New landing gear developed by Heggemann, compatible with the whole Dornier 328 aircraft family, has reached production readiness stage. The landing gear is retrofittable to both turboprop and jet variants of the existing in-service fleet, as well as the new D328eco aircraft.

Deutsche Aircraft has already secured 17 fixed orders plus nine options since opening the order book in February 2022, with first deliveries expected in the second half of 2024. Heggemann will work on the industrialisation of the supply chain set-up to provide planning and delivery targets as well as visibility throughout the sub-tiers of this important work package. This partnership perfectly supports current operators and new customers to address an integral part of the aircraft.

Heggemann CEO Christian Howe says: “We are delighted to be part of this hugely exciting programme, developed at an opportune time: not only is the demand for regional travel growing, but at the same time there is a need to supply older regional aircraft with new spare parts in order to guarantee continuity in operation. We look forward to continuing to work with Deutsche Aircraft to further develop collaborative opportunities within the local supply chain and support the growing demand for the regional aviation industry.”

Deutsche Aircraft COO Nico Neumann adds: “The certification of the new D328eco landing gear, available via Service Bulletin and retrofittable to the entire current in-service fleet of D328 turboprops and jets, once more underpins Deutsche Aircraft's ongoing effort to support the global fleet. We are glad to have such a strong and committed partner like Heggemann by our side to be able to achieve our ambitious targets.”

Heggemann has been building three testbeds for systems engineering bench tests as well as evaluation on first prototypes for the D328eco. The company is providing the complete landing gear structures and systems of both main- and nose landing gear, and these will give the D328eco the robustness of its predecessor D328, and will increase operational capabilities towards the higher aircraft operational weight. Furthermore, the new landing gears will support unpaved runway operation on a variety of rough surfaces such as grass, gravel, ice and sand.

The Deutsche Aircraft programme continues to be led out of Oberpfaffenhofen airport near Munich and planning work is underway to establish the final assembly line at Leipzig Halle airport.