Silhouette traced from a photo by FaceMePLS from The Hague, The Netherlands · CC BY 2.0
Dornier · Turboprop
Dornier 228-100 / -200
The original German-built Dornier 228, between the Do 128 utility twin and today's 228NG and NXT.
A tough workhorse with genuine short-field ability and modest running costs, held back by an unpressurized cabin, a tiny US fleet and parts that come from one source in Germany. Best as a utility or special-mission aircraft.
Buy it if
You need to move up to 19 people or bulky cargo into short or unpaved strips, mostly fly legs under 400 nm, and have a maintenance shop that knows the type.
Skip it if
Your passengers expect a pressurized, quiet cabin with a lavatory, you fly long legs over mountains, or you want an aircraft that is easy to resell and service anywhere in the US.
Biggest compromise
The cabin is not pressurized. That keeps the airplane simple and rugged, but it means flying low, in the bumps and weather, and pilots need oxygen above 12,500 ft and passengers above 15,000 ft.
The numbers that matter
Purchase price
$1.2M–$1.88M
guide value (AeroGurus and Aircraft Investor)
What it costs per year
$834K
at 300 hrs · two professional pilots
How far it flies
1,200 nm
250–900 nm with passengers
How fast
232 kt
high-speed cruise
Seats
19
19 single seats; 15 in the -100
Pilots needed
1
Certified for one pilot; US charter with ten or more passenger seats needs two.
Price
What one costs to buy
Guide value
$1.2M–$1.88M
Other sites
Priced vs call
with a price / call for price
Neither aircraft for sale shows a price. Published guides put typical pre-owned values near $1.2–1.9M; earlier asks for high-time -202s ran $0.8–1.5M.
Price vs its family and alternatives
Scroll to explore · select a jet for details
Dornier 228-100 / -200 · This aircraft
$1.2M–$1.88M guide
Guide value, not a listed asking price.
The most expensive here; the DHC-6 Twin Otter Series 100, 200 and 300 is the next step down.
For sale now
None listed right now
Cost to own
What it costs per year to run
300hours / year
Per year
Per flight hour
Estimate — your operator will quote actual numbers.
Fuel, airframe maintenance, engine reserve and propeller overhauls rise as you fly more. Two pilots, recurrent training, hangar, insurance and subscriptions stay the same however much you fly.
Where the money goes
- Two pilots$255,00031%
- Recurrent training$40,0005%
- Hangar$45,0005%
- Insurance$35,0004%
- Subscriptions$8,5001%
- Fuel$249,00030%
- Airframe maintenance$120,00014%
- Engine reserve$72,0009%
- Propeller overhauls$9,0001%
Two pilots is the biggest single cost at 31% of the total.
The JetGrade
66 out of 100 — Below its class average
Peer group: DHC-6 Twin Otter 100/200/300, Beechcraft 1900C, Fairchild Metro III / 23, Jetstream 31 / 32, Let L-410 Turbolet
Seven categories at a glance
- - - 70 = typical— This aircraft
Strongest on airport access, weakest on cabin & passenger comfort.
Grades are editorial opinions about the model, not any specific aircraft. Sponsors and affiliates have no input. Reviewed 2026-10-08.
Where it flies
Sample trips and reach
Typical trips on a map
Nonstop
Depends on weight or weather
Fuel stop likely
2 of 6 sample trips are comfortable nonstops.
Sample flight times
- 1.3 hr
Carlsbad → Las Vegas
205 nm · Short hop at about 10,000 ft
- 3.6 hr
Carlsbad → Aspen
625 nm · High terrain; unpressurized cabin needs oxygen here
- 4.1 hr
Santa Ana → San José del Cabo
765 nm · Nonstop with four passengers; modest fuel margin
- 4.8 hr
Teterboro → West Palm Beach
900 nm · Plan one stop, typically in the Carolinas
- 6.1 hr
Dallas → Teterboro
1,190 nm · Needs one stop, typically mid-route
- 11.5 hr
Carlsbad → Teterboro
2,100 nm · Needs two fuel stops
Lineage
What came before and after
1966 on
Dornier Do 28D Skyservant
Piston utility twin whose square fuselage section the 228 kept.
1980s
Dornier Do 128-6
Turboprop version of the Skyservant, sold alongside the early 228.
1982–1998
Dornier 228-100 / -200
New wing and fuselage; 15 or 19 seats, Garrett TPE331-5 engines.
1985–present
HAL Dornier 228
License-built in India, mostly for Indian military and coast guard.
What changed from the Dornier Do 128-6
- New supercritical wing with Fowler flaps, claimed over 25 percent better than conventional wings.
- Larger square-section fuselage with 15 or 19 seats, versus the ten-seat Do 128.
- Retractable main gear into side fairings, replacing the Skyservant family's fixed gear.
- Two 715-shp Garrett TPE331-5 turboprops; the later -212 gets 776-shp versions.
- Maximum takeoff weight grew from 12,566 lb to 14,110 lb across sub-variants.
- The -212 added carbon brakes, keel fins and a stronger landing gear.
Size and cabin
How big it is, inside and out
Outside
Silhouette · scaled to length
Length
Wingspan
Height
Inside the cabin
Cabin length
Width
Height
Compare
How it stacks up
This aircraft
Dornier 228-100 / -200
- JetGrade
- 66
- Cost per year
- $834K
- Range
- 1,200 nm
- Speed
- 232 kt
- Seats
- 19
- Cabin length
- 23′ 3″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1982–1998
← Before
Dornier Do 128-6
Not yet graded
After →
- JetGrade
- 66
- Cost per year
- $869K
- Range
- 1,276 nm
- Speed
- 223 kt
- Seats
- 19
- Cabin length
- 23′ 3″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 2010–2021
Alternative
DHC-6 Twin Otter Series 100, 200 and 300
- JetGrade
- 66
- Cost per year
- $772K
- Range
- 700 nm
- Speed
- 182 kt
- Seats
- 19
- Cabin length
- 18′ 5″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1965–1988
Alternative
- JetGrade
- 66
- Cost per year
- $938K
- Range
- 1,425 nm
- Speed
- 275 kt
- Seats
- 19
- Cabin length
- 25′ 3″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1984–1991
- DHC-6 Twin Otter 100/200/300 instead: Slower, but even better on short and rough strips, with fixed gear, float options and a far bigger North American parts and pilot pool.
- Beechcraft 1900C instead: Pressurized and faster with the same 19 seats and a larger US fleet, but needs longer runways and has a lower cabin.
- Dornier 228NG instead: The same airframe with a glass cockpit, five-blade propellers and stronger engines, at several times the price.
Gold marks the best figure in each row.
Owning one
What to know before you buy
Engines & inspections
2 × Garrett (Honeywell) TPE331-5-252D · 715 shp each
No APUEngine hours until overhaul
- Horizontal stabilizer skin inspection · 100 hr
- Propeller blade checks · 100 hr
- Engine hot section inspection · 1,800 hr
- Propeller overhaul · 3,000 hr
- Throttle box pin inspection · 4,800 hr
- Engine overhaul · 5,400 hr
- Landing gear frame inspection every 72 months
- 72-month heavy inspection every 72 months
Hourly engine plans for this older TPE331 are not widely advertised; most owners set money aside per hour and use specialist shops.
Known issues
Landing gear frame fatigue cracks
The fuselage frame carrying the main gear needs repeat checks; cracks ground the aircraft until repaired.
Single-source parts and support
Parts and engineering come mainly from General Atomics in Germany; parts made in India are not approved.
Hydraulic pump motor overheating
A 2026 FAA proposal requires replacing the pump motor, about $9,155, to prevent fire risk.
Pre-buy checklist
0 of 10 checked
General Atomics AeroTec Systems in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, holds the type certificate and runs maintenance, parts and a 24-hour AOG desk. US specialists are few, so plan for shipping time on parts.
Review
The full review
Strengths
- Short-field ability: Dornier's original data shows a 1,720 ft takeoff over a 50 ft obstacle at the -200's original weight.
- Square cabin 5 ft 1 in tall, with a 4 ft 2 in wide double cargo door that takes pallets.
- Cruises at about 230 kt, roughly 50 kt faster than a Twin Otter, on two 715-shp Garrett engines.
Limitations
- Unpressurized, so most flights stay near 10,000 ft and passengers need oxygen above 15,000 ft.
- With all 19 seats filled and standard reserves, practical range drops to roughly 250 nm.
- Only 16 are registered in the US, and parts, training and support come mainly from Germany.
The Dornier 228 is a twin-turboprop utility airliner that Dornier built in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, from 1982 to 1998. About 245 left the German line. This page covers those original aircraft: the 15-seat 228-100 and -101, and the stretched 19-seat 228-200, -201, -202 and -212, which raised maximum takeoff weight step by step from 12,566 lb to 14,110 lb. India's HAL built more under license, and the 228NG and today's NXT continue the design with a glass cockpit and five-blade propellers.
Pilot's take
The 228 rewards a disciplined crew. The wing gives strong short-field performance and stable handling at low speed, and the Garrett engines respond quickly, but the TPE331's negative torque sensing system needs a daily check: an engine failure with it inoperative can make the airplane very hard to control. Most -100 and -200 aircraft still have analog cockpits, so workload is higher than in the NG, and the unpressurized cabin keeps flights low, in the weather. Plan trips over high terrain carefully, carry oxygen, and treat icing with respect; the flight manual carries specific severe-icing limits.
Who this is for
Utility and special-mission operators, island and backcountry shuttles, and skydive, survey and cargo outfits that value short-field ability, a square cargo-friendly cabin and simple systems over passenger comfort. It is a working airplane, not an executive one.
Ask about this aircraft
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