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McDonnell Douglas DC-10: Your Ultimate Guide

23Jul

By Salomón Marco1 Comment

Aircraft Digest

McDonnell Douglas DC-10: Your Ultimate Guide

It is 1985 and you are on a flight from Los Angeles to Copenhagen. Chances are, you are on a DC-10, but this is not by chance. The DC-10 was built for this. The DC-10 was a workhorse of its time. An icon in aviation history. The aircraft was met with scrutiny and a lack of confidence after some incidents and accidents following its introduction into service. Despite this, the DC- 10 secured its place in the history books as a reliable, easy to maintain, and economically viable jetliner. The DC- 10 family capitalized on the gap between the smaller twinjet airliners and the larger quadjet airliners like the Boeing 747. The market desperately needed an aircraft that could reach further with less. The DC-10 delivered. The DC-10 featured advanced avio...

Remembering McDonnell Douglas: The Last Great American Aerospace Giant

1Sep

By Charles YongzhengNo Comments

History

Remembering McDonnell Douglas: The Last Great American Aerospace Giant

Today, Boeing is an aviation giant with almost no competition. Yet before their 1997 merger, Boeing's main competitor was the famed McDonnell Douglas, with the two companies often embroiled in a game of cat and mouse to produce the best aircraft possible. Indeed, even after their merger, Boeing had so much respect for the aircraft their former rivals built, that many of the pre-merger aircraft - both civil and military alike - kept their McDonnel Douglas designations, only with newer variants holding Boeing ones. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-McDonnell Douglas: Douglas Aircraft Having been interested in aviation since he was a teenager, Don Douglas chose to pursue a career in aviation, eventually becoming the chief engineer at the Glenn ...

Remembering Canadair: The Rise And Fall of a Canadian Icon!

26May

By Alexander PaskNo Comments

History

Remembering Canadair: The Rise And Fall of a Canadian Icon!

Today, Canadair is remembered for being the Canadian aircraft manufacturer that made Canada an aviation powerhouse, even if its size and scope paled in comparison to the likes of Boeing and Lockheed, who it regularly did business with. Operating between 1944 and 1986, the company would go from being a state-owned company, to a privatized one, only to be renationalized before being sold on and dismantled by its present owners. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Canadair: Canadian Vickers In 1911, British shipbuilding and weapons conglomerate, Vickers, were invited by the Canadian government to establish a Canadian subsidiary, in the hopes that Vickers would begin building ships for the Royal Canadian Navy. This Canadian subsidiary would th...

Douglas DC-2: The Little Brother of The DC-3 Everyone Forgets!

15May

By Alexander PaskNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

Douglas DC-2: The Little Brother of The DC-3 Everyone Forgets!

Although the Douglas DC-2 has since been outshined by its much more successful sibling, the DC-3, the DC-2 was one of the best commercial airliners of its day, with it still being flown today! Whilst initially designed by Douglas to be a commercial airliner, the DC-2 soon saw action as a military aircraft, a VIP transport and even an air racer... (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Douglas DC-2 In 1925, Dutch aircraft manufacturer, Fokker, introduced the Fokker F.VII, better known as the Fokker Trimotor, to compete with the Ford Trimotor that was under development at Henry Ford's Ford Motor Company. Upon the Ford Trimotor's introduction in the summer of the following year, both trimotors would prove to be quite successful, with both aircraft...

Remembering The Douglas Aircraft Company: The Company That (Nearly) Beat Boeing

12May

By Christopher HarrowNo Comments

History

Remembering The Douglas Aircraft Company: The Company That (Nearly) Beat Boeing

At its height, just prior to WWII, Douglas Aircraft Company produced 80% of the US's commercial aircraft, and many of the US military's cutting edge fighters, dwarfing rival company, Boeing, in almost every regard. Despite this, the company is arguably most famous for its merger with McDonnell Aircraft, forming McDonnell Douglas, which soon became Boeing's main competitor in both the commercial and military scenes (before their own merger in 1997!) (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Douglas Aircraft Company In 1915, former US Naval officer Donald W. "Don" Douglas would join the Connecticut Aircraft Company (the precursor to today's Sikorsky Aircraft Company), where he'd help design the US Navy's first airship, the DN-1. Three years later,...

1Jul

By Gareth SeagullNo Comments

Aircraft Compare

DC-10 vs MD-11: Father vs Son

The DC-10 was developed into the MD-11 by McDonnell Douglas (and later Boeing) as an alternative to the 747. Since then, many airlines have been torn between the DC-10 and MD-11, but which is truly the better aircraft? The DC-10 was the first challenger to the 747SP, much before the 747 was challenged by the 787 or A350 or the A380, or even L-1011! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); DC-10 vs MD-11: The Basics Before we can decide which aircraft is better between the DC-10 and MD-11, we first need to know a little bit of background. DC-10 Just as with the 747, the DC-10 has its origins with the U.S. Air Force's CX-HLS (Heavy Logistics System). In 1965, Douglas Aircraft submitted their proposal to the USAF, however, Lockheed's CX-X (later C-5 ...

17Jun

By Alexander PaskNo Comments

History

History of Air Force One

Air Force One is perhaps the most famous presidential aircraft of all time. However, it didn't always exist, so why was it made and how has it evolved over time? Today we will find out! Air Force One isn't actually one aircraft, in fact it refers to any aircraft that is carrying the President of the United States. The aircraft's name has inspired several films, including Air Force One, starring Harrison Ford. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The First Although he wasn't in office when he first flew, former President Theodore Roosevelt was the first president to fly. He did this on October 11 1910, over a year after he left office. The first serving president to fly was actually Teddy Roosevelt's cousin, FDR. He flew on a specially reconfigu...