A history of the Dornier 328, from turboprop to jet and back

The Dornier 328 first flew in December 1991 and has had a long, varied history since. Developed by German manufacturer Dornier Flugzeugwerke, the turboprop regional aircraft entered production that year and stayed in production until 2000, with 217 units built.

Horizon Air placed one of the largest orders of that year for the type, ordering 35 aircraft in May 1991 and taking delivery of its first example in 1994. Several variants followed the original 328-100. The 328-110 had extended range, while the 328-120 and 328-130 offered improved short-field and high-speed performance.

After Fairchild acquired Dornier, the two companies developed a jet-powered version of the aircraft, the Fairchild-Dornier 328JET, which entered regular service in July 1999. That jet variant stayed in production for close to six years and is still flown by a handful of airlines today.

The 328 family later expanded with the C-146 Wolfhound, a military derivative used exclusively by the United States Air Force's Special Operations Command. More recently, Deutsche Aircraft unveiled the D328eco, a modernized turboprop version rolled out in 2025 and expected to enter service in 2027 — carrying the aircraft's lineage forward more than three decades after its first flight.