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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 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 ...