Industry | Manufacturing |
---|---|
Headquarters | Switzerland |
Products | Aircraft, railroad car |
Flug- und Fahrzeugwerke Altenrhein AG (FFA) (English: Flight and Driving Vehicle Plant Altenrhein) was a Swiss aircraft and railroad car manufacturing company based at Altenrhein (SG). It was originally part of Dornier Flugzeugwerke, but was split off in 1948.
In the years following World War II, FFA manufactured fighter aircraft for the Swiss Air Force, based on Morane-Saulnier designs as the D-3803. These were eventually replaced in service by surplus P-51 Mustangs.
In the 1950s, FFA developed a jet fighter, the P-16. The P-16 project, while promising, was cancelled after two crashes, and Hawker Hunters were bought instead. Also the project for a Bizjet SAAC-23 was cancelled. In the 1960s the company built the Diamant series of sailplanes. [1] [2] [3]
The firm licence-built many aircraft for Swiss use, including the de Havilland Vampire, de Havilland Venom, Dassault Mirage III, and F-5 Tiger II.[ citation needed ]
In 1987, the company name was bought back by Dornier. The railway part went to Schindler fist, ending up in 1997 as part of Stadler Rail.[ citation needed ]
Dornier Flugzeugwerke was a German aircraft manufacturer founded in Friedrichshafen in 1914 by Claude Dornier. Over the course of its long lifespan, the company produced many designs for both the civil and military markets.
FFA may refer to:
The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and the first to be powered by a single jet engine.
Learjet was a manufacturer of business jets for civilian and military use based in Wichita, Kansas, United States. Founded in the late 1950s by William Powell Lear as Swiss American Aviation Corporation, it became a subsidiary of Canadian Bombardier Aerospace in 1990, which marketed the company’s aircraft as the "Bombardier Learjet Family". The 3,000th Learjet was delivered in June 2017. The Learjet line was once sufficiently popular that the Learjet name became synonymous and interchangeable with the terms business jet or private jet in the popular vernacular. In February 2021, Bombardier announced the end of production for all new Learjet aircraft in 2021, with the continuation of support and maintenance for aircraft currently in service.
In the years leading up to the outbreak of World War II in Europe in 1939, there was some significant collaborative development in heavy industry between German companies and their Japanese counterparts as part of the two nation's evolving relations. This was one major factor in Japan's ability to quickly exploit raw materials in the areas of the Empire of Japan that had recently come under their military control.
Leslie Everett Baynes, AFRAeS was an English aeronautical engineer.
The FFA P-16 is a Swiss prototype ground attack jet fighter designed and produced by aircraft manufacturer Flug- und Fahrzeugwerke Altenrhein (FFA). It was Switzerland's second attempt to develop a domestically designed and manufactured jet fighter, following the EFW N-20.
Aktiengesellschaft für Flugzeugunternehmungen was an aircraft manufacturer founded in Altenrhein, Switzerland in 1959 to further develop the FFA P-16 jet fighter after the Swiss government cancelled its order. Three variants were proposed, each with a different turbojet, but the project was unable to attract buyers.
The Bière–Apples–Morges Railway (BAM) or Chemin de fer Bière-Apples-Morges, located in Switzerland, is a 1,000 mmmetre gauge railway with a total length of almost 30 kilometres (19 mi) which links the towns in its name and from a junction at Apples to the village of L’Isle. The company was renamed to Transports de la région Morges-Bière-Cossonay (MBC) to express its other activities, mainly in local and regional bus services. Furthermore the Funiculaire Cossonay–Gare–Ville is part of MBC since 2010, Before, MBC was contracted to operate it.
The EFW N-20 Aiguillon was Switzerland's first indigenous jet fighter project. The Swiss Federal Aircraft Factory developed a design for a four-engined swept winged fighter following the end of the Second World War. An unpowered sub-scale N-20.01 glider and a turbojet powered test aircraft, also sub-scale and known as the N-20.02 Arbalète ("Crossbow"), were test flown. A fighter prototype N-20.10 Aiguillon was built but never flown, and a twin-engines N.20.20 Harpon was also proposed but not followed up.
The AS/SA 202 Bravo is a two to three-seat civil light aircraft jointly designed and manufactured by the Swiss company Flug- und Fahrzeugwerke Altenrhein (FFA) and the Italian company Savoia-Marchetti. The aircraft was designated the AS 202 in Switzerland, and the SA 202 in Italy.
The history of the Swiss Air Force began in 1914 with the establishment of an ad hoc force consisting of a handful of men in outdated and largely civilian aircraft. It was only in the 1930s that an effective air force was established at great cost, capable of inflicting several embarrassing defeats on the Nazi Luftwaffe in the course of an initially vigorous defence of neutral Swiss airspace. The Swiss Air Force as an autonomous military service was created in October 1936. After World War II it was renamed the Swiss Air Force and Anti-Aircraft Command and in 1996 became a separate service independent from the Army, under its present name Schweizer Luftwaffe.
Gyroflug Ingenieurgesellscaft mbh was a German aircraft manufacturer specializing in light aircraft, whose major product was the Gyroflug Speed Canard. It was founded in 1978, but ceased trading in 1992.
The Posnansky/Fronius PF-1 White Knight is a Swiss/American FAI Standard Class high-wing, T-tailed, single-seat glider that was designed and constructed by Hernan Posnansky and later greatly redesigned by Posnansky and Robert L. Fronius.
The FFA Diamant is a family of Swiss high-wing, T-tailed, single-seat, FAI Standard Class and FAI Open Class gliders that was designed by engineering students under supervision of Professor Rauscher at the ETH Zurich and manufactured by Flug- und Fahrzeugwerke Altenrhein AG (FFA) of Altenrhein, Switzerland.
Applebay Sailplanes was an American aircraft manufacturer, founded by George Applebay and based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of sailplanes in the form of ready-to-fly type certified aircraft, as well as some experimental types.
Andrea Claudio Caroni is a Swiss lawyer and politician who currently serves on the Council of States (Switzerland) since 2015. He previously served on the National Council (Switzerland) between 2011 and 2015, then the only representative from the Canton of Appenzell-Ausserrhoden.
Media related to Flug- und Fahrzeugwerke Altenrhein at Wikimedia Commons,