularly between Eindhoven Airport (Netherlands) and London with NLM City Hopper, a KLM subsidiary; initially Gatwick, later Heathrow. The first years they operated F27's, hired from Dutch Air Forces (converted 'troopships'); they did have larger windows than the F50's that went into operation later, but they were extremely noisy - your ears would be ringing at arrival. The F50's had six-blade propellors and synchronized engines which made them a lot more comfortable noisewise. Many years later in 2007 I flew from Rotterdam to Manchester in a F50 operated by VLT (Belgian regional airline). Haven't seen one in a while now...

[@MarcvanExel]

As a Dutch person I love to see them still earning their keep. I only flew on a Fokker 50 once. PH-JXJ (c/n 20232) from KLM Cityhopper on a return trip between Amsterdam Schiphol and Duxford in the UK. A charter operated for DDA Classic Airlines in July 2001. Great video Alex!

[@FLYZ007]

I flew with Ethiopian, from Addis Ababa to Jimma on Fokker 50, 21 years ago ... beautiful aircraft.

[@carlosj.batista790]

Air Panama had 2 Fokker 27 (one of those in cargo version) 3 Fokker 50, 1 Fokker 70 (sold) and 2 Fokker 100 (retired) one of those is un my hometown airport (Enrique Malek Int') under an hangar without the engines, the other one is converted into a restaurant in causeway, Panama City. Fokkers in Panama are so common that im not conscious about how rare they are, i had the pleasure to fly on fokkers 100/70/50

[@kurtledesma5993]

Brings back memories of the Ozark times around STL

[@denault3985]

These aircraft are in excellent shape.

[@Sacto1654]

It's too bad the Fokker company went bankrupt in 1996. The Fokker 50 could have been a viable alternative to ATR72 for many regional airlines.

[@danthepilotman99]

Just flew one in Sweden last week!😊 The airline called populAir (previously called Amapola) flies a bunch of them on short routes, most of them from Stockholm Arlanda airport - to remote Swedish towns, but also to Finland (Mariehamn in Åland, and nearby Turku). Fun fact: we were 5 passengers, and we were asked to sit as far back in the aircraft as possible, for balance reasons 😂

[@RomeoDeltaAviation]

What a treat riding the F50! Excellent footage Alex 😎✈️

[@DaveNLR2]

I spent two years in the Canal Zone in 77-79, flew out of PTY and worked at BLB are a crash firefighter. That flight brought back memories. Thanks.

[@bebesin162]

Hello! I’m a Panamanian and I am very curious about more of our past history, how was it there?

[@DaveNLR2]

@@bebesin162 I loved it. Used to go 4 wheeling in the jungle, fishing in Lake Gatun for Peacock Bass. Lost a Tarpon. Hung out on the beach, ate Ceviche the locals made with shark meat. The locals were friendly. In the dry season, the whole jungle burned, then in the wet season, it rained at the same time every day like Ive never seen rain. We had A7's, 707s, F16s, U2s, and C5s.

[@bebesin162]

@@DaveNLR2 that is so nice! Thank you! I have visited Gatun lake and the former causeway which is now renovated

[@ronyap9746]

Had flown on the F 27 and the F 50 in East and West Malaysia operated by MAS till the 1990s. It operates to the small airports and the flights were pleasant in most days. It's slow flying and allow the topography of the route to be seen clearly and it was nature at its best. Missed flying in those marvellous planes.

[@danalamborn4464]

Nice video. I do wonder why Fokker changed the shape of the windows from "oval" to rounded rectangles from the F-27 to the F-50. I've flown on the F-27, F-28-4000 and F-100's, and all had oval windows...kind of miss them.

[@sjos5333]

I had flights on F27, F28, F50, and F100. Loved them all. And yes F27 had great windowns 🙂

[@ethancampbell6076]

5:38 Soothing sound of these P&W127Bs on T/O

[@xcel5203]

My first turbo-prop ,an Avro HS-748 aircraft . Could feel the vibes in the chest .

[@xaisies]

Dash-8is one of my favorites to fly on, so seeing a (cousin?) different interpretation of it is fascinating!

[@klaastaams4797]

As a ships engineer, in 1970 I had to fly to Cape Town. I flew from Amsterdam to Brussels with a Fokker F27 from Luxair. Smoking was still allowed on board, so as a real seaman I rolled my cigarette and lighted it, but then it felt on the floor and I could not find it anymore. I waited for fire, but nothing happened. 😅The rest of the journey was with a Boeing 707 from Sabena.

[@virtualpaddock]

I flew on one of those back in August 2013, from FMO to LCY (and back again a week later). It was my first flight. Don't really remember that much about the flight, especially as I wasn't really interested in aviation back then, but it's definitely cool to see this! This video brought back some nice memories of that trip in general 🙂

[@NYCLight]

I flew AIR PANAMA Cessna Caravan from Albrook in-town city airport to Isla La Contadora years back. The flights (with a stop in each direction) were more exciting/interesting than the Caribbean island destination. Population: 3! My friend, myself, and the hippie dippie French hotel owner. Loved the entire experience!

[@kennethchongweithart7905]

Flew a few times on this amazingly built aircraft. They were called the Borneo Cityhoppers...I did KCH BTU BKI...BKI LDU vv and SBW KCH back when Malaysia Airlines/Maswings still had them. Such an amazing plane!

[@blackjed]

Mmmm I can listen to those engines all day. That hum. Props just sound so different. Really want to fly on a prop plane one day

[@brentsummers7377]

Nice trip report! I liked the F27 for its nice big windows & because it flew at a lower altitude than a B737. Those big windows gave a really good view.

[@CoastalAutoReactionCAR]

Another great video Alex I thoroughly enjoy them! 🇨🇦

[@johndornoff]

Had the opportunity to fly the Fairchild F27 on Horizon Airlines but never been able to fly the Fokker F50. I was supposed to fly one from London to Antwerp, but that was in October 2020, and we know what happened to stop that trip and the airline that flew it went bankrupt. I may need to fly to Panama now since I can fly to Panama out of Chicago.

[@gabrielmtrains2810]

I love these smaller airlines that still operate these historic turboprops! I like how alot of nothern airlines in canada still operate them too! Its a sad but understandable sight to see these aircraft so rare.

[@benedekhalda-kiss9737]

Gained another subscription! I love how you let us listen to the engines instead of putting music or commentary over it

[@EdVonPelt]

I love how at 9:37, there is just a small earthwork to separate that football field and the runway.

[@ThijsF28]

Oh my the Fokker 50 😍😍😍

[@Lex5576]

My Dad and I flew from Charlotte to Washington D.C. on a Piedmont Airlines Fairchild F-27 in 1976. It was a thrill and my first time flying. On our flight back, we got the rare treat to a Japanese built YS-11. The YS-11 was a nice and quiet without the F-27's vibration. It had a pair of Rolls-Royce Darts, and I don't think we ever got over 15,000ft altitude. It had a short takeoff and landing roll too. I believe the pilot could possibly sit that think down and stop on a surfboard LOL.

[@Birdii1980]

I worked on the first F50 you flew many many times (ground handling) when it flew for Air Baltic (YL-BAS) at Stockholm Arlanda airport (ARN/ESSA). Really cool to see this one still flying! 😁

[@maelmoor]

Fantastic footage, greatly enjoyed the video, thanks! I love the Fokker 50's, so always great to see them still around! PopulAir (previously Amapola Flyg) still operate quite a few from Sweden.

[@timothydewa9096]

You know what, I love legendary birds, the cabin, the sounds, the ambience, it brings me back of boutique era of airliners along the years of 90's!

[@stanleovart]

I am glad that you, Alex, also found Fokker 50 to try to fly, pretty close (as much as it might be :))) to your home. As you may be have seen on my channel - I flew on that last winter inside Finland, however the airline was indeed Swedish (as you mentioned in the beginning). It was really great. I really like Fokker 50, this is very good turboprop airplane!

[@bse67]

Very enjoyable and educational. Thanks, Alex! Well done.

[@Airbus330flyer]

Hi Alex Watching and enjoying your videos for a long time now. The first plane you were on was the only Fokker 50 i ever flew with. Back in 2010 when she was with Air Baltic from Stockholm to Riga. Incredible that she is still in the air. Even back then the interior was already quite outdated but the sound was amazing:). Greetings from a German Avgeek

[@NicolaW72]

👍

[@davidandrews392]

Great video thanks for your visit Alex!!! 😎

[@master1185]

That’s such a little “Fokker.” lol 😂 😂😂

[@spider23000]

These used to be so common here in the UK up until fairly recently, as KLM used them from Amsterdam to a lot of our smaller airports (along with the F70s and F100s), like Newcastle, Norwich, even Sheffield City before the closed it. They've been replaced with Embraers now, which just aren't the same. Also Cityjet had a fleet of them flying out of London City with their Avros. Youre so lucky getting a flight on one now.

[@joesutherland225]

These were great planes better than a lot of the competition imo

[@Dc10_123]

Wow thats rare i hope you had amazing time flying this piece of history

[@skullgeezer7174]

If you still want to fly on more MD-80s and the worlds oldest Boeing 737-200, you should go to Venezuela. LASER, Avior, RED Air and Venezolana have some very interesting planes in their fleet!

[@Plane_studios8695]

The Fokker 50/100's Also fly in Kenya as a regional plane. Not as common as other plane's but is a pretty common sight

[@arlandaplanespotting]

The Fokker 50 flies here in Sweden by PopulAir. They have 12 of them. :)

[@bebesin162]

Im from Panama and I see your videos, THANK YOU! This is literally so good that you came here! Thank you!😊

[@brian402]

I remember the Fokker Friendship twin engine, back in the 1970's, Air New Zealand used them on the smaller town to town domestic routes., flew on one from Christchurch to Nelson. Now days Air New Zealand use the ATR-72's & Dash 8's for smaller town to town domestic routes.

[@ilmarilah1195]

I have seen the amapola flyg Fokker 50s flying over Helsinki. I haven’t seen them at the airport but a lot just in the sky from my home

[@user-cd2hl3nb1v]

Nice! If you are in panama city, i would recommend to book into a copa flight to the island of san andres, it has incredible beaches and, an airport in which you can spot arrivals and departures, it is not very known for that though

[@theEagleBeagle]

never been on one myself. very cool

[@craig7083]

I got to fly on one back in 1985, Britt Airlines, Chicago O’Hare to Champagne-Urbana. Also flew on F27, LAX to Palm Springs 1973.

[@NicolaW72]

Thank you very much for this very nice Trip-Report!🙂👍 - Air Panama is a small Regional Airline with only 5 aged Fokker 50 as fleet, another one is at delivery. It seemed to have been a rainy Winter Day beyond the Tourism Season when you visited Bocas del Toro - it was a really wet Runway at Landing.

[@markmaz56]

It was the huge windows of the Friendship that made it special!

[@jonathanscott550]

this was awesome. thanks Alex

[@stangneshakon]

Was changing planes in Stockholm, Arlanda a few weeks back. There were lots of Fokker 50 there, very fun to aee indeed!

[@Arthion]

Flew on these (along with Saab 2000s, Dash'es, and various MD-80 models) a few times as a child/young teen before SAS replaced them when traveling to visit family on the other side of Sweden. Also have some vague memories flying the Fokker F-28 when I was even younger before Linjeflyg was taken over by SAS. Been a lot of variety of aircraft operated on the ARN-SFT route. Big shame Fokker went bankrupt, they made neat aircraft.

[@philipwu1106]

Thanks for this video! My partner and I will be taking Air Panama to Nayara Bocas del Toro this November. Nayara is an all-inclusive resort on its own island in the archipelago. Great to see what the flight experience will be like at the airports and in the air!

[@RolandBizjets]

Thank you for sharing your experience. Oh my! I still remember the times when Riga Airport was full of AirBaltic's F50s. They were much louder than Q400 that replaced them.

[@Maxlikesstuff.]

What a rare and incredible aircraft to fly on!

[@Frisher1]

I didn't know they were rare, I live in Panama and they are a common sight

[@rudyjakma3664]

I am a long retired airline pilot. I have flown the Fokker F27, 50 and even the Fairchild FH227.

[@MintCRF125F]

Where I am in Australia our regional low cost airline alliance they operate the f100 and f70 so I see those everyday (they also use e175/190s)

[@awuma]

I flew on the F-27 in New Zealand many years ago. Its huge windows were the same as on the Viscount, really nice, and of course the views in New Zealand are magnificent. Unfortunately, I never flew on the Viscount, which NAC also had in the '60s (replaced by early B737s).

[@PeterNGloor]

Years ago I flew over the heart of the Swiss Alps in clear weather in a Fifty. I am also old enough to have flown on an F-27 when it was common.

[@mikemontgomery2654]

That’s pretty cool! I thought all those planes were gone. I love the look of the 50. Last time I saw some were at AMS. I boarded an F100 on the ground loading apron.

[@mpetrino7330]

Alex hi from yup a fellow Calgarian. Thanks for this because I didn't think there were an F 50"s still in commercial service. Amazed at the good condition of them, how are your knee caps after the rather snug seat configuration ?.. Access to the runway (no fence) is a world away from what we are used to. "hey how about a soccer game ?" with F 50's flying overhead at 100" too funny. Got to love the very obvious un-official pedestrian pathways/shortcuts across the runway. Reminds me of being in Gibraltar and walking Main Street across the airport runway. Appreciate seeing some F 50's in the air still. Thanks

[@NicolaW72]

It´s indeed a little bit dangerous because the Field looks like as to be used by the local Football Club. But OK, with three Landings and Departures at the Day...🤔

[@philipwilson4671]

Alex, thanks for posting this video. I enjoyed the views of the town itself. The "football" field and surrounding area was great. I did have a hard time watching the video though, as the fisheye camera lens and all the motion was giving me motion sickness. If you ever visit KBLI, grab a San Juan Airlines flight around the islands. They fly C207's and it's a blast to fly the round robin through the islands.

[@Paolo_DLR]

Pretty cool watching the landing gear on touchdown.

[@reynoldthemagnificientthun463]

I regularly fly in F27 in the 80's and F50 in the 90's. I dearly miss this aircraft.

[@viperbf109ace2]

My favorite turboprop this plane is definetly parte of my childhood and teen age and the Best turboprop ive flown

[@chrisclarke7828]

I am really happy for you.

[@nncast00]

Fantastic review, what a special airport. 8:14 also, definitely wasn't expecting an A380 comparison 😂

[@MichaelandNumberblocks]

Rare Fokker 50!

[@miguelarroyo4872]

This Panamanian company operated the f27, f70, f100 and f50 with the only ones it kept

[@Jwpgr84]

I once flew on a Fokker 100 - KLM from AMS to EDI.. back in 2001.

[@davidharris2519]

would have loved flying on the F-50

[@jozuavanlangenhove6586]

The Fokker 50 was the best in it's class when it came on the market. The performance and reliability was better than the ATR - 42 and Dash 8- 300.

[@IEngler]

That field is the dream of literally any aviation enthusiast

[@NicolaW72]

A little bit dangerous because it seems to be used by the local Football Club. But OK - with three Landings and Departures at the Day...🤔

[@romeooscar8495]

Dans les années 70 alors que j'étais au tout début de ma carrière, le F-27 était omniprésent. Un crash en 1978 à cause de l'explosion d'un de ses Dart au décollage a signifié la fin du type. Même une réjuvénation avec les P&W 12XX n'a pas suffi. Son temps était passé. J'ai volé à plusieurs reprises dans le cockpit. C'était bruyant mais les pilotes l'adoraient.

[@rand783]

I think I used to fly the Fokker from Toronto to Valdor and I always felt that the engines would slow to cruising speed but then spool up before landing. I thought they had to use full power to get the plane to dive. Did the Fokker also have a problem with icing and left northern climates for the south

[@Davyjones777yt]

Talking about hearing engine sounds reminds me that I had the pleasure of flying first class on Delta's e175 in seat 4a, with an amazing engine view I would 100% fly that again. (I did get that seat because my family knew the gate agent and he upgraded all of us)

[@theshadowman1398]

One of my all time favorite planes

[@gzk6nk]

they're only rare now. In the 1990s I used to fly on Maesrk Air F50s Copenhagen to Billund quite frequently.

[@zamirmaduro2338]

I had the pleasure the flown on Inselair fokker 50 PJ-KVM in 2018

[@firegamer3795]

Nice video alex i know i might be repeating again the same thing but its not a lie your video make me happy to watch continue like that. 👍

[@hawaiifiles]

A 45 minute trip can offer a short drink service and/or peanuts or something. Nice plane. The F-27s used to fly in Hawaii.