a total of four airframes were broken up prior to completion. During 1977, the programme was cancelled as a result of the lack of sales, and the last unsold aircraft flew in July 1978. Mendenhall reports that there had been a widespread sentiment amongst German employees that they had been regarded as being subordinate to Fokker, which had increased over time as the VFW 614's commercial failure had become more and more apparent. By 1981, the majority of commercial aircraft had already been disposed of, partially due to the manufacturer having bought back many of the aircraft that year so that it could simultaneously terminate support for the type. Thereafter, only the German Air Force aircraft remained in service, the last being retired in 1999. The last airworthy VFW 614 was in use with DLR for the Advanced Technologies Testing Aircraft System (ATTAS) project. After being based with DLR in Braunschweig, Germany for many years, this aircraft (registered D-ADAM) was retired in December 2012, to the Deutsches Museum Flugwerft in Oberschleißheim, Germany. Operators Cimber Air received two aircraft. Air Alsace bought three aircraft. Touraine Air Transport was main operator with eight aircraft. West German Air Force received three aircraft. Specifications (VFW 614) See also Honda MH02 Honda HA-420 HondaJet References Notes Bibliography Dienel, H. and P. Lyth. Flying the Flag: European Commercial Air Transport since 1945. Springer, 1999. . Eriksson, Sören and Harm-Jan Steenhuis. The Global Commercial Aviation Industry. Routledge, 2015. . Green, William. The Observer's Book of Aircraft. London. Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd., 1976. . Jackson, Paul A. German Military Aviation 1956–1976. Hinckley, Leicestershire, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1976. . Mellberg, Bill. "VFW 614:Ahead of its Time". Air International, February 1995, Vol 48 No 2. Stamford, UK:Key Publishing. . pp. 94–99. External links Airliners.net photos Friends of the VFW-614 photos of the VFW614 Flug-Revue Online Airpics.com photos YouTube video of the VFW 614 VFW 614 ATTAS – out of operation 614 1970s German airliners 1970s German military utility aircraft Twinjets Low-wing aircraft Engine-over-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1971