The next day, Sunday 30 November, looked like being a repeat of Saturday, with fog all over the place. But in the afternoon the sun broke through and at 14.16 hours the Fokker 100 was airborne for the first time. Chief test pilot Henk Themmen was assisted at the controls by Wim Huson as co-pilot and Wim Burgers as flight engineer. Slightly more than two hours later the maiden flight was successfully concluded with a fully automatic landing.

Swissair wanted the most modern equipment in its Fokker 100s, just as it had in its other, larger aircraft. It would enable the airline to operate safely in adverse weather conditions.

The availability of the system virtually eliminated flight delays and cancellations due to weather problems. The automatic landing capability was only one of Swissair's wishes. There were many of them, one of which a service door in the rear of the cabin. KLM, the second customer, also had specific requirements when it came to doors.

The initial Fokker 100 design had a downward opening door with integral stairs. KLM wanted to use the aircraft mostly at airports where passenger loading bridges are used. A forward opening door was therefore designed and incorporated. The downward opening door is still available as an option. In addition, KLM wanted larger freight doors plus a luggage loading system. The third customer, USAir, in accordance with its house style, required a highly polished, unpainted fuselage skin. Until that moment Fokker aircraft had always been painted, not only for an attractive appearance but also to protect the aircraft against corrosion. A special procedure was developed to meet the USAir polished skin requirement.

Collaboration with leading airlines on adaption of the initial Fokker design to meet individual requirements resulted in a product which was even better suited to meeting market demands. The additional design work resulted in a rather odd situation for Fokker as it had more orders than ever before for a product which was still on the drawing board.

This prevents the aircraft from stalling (alpha floor protection), also when combinations of horizontal and vertical speeds are selected on the AFCAS panel which exceed the performance limits. In case of an engine failure, this system automatically guides the aircraft to an altitude where level flight can be maintained. The MFDS, multi-function display system, consists of two TV screens in the center of the flight panel. These screens display engine information and secondary flight data centrally.

The WDS works in conjunction with the flight warning system, which monitors the correct functioning of engines and systems. In case of a malfunction, the WDS displays a warning which must be acknowledged by the crew. The necessary corrective actions are then spelled out. Other unique features of the system are that warnings are only given when necessary and consequently sometimes suppressed.

Therefore, during critical flight phases non-critical failures are recorded and displayed later. This considerably optimizes crew workload. Before being installed in the Fokker 100, all these avionics systems were tested in the F28 prototype, PH-JHG. All the original F28 equipment was retained and the Fokker 100 equipment was added. This allowed for comparison as the aircraft could be flown as either an F28 or a Fokker 100.

With these speed brakes, the Fokker 100 can quickly respond to ATC requests for speed and altitude changes and can easily be squeezed into any approach pattern.

Time-consuming holdings can therefore be minimized. Each Fokker 100 embodies about 2,400 lb of non-metallic materials such as glass fiber, carbon fiber, Aramid and ceramics. These so-called composite materials are used for the flaps, rudder, elevator, engine, nacelles, floor panels, cabin interior and wing and tail fillets.

The Fokker 100 wing is based on that of the F28. The F28 torsion box, the backbone of the wing, was retained but the wing profile was redesigned, incorporating results of the earlier Super F28, F29 and MDF 100 design studies.

This gave the wing transonic characteristics, reducing drag at high speeds. The total wing area was increased to allow for the higher takeoff weight. In 1993 Fokker became a member of Deutsche Aerospace (DASA). Fokker already had close relations with another DASA member, Deutsche Aerospace Airbus (DA). The Fokker 100 is an international program and DA is one of the risk-sharing partners, building large parts of the fuselage and tail.

Other risks-haring partners are Bombardier Shorts, who builds the wing, and Grumman, who builds the nacelles and the thrust-reversers.

The biggest contract ever for any Dutch product came from American Airlines - one of the worlds largest airlines - with an order for 75 aircraft and an option on a further 75. For Fokker this was the breakthrough into the American market, also proving that airlines clearly have a requirement for 100-seaters. The Fokker 100 can be found all over the world. Customers include Air UK, China Eastern, Korean Airlines, Sempati Airlines of Indonesia, TAM Brasil and Air Gabon.

Per January 1, 1994 nearly 400 orders and options had been placed for the aircraft and 225 Fokker 100s were in active service.

In 1993 66 Fokker 100s were delivered, an absolute record.