In 1961 work began on a small, jet-powered transport aircraft initially styled Erno-61-4. After Weserflug and Focke Wulf formally merged into
Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke (VFW) in 1964, the machine was redesignated
VFW 614. The draft design was amended to a
STOL 40-44 passenger jet with overwing engines, for easier operation from unprepared runways. German government
subsidies enabled development to start in earnest in 1966. The first prototype started in August 1968, but then VFW and
Fokker of the Netherlands formed a joint transnational holding company. The prototype flew on July 14, 1971, but crashed next February. Two more prototypes flew in 1972. German,
FAA, and French DGA certifications completed in 1974, 1975, and 1976 respectively. The collaborative production arrangements involved
Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) in Germany,
VFW-Fokker in the Netherlands and
SABCA and
Fairey in Belgium. The first sale was to
Cimber Air, which started commercial flights in November 1975. The VFW-Fokker alliance affected the VFW 614 negatively, as Fokker needed to sell its competing
F27 and
F28. National subsidies were diverted to the
Airbus program, and the end came for the VFW-614. On August 19, 1977, the nineteenth (including prototypes) and last machine was completed. Few VFW 614 aircraft remained in use. Only the Koln/Bonn Flugbereitschaft der Luftwaffe continued flying VFW 614 until they finally ceased in 1998. The last flying example of the aircraft was retired in 2012 as a research bed. == Other developments ==