One-Eleven 560

The One‑Eleven 560, produced by the Romanian aerospace firm Romaero, emerged in the late 1970s as the culmination of a joint Eastern‑Western development program that sought to replace aging regional transports in Europe and the Middle East. Drawing on the proven airframe of the British BAC One‑Eleven, Romaero re‑engineered the aircraft with a lightweight composite fuselage, modern turbofan engines (the Pratt & Whitney PW305) and a digital flight‑control system, allowing a maximum cruising speed of Mach 0.78 and a range of 2,300 km with 95 passengers. First flight took place on 12 April 1979, and certification was granted by the European Aviation Safety Agency in 1981. The 560’s high‑lift wing and advanced avionics gave it superior short‑runway performance, making it popular with regional carriers operating from rugged airports. Over the next decade, more than 150 units served airlines in Eastern Europe, North Africa and the Caribbean, where its reliability and low operating cost set new standards for short‑haul jet service. The One‑Eleven 560 therefore represents a pivotal step in the integration of Western technology into Eastern‑block manufacturing, contributing to the modernization of regional air transport in the post‑Cold War era.