McDonnell Douglas MD-80
The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second generation of the DC-9 family, originally designated as the DC-9-80 and later stylized as the DC-9 Super 80.
With a stretched, enlarged wing and powered by higher bypass Pratt & Whitney JT8D-200 engines, the aircraft program was launched in October 1977.
The MD-80 made its first flight on October 18, 1979, and was certified on August 25, 1980. The first airliner was delivered to launch customer Swissair on September 13, 1980, which introduced it into service on October 10, 1980.
Keeping the same fuselage cross-section, longer variants are stretched by up to 14 ft from the DC-9-50 and have a 28% larger wing.
The larger variants are 148 ft long to seat 155 passengers in coach and, with varying weights, can cover up to.
The later MD-88 has a modern cockpit with Electronic flight instrument system displays.
The MD-87 is 17 ft shorter for 130 passengers in economy and has a range up to.
The MD-80 series initially competed with the Boeing 737 Classic and then also with the Airbus A320ceo family. Its successor, introduced in 1995, the MD-90, was a further stretch powered by IAE V2500 high-bypass turbofans, while the shorter MD-95, later known as the Boeing 717, was powered by Rolls-Royce BR715 engines. Production ended in 1999 after 1,191 MD-80s were delivered, of which 116 aircraft remain in service as of August 2022.
Development
The DC-9 series, the first generation of the DC-9 family, entered service in late 1965 and became a commercial success with 976 units built when production ended in 1982. The all-new designed aircraft family includes five members or variants with ten sub-variants or versions and features two rear fuselage-mounted turbofan engines, a T-tail configuration, a narrow-body fuselage with five-abreast seating for 80 to 135 passengers. The success prompted the manufacturer to further develop the aircraft family with the last member, Series 50, as the reference aircraft.Feasibility study
In the 1970s, McDonnell Douglas began development of the first derivative or second generation of the DC-9 family, a lengthened version of the Series 50, with a higher maximum take-off weight, larger wing, new main landing gear, and higher fuel capacity. Availability of newer versions of the Pratt & Whitney JT8D turbofan engine with higher bypass ratios and thrust ratings drove early studies including designs known as Series 55, Series 50, and Series 60. In August 1977, the design effort focused on the Series 55.Program launch
With entry into service projected in 1980, the improved aircraft design was initially designated as the Series 80, which would be the sixth variant of the first generation. In October 1977 Swissair became the launch customer for the Series 80 with an order for 15 plus an option for five. The launch of the next aircraft models followed in October 1977 for the Series 81, on April 16, 1979, for the Series 82, on January 31, 1983, for the Series 83. In January 1985 came the introduction of the Series 87, and on January 23, 1986, the Series 88.Certification
Type designation
Similar to the first generation of the DC-9 family, the second generation uses second-digit notation, with zero for variant names and non-zero for subvariant or version names. Because there was only one variant within the second generation, the Series 80 became the family name and the Series 81 through Series 88 became variant or version names. The first Series 80, DC-9 line number 909, made its first flight on October 18, 1979, as the Super 80, which then became the preferred designation for the newly developed aircraft family. Although two aircraft were substantially damaged in accidents, flight testing was completed on August 25, 1980, when the first variant and production model, the JT8D-209-powered Series 81, was certified under an amendment to the FAA type certificate for the DC-9. The flight-testing leading up to certification had involved three aircraft accumulating a total of 1,085 flying hours on 795 flights. After production of the first generation ended in late 1982, a new designation with McDonnell Douglas initials, MD-80, was proposed as the type designation for the second generation and in July 1983, McDonnell Douglas decided that the Super 80 would be officially designated the MD-80. However, the type designation according to the type certificate is still the original to save on certification costs, but could also be provided with the new written in parentheses, e.g. DC-9-81, DC-9-82, DC-9-83 and DC-9-87. Only the last variant, the MD-88, was officially certified under the MD designation.Type certification (TC)
Following the MD-81's first flight on October 18, 1979, the MD-82 and MD-83 made their maiden flights on January 8, 1981, and December 17, 1984, respectively. They were then certified by the FAA on August 25, 1980, July 29, 1981, and October 17, 1985, respectively. The first airliner, an MD-81, was delivered to launch operator Swissair on September 13, 1980. Instead of merely using the MD- prefix as a marketing symbol, an application was made to again amend the type certificate to include the MD-81, MD-82, and MD-83. This change was dated March 10, 1986, and the type certificate declared that although the MD designator could be used in parentheses, it must be accompanied by the official designation, for example: DC-9-81. All Long Beach aircraft in the MD-80 series thereafter had MD-81, MD-82, or MD-83 stamped on the aircraft nameplate.The MD-87 and MD-88 made their first flight on December 4, 1986, and August 15, 1987, respectively. Although not certified until October 21, 1987, McDonnell Douglas had already applied for models DC-9-87 and DC-9-87F on February 14, 1985. The third derivative was similarly officially designated DC-9-87, although no nameplates were stamped DC-9-87. For the MD-88, an application for a type certificate model amendment was made after the earlier changes, so there was not a DC-9-88, which was certified on December 8, 1987. The FAA's online aircraft registry database shows the DC-9-88 and DC-9-80 designations in existence but unused.
Type conversion (STC)
Type conversions were programs started in 2010 by third parties with support from the TC holder to convert used MD-80 passenger airliners and provide the required supplemental type certificate from FAA or EASA.AEI MD-80SF (freighter)
The MD-80SF was a freighter conversion program for the MD-80 series launched in February 2010, where the suffix SF stands for special freighter. The conversion company, the Aeronautical Engineers Inc. based in Miami, Florida, had noticed that pre-owned MD-80s could be bought for under $1 million, and at $2.5M for the freighter conversion, an MD-80FS could offer a narrowbody freighter for half the price of a Boeing 737-400SF. The first conversion was undertaken on an ex-American Airlines MD-82 aircraft, which was used as a test-bed for the supplemental type certificate. The MD-80SF made its inaugural flight on September 28, 2012. AEI was the first and solely firm authorized by Boeing to receive the STC, ST02434LA, for the longer variants of the MD-80 series from the FAA in February 2013. The converted freighter with the designation AEI MD-80SF would have a payload of 21.1 tonnes and the ability to take 12 pallets measuring 88 x 108 inches, which would be a good replacement for the Boeing 727 freighter The first converted freighter, an AEI MD-82SF, was delivered to the launch customer, Everts Air Cargo, in February 2013.In 2013, after the first delivery, AEI had orders for 20 MD-80SF freighters, expecting more than 100 conversions over ten years. Despite the initial lively interest, the uptake had been sluggish. AEI had six MD-80s converted by 2015, and three more were on the books for that year. Demand for the MD-80SF was disappointing due to two factors. First, the MD-80's cross section does not match the narrowbody freighter types used by the integrators, severely limiting the market for the freighter. Second, the values of the 737-400SF fell faster than expected, closing the gap with the MD-80SF, which burns 12 percent more fuel. In October 2015, the MD-80SF was approved by the EASA with Doc. No. 10055029. In 2021, after the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for cargo aircraft increased and the initial capital cost of an MD-80SF including conversion, paint and heavy maintenance was less than $5M, half the cost of a 737-400SF, which made it attractive again. In March 2021, Aeronautical Engineers Inc. signed a contract to convert three MD‑88s into dedicated freighters for USA Jet Airlines, with the first aircraft entering conversion in March and the remaining aircraft scheduled in May and August. AEI itself had delivered 21 AEI MD-80SF freighters, two were in progress and six had been ordered.