McDonnell Douglas Archives

5 min

The DC-10: This Wide Body Jetliner Never Shook Its Bad Reputation

The DC-10 was the first commercial jetliner built by McDonnell Douglas after the merger between McDonnell Aircraft Corporation and Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. The McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 jetliner flew…

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2 min

Hard Landing: The Demonstration MD-80 Slammed Into Runway, Lost Its Tail

Back on May 2, 1980, one of the MD-80 demonstrators was conducting a test sortie to evaluate landing distance. During one of the approaches, the pilot flew a steeper than…

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2 min

That Time a Boeing 717 Went Inverted During Testing

Yes, this is a real video! During stall testing of the 717 program (formerly the MD-95), the aircraft departed controlled flight. That’s a nice way to say that the jet…

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2 min

This Crazy Looking Engine was Ultra Efficient But Was Never Adopted. What Happened?

The UnDucted Fan developed by General Electric should have been more than a great trivia question. (Welcome to Avgeekery Jeopardy.) “Alex, I’ll take Dismissed Aircraft Technology for one hundred.” Answer:…

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2 min

A-12 Avenger II – Son Of The Flying Wing

Week Of Unusual Planes, Continued: The A-12 Avenger II never got off the drawing board but its ancestor was definitely the Flying Wing. Avgeekery.com continues this week’s theme of “Unusual…

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3 min

What could have been: All the Boeing 717s that were never built

The 717 could have been more than just a single model. There were plans for a regional sized jet and a stretch model the length of an MD-80. Even prior…

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3 min

Failure To Launch: The Legacy of the McDonnell Douglas MD-12 Program

Was the proposed MD-12 Jumbo way ahead of its time or just a ‘Hail Mary’ attempt to keep airlines interested in an ailing company? Avgeekery explores the ‘why’ behind the…

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2 min

You Will Probably Never Fly on a MD-11 Ever Again

“You’re never, ever, ever going to fly on a MD-11 again.” Avgeeks can cue the Taylor Swift song because there’s a good chance that you’ll “never, ever, ever” going…