McDonnell Douglas MD-80
The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a twin-engine, narrow-body jet airliner that was hugely popular from the late 1970s through the early 2000s. It’s part of the legendary DC-9 family, known for its rugged design, reliability, and wide use by U.S. and international carriers for short- to medium-haul flights.
✈️ Overview:
- Role: Short- to medium-haul commercial airliner
- Manufacturer: McDonnell Douglas (later Boeing after 1997)
- First flight: October 18, 1979
- Introduced: 1980 (by Swissair)
- Production ended: 1999
- Total built: 1,191 aircraft across all variants
🛠️ Key Specs (typical MD-83 model):
- Engines: 2 × Pratt & Whitney JT8D-219 turbofans (rear-mounted)
- Cruise speed: Mach 0.76 (504 mph / 811 km/h)
- Range: ~2,504 nautical miles (4,637 km)
- Passenger capacity: ~155 in typical configuration
- Crew: 2 pilots + 3–4 cabin crew
- Length: 147 ft 10 in (45.1 m)
- Wingspan: 107 ft 10 in (32.9 m)
🔍 Design Highlights:
- Rear-mounted engines – Like the DC-9, this design keeps cabin quieter and improves ground clearance
- T-tail configuration
- Narrow-body – 5-abreast seating (2+3)
- Unpressurized cargo hold
- No fly-by-wire – Uses conventional mechanical flight controls
📚 Development:
- Based on the DC-9, but stretched and updated with:
A longer fuselage
More fuel capacity
Improved avionics
More powerful and efficient engines
- A longer fuselage
- More fuel capacity
- Improved avionics
- More powerful and efficient engines
- Originally designated the DC-9-80, later renamed MD-80 series
🔢 Major Variants:
🛫 Operators (notable past users):
- American Airlines (at one point had the largest MD-80 fleet in the world)
- Delta Air Lines
- Alaska Airlines
- SAS
- Austrian Airlines
- Aeroméxico
✅ Pros:
- Proven, rugged airframe
- Solid performance on short runways and hot/high conditions
- Pilots appreciated its direct flight control feedback
- Easy transition for DC-9 crews
❌ Cons:
- Noisy and less fuel-efficient compared to newer aircraft
- Analog cockpit (except MD-88)
- Maintenance-intensive by modern standards
- Aging design by the 2000s, especially compared to Airbus A320 and Boeing 737NG
🪦 Retirement & Legacy:
- Most major airlines retired their MD-80s between 2008–2020
- American Airlines flew its final MD-80 revenue flight in 2019
- Still used in limited roles (charter, military, or developing nations)
- Known affectionately as the "Mad Dog" in aviation circles 🐶✈️
| Variant | Notes |
|---|---|
| MD-81 | Initial production version |
| MD-82 | More powerful engines |
| MD-83 | Increased fuel capacity and range |
| MD-87 | Shorter version, fewer seats, more range |
| MD-88 | Updated cockpit and avionics (used heavily by Delta) |
| MRO | Location | McDonnell Douglas MD-80 Services |
|---|
A list of parts on the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is coming soon. Please check back again next week.