Deutsche Aircraft

As of October 2026 – When aircraft manufacturing in Germany comes up, most people think of Airbus in Hamburg or of suppliers that make parts for large jets. There is only one German manufacturer of complete airliners, though: Deutsche Aircraft. The company from Oberpfaffenhofen holds the rights to the Dornier 328, supports its worldwide fleet and builds the D328eco on its basis – a stretched turboprop for 40 passengers. Since the end of September 2026, the program has had its own plant at Leipzig/Halle Airport. For you as a spotter, this is a rare opportunity to follow an aircraft program from the prototype onward.

From customer support to aircraft manufacturer

To understand Deutsche Aircraft, you have to take a step back. On December 6, 1991, the first prototype of the Dornier 328, a high-wing turboprop for a good 30 passengers, took off at Oberpfaffenhofen. In October 1993, the type entered scheduled service, and later the 328JET, a version with jet engines, followed. The story of the manufacturer behind it, which then belonged to Fairchild Dornier, ended abruptly: in April 2002, Fairchild Dornier filed for insolvency. The rights to the 328 first went to AvCraft Aviation, which also had to give up after a short time. In total, only a good 100 of the turboprop were built.

The aircraft kept flying, though – and needed spare parts, technical support and someone to stand behind their airworthiness. This role was taken on by 328 Support Services GmbH, which acquired the type certificate of the Dornier 328 in 2006. From Oberpfaffenhofen, it supplied the remaining operators, and in 2015 the US Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) bought the company. This suddenly gave the small customer support business a financially strong owner behind it that knows the aircraft itself: SNC is closely tied to the Dornier 328s that the US Air Force uses as the C-146A Wolfhound for special forces.

The idea of not just maintaining the 328 but relaunching it became a concrete project around 2019/2020 with the name D328eco. In December 2020, the company appeared as an aircraft manufacturer under the Deutsche Aircraft brand, and in September 2021 the renaming to Deutsche Aircraft GmbH followed. Today, according to its own figures, the company employs several hundred people from dozens of nations; at its head is CEO Nico Neumann.

If you are interested in the origins, you’ll find the long history of the Dornier name – from the flying boats to the regional aircraft – on the page for the manufacturer Dornier and in the Dornier Museum Friedrichshafen.

The D328eco: a stretched 328 for 40 passengers

The D328eco is not a completely new design but a thoroughly reworked Dornier 328. That has advantages: the basic airframe has proven itself over decades, and much operating experience feeds directly into the new version. At the same time, Deutsche Aircraft changes almost everything at the decisive points.

Most striking is the longer fuselage. The stretch makes the cabin grow to up to 40 seats – about a fifth more than the original. According to the manufacturer, the pressurized cabin maintains a cabin altitude of 8,000 ft at a higher cruise speed. The engines are new as well: the PW127XT-S come from the same family as the engines of new ATR aircraft but are tailored to the D328eco. In the cockpit, Deutsche Aircraft relies on an avionics system from Garmin operated with touchscreens.

The name “eco” points to the second big goal: the D328eco is designed to fly on sustainable aviation fuel, and also entirely on synthetic fuel made from renewable electricity. Together with the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the company has carried out measurement flights with a Dornier 328 powered by fully synthetic fuel. With another converted test bed called the D328ALPHA, the firm is also researching electric propulsion, fuel cells and hydrogen storage.

More than a passenger aircraft: D328MR and special missions

Besides the passenger version, Deutsche Aircraft markets the D328MR, a multi-role variant for government agencies and special tasks. The manufacturer names fields of use such as surveillance, disaster relief, medical evacuation and aerial firefighting. This fits with the D328eco getting a large door that can be operated in flight and a modular cabin. In June 2026, the company also presented an unmanned component at the ILA in Berlin, developed together with the Sierra Nevada Corporation, which complements the D328MR.

This division is interesting for you mainly because it widens the spectrum of the Dornier 328 family. Even today, 328s fly not only with charter and regional airlines but also with the military and government agencies – the best-known example is the US Air Force’s C-146A. If you visit trade shows, you have a good chance of meeting Deutsche Aircraft at its stand: in 2026, the company was represented both at AERO Friedrichshafen and at the ILA Berlin.

Oberpfaffenhofen: development, testing, certification

The headquarters is in Weßling at the special-purpose airport Oberpfaffenhofen, about 20 kilometers southwest of Munich. The site has a long aviation tradition: Dornier built aircraft here for decades, and the first 328 flew here in 1991. Today, Oberpfaffenhofen is home to development, flight testing and certification of the D328eco as well as the customer support that supplies the worldwide Dornier 328 fleet with spare parts and technology. The DLR is also on site with a large facility and research aircraft of its own.

On May 28, 2025, TAC 1, the first D328eco test aircraft, rolled out of the hangar here. For the program, this was an important milestone, because for the first time an aircraft in the new configuration could be seen. The manufacturer reports no first flight of the D328eco itself as of October 2026; in its announcements, Deutsche Aircraft describes the first-flight campaign as the next big step.

In parallel, certification of individual systems continues. From August 5, 2026, a converted classic D328 as a test bed tested the new landing gear. After low- and high-speed taxi tests, it completed five development flights according to the manufacturer; together with the ground tests, the new landing gear logged more than 15 hours of testing. Important here: Deutsche Aircraft has changed the landing gear supplier and secured the full rights to the design. The landing gear is intended for the D328eco and, according to the manufacturer, is to be standardized with the platform of the existing fleet. As next test steps, the manufacturer names braking distance, crosswind and steering trials as well as tests on unpaved runways.

Leipzig/Halle: the new D328eco plant

Deutsche Aircraft built the second site in Saxony. At Leipzig/Halle Airport, a plant was created with a final assembly line, a hall for the flight readiness of the finished aircraft, a logistics center and an administration building. After the topping-out ceremony in November 2025, it was officially opened on September 29, 2026 – with representatives of the federal and state governments, including Saxony’s Minister of Economic Affairs Dirk Panter; Minister-President Michael Kretschmer spoke by video.

The key data according to the manufacturer: around 60,500 square meters of floor space, an investment of more than €100 million, a capacity of up to 48 aircraft per year and around 250 direct jobs that will be created as production ramps up. Since then, the equipment suppliers have followed step by step: in early October 2026, Jungheinrich handed over an automated warehouse with more than 6,500 container slots, and Bosch supplies the security technology for the site.

Leipzig/Halle is worth a trip for spotters anyway. The airport is DHL’s European hub and one of Europe’s largest freight airports, with busy night traffic of widebody freighters. What you see there and where to stand is described on the page for Leipzig/Halle Airport, the spot guide to the observation deck and the article Plane spotting at Leipzig/Halle.

Customers and market

The first customer of the D328eco comes from Germany: Private Wings of Berlin, one of the largest operators of the Dornier 328 worldwide, has signed a letter of intent for five aircraft. That makes sense, because anyone already flying the 328 knows the aircraft and can switch pilots and technology to the new version comparatively easily. Deutsche Aircraft had not named any other customers as of October 2026.

With trade show appearances in Australia, Canada and Africa, among others, the manufacturer shows where it sees potential: in regions with thin routes, short runways and aircraft that need replacing. The competition is manageable but strong. The ATR 42-600 serves a similar size class and is widespread worldwide. Older types such as the Saab 340 or the early Dash 8s from De Havilland Canada are no longer built – the D328eco aims precisely at their succession.

An honest look is part of it: the schedule has slipped several times. In early 2021, entry into service was still planned for 2025, later for 2026; in announcements from spring 2026, the manufacturer names 2027. New certification requirements were among the reasons given. Deutsche Aircraft itself stresses that it deliberately ties industrialization to certification progress. How reliable the current schedule is will become clear with the first flight.

How to recognize the 328 family in the field

As long as the D328eco is not yet flying in scheduled service, you mainly meet the family in the form of the classic 328 and the 328JET. Both are rare but can be identified reliably with a few features.

You’ll recognize the stretched D328eco by its longer fuselage – the difference of a good two meters stands out mainly in direct comparison. Until it flies regularly, every sighting of a test aircraft is a real highlight. Typical features of prototypes such as house livery and factory registrations are explained in the articles House liveries of test aircraft and Manufacturers’ test registrations.

Where to spot the Dornier 328 today

The existing fleet is small but spread across many countries. In Germany, Private Wings is the best-known operator; its 328s and 328JETs are mainly on charter and ad hoc flights and therefore turn up at changing airports. In other European countries and in North America, further 328s fly with smaller regional and charter operators, and in the US the Air Force’s C-146A as well. Fixed scheduled services you can rely on are the exception.

That is why a systematic strategy pays off. Filter the tracking service for D328 and J328 and watch for flights toward Oberpfaffenhofen – 328s land there regularly for maintenance or test work. At large airports such as Munich, 328s are more likely guests of general aviation and often park away from the terminals. You’ll find more tips for the hunt for rarities under Spotting rare aircraft, and for sharp propeller pictures the article Photographing propellers helps.

Conclusion

Deutsche Aircraft is an unusual story: a customer support business for an almost forgotten regional aircraft that has developed into a manufacturer. With the D328eco, the headquarters in Oberpfaffenhofen and the new plant in Leipzig/Halle, the company has laid the foundations for series production. Whether the plan works out will be decided by the next steps – first flight, certification and further customers.

For you as a spotter, that is exactly the appeal. The classic 328 and 328JET are already rare guests today, and the D328eco test aircraft exist only in very small numbers. If you keep an eye on type designators, registrations and the two sites, you can follow the emergence of a German airliner up close.