Hamburger Flugzeugbau HFB-320 Hansa Jet

The Hamburger Flugzeugbau HFB-320 Hansa Jet is an all-metal, twin-engine, 10-seat business jet that was built by German aircraft manufacturer Hamburger Flugzeugbau between 1964 and 1973.

The most notable feature of the aircraft is its forward-swept wing, which is mid-mounted in the fuselage. This arrangement allows the wing spar to pass through the fuselage behind the passenger cabin without decreasing cabin volume. , it remains the only civilian jet ever to use a forward-swept wing.

Development
The prototype first flew on 21 April 1964. A second prototype was flown on 19 October 1964. After a year of certification flight testing, the first prototype crashed on 12 May 1965, due to a design fault with the T-tail. Hamburger Flugzeugbau's chief test pilot perished in the crash. As a result of the accident, modifications were made to improve the aircraft's stall performance, including a stick pusher. Assembly of the first ten production aircraft began in May 1965, with the first flying on 2 February 1966. German type certification was achieved on 23 February 1967, with American certification following on 7 April 1967. Italcement of Italy took first customer delivery on 26 September 1967.

The Luftwaffe had ordered 13 HFB-320s in 1963. As part of the evaluation of the type, two pre-production aircraft were delivered to the Est61 test wing at Oberpfaffenhoffen in 1966. This resulted in six aircraft being ordered for VIP use by the Luftwaffe. Production deliveries for use as VIP transports commenced in 1969.

A further eight Hansa jets were purchased by the Luftwaffe for ECM training, these being delivered between August 1976 and April 1982. The Luftwaffe replaced its VIP Hansas by Canadair Challengers in 1987, but the ECM aircraft remained in service until 1994.

Increased competition from newer executive jet models and a comparatively poor safety record led to dwindling orders, with production ceasing in 1973. The Aviation Safety Network lists a total of nine accidents (six fatal) for the type, an astounding 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.

Civilian Operators

 * Golden West Airlines
 * Midwest Air Charter
 * Midwest Air Charter

Military operators

 * Luftwaffe
 * Luftwaffe