Aerospatiale N-262 Fregate & Mohawk 298

The original design of the N-262 dates back to the Max Holste Super Broussard project, which as the MH-260 flew for the first time on July 29 1960. This event had been preceded by the first flight of the oneoff Pratt & Whitney Wasp piston radial powered but otherwise similar MH-250 prototype on May 20 1959. Nord built just 10 MH-260s (flown by Air Inter and Norway's Wideröe) before beginning a significant redesign of the type in 1961, with the major changes being a redesigned fuselage with a circular cross section, pressurisation and more powerful powerplants. This resulted in the Nord N-262, which first flew on December 24 1962. Production of the N-262 consisted of four major variants, the initial production N-262A with Turboméca Bastan VIC engines; N-262B, of which only four were specially converted on request of Air Inter, also with Bastan VI engines; the N-262C Fregate with more powerful Bastan VIIC engines and greater wing span; and the N-262D Fregate, the French Air Force equivalent of the N-262C. The merger of Nord and Sud during the N-262's production life resulted in it becoming a product of Aerospatiale from 1970. In the late 1970s US commuter airline Allegheny Airlines - through its subsidiary Mohawk Air Services - extensively upgraded its fleet of N-262s, subcontracting the conversions to Frakes Aviation, resulting in the Mohawk 298 (the designation being derived from the FAA FAR Part 298 airworthiness regulation). The retrofit involved reengining the 262s with more powerful Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-45 turboprops with five blade props, new avionics and a new APU. The first Mohawk 298 flew on January 7 1975, while the last of nine converted was completed in 1978. Production of the N-262 ended in 1976.

The backbone of this section is from the The International Directory of Civil Aircraft by Gerard Frawley and used with permission. To get your own copy of the book click here.