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66-700: Avient Aviation was an international cargo airline with its head office in Harare , Zimbabwe and its commercial center in the United Kingdom. The company was established in 1993 and offered scheduled and chartered flights to Africa, South America, Middle East and Far East and the Caspian region . Avient Limited was placed into administration on 5 April 2013, with flight operations taken over by AV Cargo Airlines Limited. The company Avient Aviation had its head office in Harare , Zimbabwe. It had its Continental Europe office on

132-408: A high bypass turbofan , which produced 22,000 lbf (98.5 kN) of thrust. The conversions also includes new nacelles and pylons built by Grumman Aerospace . Maximum takeoff weights remained the same, but there was a slight reduction in payload because of the heavier engines. Modifications to create the -71 was more involved because the -61 did not have the improved wings and relocated engines of

198-615: A swept wing enabled a higher cruising speed and better range. First presented in 1950 as the Model 473-60C , Boeing failed to generate any interest from airlines, yet remained confident that the project was worthwhile and pressed ahead with a prototype, the Boeing 367-80 ("Dash-80"). After spending $ 16 million of its own money to build it, the Dash-80 rolled out on May 15, 1954. During mid-1952, Douglas opted to covertly begin work on definition studies for

264-498: A commercial aircraft manufacturer, having received almost 300 orders for its piston-engine DC-6 and its successor, the DC-7, which had yet to fly. The Comet disasters, and the airlines' subsequent lack of interest in jets, seemed to validate the company's decision to remain with propeller -driven aircraft, but its inaction enabled rival manufacturers to take the lead instead. As early as 1949, rival company Boeing had started design work on

330-482: A jet-powered transport aircraft. The company's design team examined various arrangements, including some that closely resembled the Comet. By mid-1953, the team had settled on a form similar to the final DC-8; an 80-seat, low-wing aircraft powered by four Pratt & Whitney JT3C turbojet engines, 30° wing sweep, and an internal cabin diameter of 11 feet (3.35 m) to allow five-abreast seating. The use of podded engines

396-458: A large number of DC-8 early models being available, all used the same basic airframe, differing only in engines, weights and details; in contrast, the rival Boeing 707 range offered several fuselage lengths and two wingspans: the original 144-foot (44 m) 707-120, a 135-foot (41 m) version that sacrificed space to gain longer range, and the stretched 707-320, which at 153 feet (47 m) overall had 10 feet (3.0 m) more cabin space than

462-424: A larger wing for a MTOW up to 350,000 lb (159 t). The DC-8-63 had the long fuselage and the enlarged wing, freighters MTOW reached 355,000 lb (161 t). The DC-8 was produced until 1972 with 556 aircraft built; it was superseded by larger wide-body airliners including Douglas' DC-10 trijet. Noise concerns stimulated demand for a quieter variant; from 1975, Douglas and General Electric offered

528-784: A pure jet airliner. Boeing's military arm had experience with large long-range jets, such as the B-47 Stratojet and the B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers. While producing and supporting these bombers for the United States Air Force (USAF), Boeing had developed a close relationship with the USAF's Strategic Air Command (SAC). The company also supplied the SAC's refueling aircraft, the piston-engined KC-97 Stratofreighters , but these proved to be too slow and low flying to easily work with

594-403: A result of aging, increasing operating costs and strict noise and emissions regulations, the number of active DC-8s continues to decline, with the youngest airframes passed a half-century of age as of 2024. For domestic use, powered by 13,500 lb (60.5 kN) Pratt & Whitney JT3C -6 turbojets with water injection. First Series 10 DC-8 flew on 30 May 1958. The initial DC-8-11 model had

660-488: A success, but the Comet was grounded in 1954 after two fatal accidents which were subsequently attributed to rapid metal fatigue failure of the pressure cabin. Various aircraft manufacturers benefited from the findings and experiences gained from the investigation into Comet losses; specifically, Douglas paid significant attention to detail in the design of the DC-8's pressurized cabin. By 1952, Douglas had continued its success as

726-534: A weight increase to 276,000 pounds (125,190 kg). 33 DC-8-20s were built plus 16 converted DC-8-10s. This model was originally named "DC-8B" but was renamed when the Series 30 was introduced. The first Series 20 DC-8 flew on 29 November 1958 and received FAA certification on 19 January 1960. For intercontinental routes, the three Series 30 variants combined JT4A engines with a one-third increase in fuel capacity and strengthened fuselage and landing gear. The DC-8-31

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792-621: Is an early long-range narrow-body jetliner designed and produced by the American Douglas Aircraft Company . Work began in 1952 towards the United States Air Force 's (USAF) requirement for a jet-powered aerial refueling tanker . After losing the USAF's tanker competition to the rival Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker in May 1954, Douglas announced in June 1955 its derived jetliner project marketed to civil operators. In October 1955, Pan Am made

858-420: Is to replace the DC-8 with a more capable and fuel-efficient Boeing 777-200ER . The DC-8 was donated to Idaho State University and is preserved at Pocatello Regional Airport . As of October 2015 , the DC-8 had been involved in 146 incidents, including 84 hull-loss accidents , with 2,255 fatalities. The DC-8 has also been involved in 46 hijackings with 2 fatalities. The deadliest incident involving

924-519: The COVID-19 pandemic , adjusted cargo capacity fell by 4.4% in February while air cargo demand also fell by 9.1%, but the near-halt in passenger traffic cut capacity even deeper as half of global air cargo is carried in passenger jets’ bellies. Air freight rates rose as a consequence, from $ 0.80 per kg for transatlantic cargoes to $ 2.50-4 per kg, enticing passenger airlines to operate cargo-only flights through

990-545: The Ilyushin Il-76 . Examples of the 80+-year-old Douglas DC-3 are still flying around the world carrying cargo (as well as passengers). Short range turboprop airliners such as the Antonov An-12 , Antonov An-26 , Fokker Friendship , and British Aerospace ATP are being modified to accept standard air freight pallets to extend their working lives. This normally involves the replacement of glazed windows with opaque panels,

1056-472: The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey expressed concern about the noise to be expected from the then still-unbuilt DC-8-61, and operators had to agree to operate it from New York at lower weights to reduce noise. By the early 1970s, legislation for aircraft noise standards was being introduced in many countries, and the 60 Series DC-8s were particularly at risk of being banned from major airports. In

1122-461: The -55 were certified in 1961. The DC-8-51, DC-8-52 and DC-8-53 all had 17,000 lb (76.1 kN) JT3D-1 or 18,000 lb (80.6 kN) JT3D-3B engines, varying mainly in their weights: 276,000 pounds (125,200 kg), 300,000 pounds (136,100 kg) and 315,000 pounds (142,900 kg) respectively. The DC-8-55 arrived in June 1964, retaining the JT3D-3B engines but with strengthened structure from

1188-496: The -62 and -63. All three models were certified in 1982 and a total of 110 60-series Super DC-8s were converted by the time the program ended in 1988. DC-8 series 70 conversions were overseen by Cammacorp with CFMI, McDonnell Douglas, and Grumman Aerospace as partners. Cammacorp was disbanded after the last aircraft was converted. As of January 2024 , two DC-8s are in commercial service with Congolese cargo airline Trans Air Cargo . These are DC-8-62s (9S-AJG and 9S-AJO). In

1254-402: The 556 DC-8s made, around 200 were still in commercial service in 2002, including about 25 50-Series, 82 of the stretched 60-Series, and 96 out of the 110 re-engined 70-Series. Most of the surviving DC-8s are now used as freighters. In May 2009, 97 DC-8s were in service following UPS's decision to retire its remaining fleet of 44. In January 2013, an estimated 36 DC-8s were in use worldwide. As

1320-554: The CFM56 was up to 23% more fuel-efficient than the JT3D, which reduced operating costs and extended the range. The largest single customer for the Series 70 was United, converting 29 of its Series 61 airliners at a reported cost of $ 400 million. By 2002, of the 1,032 Boeing 707s and 720s manufactured for commercial use, just 80 remained in service – though many of those 707s were converted for USAF use, either in service or for spare parts. Of

1386-498: The Comet remained grounded, the French 90-passenger twin jet Sud Aviation Caravelle prototype had just flown for the first time, and the Boeing 707 was not expected to be available until late 1958. The major airlines were reluctant to commit themselves to the huge financial and technical challenges of jet aircraft; however, none could afford not to buy jets if their competitors did. There

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1452-523: The DC-8, a feat that was eased by its fuselage keeping the same dimensions across its length. In April 1965, the company announced belated fuselage stretches for the DC-8 with three new models known as the Super Sixties . The DC-8 program had been in danger of closing with fewer than 300 aircraft sold, but the Super Sixties brought fresh life to it. By the time production of the DC-8 ceased in 1972, 262 of

1518-402: The DC-8. Douglas' refusal to offer different fuselage sizes made it less adaptable and compelled airlines such as Delta and United to look elsewhere for short to medium range types. Delta ordered Convair 880s while United chose the newly developed short-fuselage 707-020. United prevailed on Boeing to rename the new variant the Boeing 720 in case the public thought they were dissatisfied with

1584-526: The DC-8. In 1956, Air India, BOAC , Lufthansa , Qantas , and TWA added over 50 to the 707 order book, while Douglas sold 22 DC-8s to Delta, Swissair, TAI, Trans Canada , and UAT. By the start of 1958, Douglas had sold 133 DC-8s compared to Boeing's 150 707s. Donald Douglas proposed to build and test the DC-8 at Santa Monica Airport , which had been the birthplace of the DC-3 and home to a Douglas plant that employed 44,000 workers during World War II. To accommodate

1650-504: The DC-8. Pan Am never reordered the DC-8 and Douglas gradually lost market share to Boeing. In 1962, DC-8 sales dropped to just 26 aircraft that year, followed by 21 in 1963 and 14 in 1964; many of these later deliveries were of the Jet Trader model rather than the more-prestigious passenger versions. In 1967, Douglas merged with McDonnell Aircraft , becoming McDonnell Douglas . During the early 1960s, Douglas began considering stretching

1716-484: The Series 30, and by Rolls-Royce Conway turbofans for the Series 40. The Pratt & Whitney JT3D powered the later DC-8-50 and Super 60 (DC-8-61, -62, and -63) as well as freighter versions, and reached a MTOW of 325,000 lb (147 t). A stretched DC-8 variant was not initially considered, leading some airlines to order the competing Boeing 707 instead. The improved Series 60 was announced in April 1965. The DC-8-61

1782-472: The Series 70 retrofit, powered by the quieter and more fuel-efficient CFM56 turbofan engine. It largely exited passenger service during the 1980s and 1990s, but some re-engined DC-8s remain in use as freighters. At the end of World War II, Douglas was a dominant North American aircraft producer in the commercial aviation market, only being rivaled by Boeing , releasing the innovative all-metal Model 247 airliner in 1933, and produced prodigious quantities of

1848-667: The Super Sixties had been completed, almost half of all models produced. With the ability to seat 269 passengers, the DC-8 Series 61 and 63 had the largest passenger-carrying capacity available. That remained so until the Boeing 747 arrived in 1970. The DC-8-62 featured a shorter fuselage when compared with the Series 61 and 63, but was capable of nonstop long-range operations. All of the earlier jetliners were relatively noisy by modern standards. Increasing traffic densities and changing public attitudes led to complaints about aircraft noise and moves to introduce restrictions. As early as 1966

1914-483: The U.S, the DC-8 has been retired from commercial service entirely; only one example maintains active registration (with one flying). Samaritan's Purse (a faith-based humanitarian relief organization) has operated a DC-8-72 Combi (acquired from Air Transport International ) since 2015. In 2024, NASA retired N817NA, a DC-8-72 flying laboratory that has supported research in meteorology, oceanography, geography, and various other scientific disciplines since 1986. NASA

1980-421: The air. Just four months after issuing the tanker requirement, the USAF ordered the first 29 KC-135 Stratotankers from Boeing. Donald Douglas was reportedly shocked by the rapidity of the decision which, he claimed, had been made before the competing companies even had time to complete their bids. He protested to Washington, but without success. Having already started on the DC-8 project, Douglas decided that

2046-403: The best option was to press on than abandon the project. Following consultations with the airlines, several design changes were made, such as the fuselage being widened by 15 inches (38 cm) to permit six-abreast seating, which in turn led to larger wings and tail surfaces being adopted along with a lengthening of the fuselage. The existence of the DC-8 was formally announced on 7 June 1955; at

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2112-917: The death of three persons on board and the aircraft being written off. In April 2013, AV Cargo Airlines Limited took over the business of Avient Ltd. after Avient Limited was placed into administration, following losses. Avient SA, the Belgian branch, has been closed. James Tickell and Carl Faulds at Hampshire, Dorset and London based 'Portland Business & Financial Solutions' were appointed joint administrators. Cargo airline A higher proportion of cargo flights are red-eye (overnight flights) than passenger flights. Compared to passenger airline pilots, cargo pilots are paid less but do not have to be responsible for passengers. Cargo pilots also have better job security due to air freight demand being more stable, as opposed to passenger airlines which often furlough their pilots in response to falling passenger demand. [1] Amid

2178-403: The early 1970s, several airlines approached McDonnell Douglas with requests for noise reduction modifications to their DC-8s. While third parties had developed aftermarket hushkits , there was initially no meaningful action taken by Douglas to fulfil these requests and effectively enable the DC-8 to remain in service. Finally, in 1975, General Electric began discussions with major airlines to fit

2244-534: The first order along with the competing Boeing 707 , and many other airlines soon followed. The first DC-8 was rolled out in Long Beach Airport on April 9, 1958, and flew for the first time on May 30. Following Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification in August 1959, the DC-8 entered service with Delta Air Lines on September 18. Permitting six-abreast seating, the four-engined , low-wing jet aircraft

2310-408: The first time, in Series 10 form, on 30 May for two hours and seven minutes with the crew being led by A.G. Heimerdinger. Later that year, an enlarged version of the Comet finally returned to service, but had arrived too late to secure a substantial portion of the market: de Havilland secured just 25 orders. In August, Boeing had begun delivering 707s to Pan Am. Douglas made a massive effort to close

2376-444: The freighter versions and 325,000-pound (147,420 kg) maximum weight. 142 DC-8-50s were built plus the 20 converted from Series 10/30/40. The Series 50 first flew on 20 December 1960 and received FAA certification on 1 May 1961. The DC-8-71, DC-8-72, and DC-8-73 were straightforward conversions of the -61, -62 and -63 primarily involving the replacement of the JT3D engines with the more fuel-efficient CFM International CFM56 -2,

2442-456: The gap with Boeing, using no fewer than ten aircraft for flight testing to achieve Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification for the first of the many DC-8 variants in August 1959. Several modifications proved to be necessary: the original air brakes on the lower rear fuselage were found to be ineffective and were deleted as engine thrust reversers had become available; unique leading-edge slots were added to improve low-speed lift;

2508-453: The geographical repositioning of raw materials, work in process, and finished inventories. Larger cargo airlines tend to use new or recently built aircraft to carry their freight. Current passenger aircraft such as the Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 offer freighter variants either from new the factory or as a conversion. Compared to the passenger variant, the freighter has a supernumerary area, which includes four business-class seats forward of

2574-473: The jet airliner project, it believed that the USAF tanker contract would go to two companies for two different aircraft, as several USAF transport contracts in the past had done. In May 1954, the USAF circulated its requirement for 800 jet tankers to Boeing, Douglas, Convair , Fairchild Aircraft , Lockheed Corporation , and Martin Marietta . At the time, Boeing was only two months away from having its prototype in

2640-581: The matter rested until October 1955, when Pan American World Airways placed simultaneous orders with Boeing for 20 707s and Douglas for 25 DC-8s. To buy one expensive and untried jet-powered aircraft type was brave: to buy both was, at the time, unheard of. In the closing months of 1955, other airlines rushed to follow suit: Air France , American Airlines, Braniff International Airways , Continental Airlines , and Sabena ordered 707s; United Airlines , National Airlines , KLM , Eastern Air Lines , Japan Air Lines , and Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) chose

2706-409: The new and vastly-quieter Franco-American CFM56 engine to both DC-8s and 707s. MDC remained reluctant but eventually came on board in the late 1970s and helped develop the Series 70. The Super Seventies proved to be a great success, being roughly 70% quieter than the 60 Series and, at the time of their introduction, the world's quietest four-engined airliner. As well as being quieter and more powerful,

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2772-455: The new jet bombers. The B-52, in particular, had to descend from its cruising altitude and then slow almost to its stall speed to refuel from the KC-97. Believing that a requirement for a jet-powered tanker was a certainty, Boeing started work on a new jet aircraft for this role that could be adapted into an airliner. As an airliner, it would have similar seating capacity to the Comet, but the use of

2838-427: The new jet, Douglas asked the city of Santa Monica, California to lengthen the airport's 5,000-foot (1,500-meter) runway. Following complaints by neighboring residents, the city refused, so Douglas moved its airliner production line to Long Beach Airport . In September 1956, production of the first prototype commenced. The first DC-8 N8008D was rolled out of the new Long Beach factory on 9 April 1958 and flew for

2904-528: The original wingtips used on the prototype, and all remaining DC-8 Series 10 aircraft were upgraded to DC-8-12 standard. The DC-8-12 featured the new low-drag wingtips and leading-edge slots , 80 inches long between the engines on each wing and 34 inches long inboard of the inner engines. These unique devices were covered by doors on the upper and lower wing surfaces that opened for low-speed flight and closed for cruise. The maximum weight increased from 265,000 to 273,000 pounds (120,200 to 123,800 kg). This model

2970-1105: The passenger cabin. [2] This is known as mixed operations or belly freight, and makes up 47.9% airline cargo traffic as of 2018. Alaska Airlines operates a series of short flights nicknamed the "Milk Run" to small towns in Southeast Alaska that do not have road access, using five Boeing 737-400 Combi aircraft whose cabin is divided in half with cargo up front and 72 seats in the back. [3] By freight tonne-kilometres flown (millions): Some more large cargo carriers are: The following are freight divisions of passenger airlines operating their own or leased freighter aircraft. Some have shut down or merged with others: The following are freight divisions without freighter fleets, using passenger aircraft holds or having other cargo airlines fly on their behalf. Some of these previously had freighters: These carriers operate freighter aircraft but do not have cargo divisions: These carriers operate freighter aircraft exclusively Douglas DC-8 The Douglas DC-8 (sometimes McDonnell Douglas DC-8 )

3036-421: The past, some cargo airlines would carry a few passengers from time to time on flights, and UPS Airlines once unsuccessfully tried a passenger charter airline division. Passenger airlines regularly use their largest passenger aircraft like the Boeing 777 -300ER to earn additional revenue beyond passengers on a scheduled flight, by transporting a limited amount of cargo alongside passengers' luggage underneath

3102-618: The property of Liège Airport in Grâce-Hollogne , Belgium. It had its United Kingdom office in Global House, Manor Court in Manor Royal, Crawley, West Sussex RH10 9PY. Andrew Smith founded Avient's UK sales office in the United Kingdom office in 2001 In 2009, Avient took delivery of an MD-11F Avient originally planned to replace its DC-10s with A330s, however the company decided that the MD-11F

3168-497: The prototype was 25 kn (46 km/h) short of its promised cruising speed and a new, slightly larger wingtip had to be developed to reduce drag . Also, a recontoured wing leading edge was later developed to extend the chord 4% and reduce drag at high Mach numbers. On August 21, 1961, a DC-8 broke the sound barrier at Mach 1.012 (660 mph/1,062 km/h) while in a controlled dive through 41,000 feet (12,497 m) and maintained that speed for 16 seconds. The flight

3234-469: The rigid cargo barrier, full main deck access, bunks, and a galley. Passenger planes converted to freighters have their windows plugged, passenger doors deactivated, fuselage and floor reinforced, and a main-deck cargo door installed. Many cargo airlines still utilize older aircraft, including those no longer suited for passenger service, like the Boeing 707 , Boeing 727 , Douglas DC-8 , McDonnell Douglas DC-10 , McDonnell Douglas MD-11 , Airbus A300 , and

3300-553: The rugged four-engined B-17 Flying Fortress and sophisticated, pressurized long-range B-29 Superfortress . Douglas produced a succession of piston-engined aircraft ( DC-2 , DC-3 , DC-4 , DC-5 , DC-6 , and DC-7 ) through the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. While de Havilland flew the world's first jet airliner, the Comet , in May 1949, Douglas initially refrained from developing a jet airliner. De Havilland's pioneering Comet entered airline service in May 1952. Initially, it appeared to be

3366-534: The strengthening of the cabin floor and insertion of a broad top-hinged door in one side of the fuselage. The Antonov An-225 Mriya , an enlarged version of the Antonov An-124 Ruslan , was the world's largest aircraft, used for transporting large shipments and oversized cargos. Usage of large military airplanes for commercial purposes, pioneered by Ukraine 's Antonov Airlines in the 1990s, has allowed new types of cargo in aerial transportation. In

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3432-460: The time of the announcement, the development costs had been forecast to be roughly $ 450 million. Four versions were offered to begin with, all with the same 150-foot-6-inch (45.87 m) long airframe with a 141-foot-1-inch (43.00 m) wingspan, but varying in engines and fuel capacity, and with maximum weights of about 240,000–260,000 lb (109–118 metric tons). Douglas steadfastly refused to offer different fuselage sizes. The maiden flight

3498-400: The use of preighters , while cargo airlines bring back into service fuel-guzzling stored aircraft , helped by falling oil prices . Air transport is a component of many international logistics networks, managing and controlling the flow of goods, energy, information and other resources like products, services, and people, from the source of production to the marketplace. Logistics involves

3564-478: Was accompanied to altitude by a F-104 Starfighter supersonic chase aircraft flown by Chuck Yeager . On September 18, 1959, the DC-8 entered service with Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. According to the Delta Air Lines website, the air carrier was the first to operate the DC-8 in scheduled passenger service. By March 1960, Douglas had reached its planned production rate of eight DC-8s per month. Despite

3630-780: Was certified in March 1960 with 16,800 lb (75.2 kN) JT4A-9 engines for 300,000-pound (136,080 kg) maximum takeoff weight. The DC-8-32 was similar but allowed 310,000-pound (140,600 kg) weight. The DC-8-33 of November 1960 substituted 17,500 lb (78.4 kN) JT4A-11 turbojets, a modification to the flap linkage to allow a 1.5° setting for more efficient cruise, stronger landing gear, and 315,000-pound (142,880 kg) maximum weight. Many -31 and -32 DC-8s were upgraded to this standard. A total of 57 DC-8-30s were produced (five of which were later upgraded to DC-8-50 standard). The Series 30 DC-8 first flew on 21 February 1959 and received FAA certification on 1 February 1960. The DC-8-40

3696-480: Was due in early 1961. The DC-8-41 and DC-8-42 had weights of 300,000 and 310,000 pounds (140,000 and 140,000 kg) respectively, the 315,000-pound (142,880 kg) DC-8-43 had the 1.5° flap setting of the -33 and introduced a 4% leading-edge wing extension to reduce drag and increase fuel capacity slightly – the new wing improved range by 8%, lifting capacity by 6,600 lb (3 metric tons), and cruising speed by better than 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). It

3762-405: Was essentially the -30 but with 17,500 lb (78.4 kN) Rolls-Royce Conway 509 turbofan engines for better efficiency, less noise and less smoke. The Conway was an improvement over the turbojets that preceded it, but the Series 40 sold poorly because of the traditional reluctance of U.S. airlines to buy a foreign product and because the still-more-advanced Pratt & Whitney JT3D turbofan

3828-445: Was in service and proving popular with passengers and airlines: it was faster, quieter, and more comfortable than piston-engined types. Another British rival was the 90-seat Bristol Britannia , and Douglas's main rival in the large airliner market, Lockheed Corporation , had committed to the short to medium range 80–100-seat turboprop Electra , with a launch order from American Airlines for 35 and other orders flowing in. Meanwhile,

3894-457: Was initially produced in four 151 ft (46 m) long variants. The DC-8-10 was powered by Pratt & Whitney JT3C turbojets, and had a 273,000 lb (124 t) MTOW ; the DC-8-20 had more powerful JT4A turbojets, for a 276,000 lb (125 t) MTOW. The intercontinental models had more fuel capacity, and had an MTOW of up to 315,000 lb (143 t); it was powered by JT4As for

3960-621: Was originally named "DC-8A" until the series 30 was introduced. 30 DC-8-10s were built: 23 for United and six for Delta, plus the prototype. By the mid-sixties, United had converted 16 of its 21 surviving aircraft to DC-8-20 standard and the other five to -50s. Delta converted its six to DC-8-50s. The prototype was itself also converted to a DC-8-50. It received FAA certification on 31 August 1958, entering service with United Airlines and Delta Air Lines on 18 September 1959. Higher-powered 15,800 lb (70.8 kN) thrust Pratt & Whitney JT4A -3 turbojets (without water injection) allowed

4026-404: Was planned for December 1957, with entry into revenue service in 1959. Aware that the program was lagging behind Boeing, Douglas began a major marketing push to promote its new jetliner. Douglas' previous thinking about the airliner market seemed to be coming true; the transition to turbine power looked likely to be to turboprops rather than turbojets. The pioneering 40–60-seat Vickers Viscount

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4092-407: Was seen as highly beneficial for maintenance purposes as well as to increase wing volume for accommodating fuel. The fuselage featured a double-bubble cross-section that produced relatively low drag while providing for a relatively spacious passenger cabin along with a large cargo deck that was sufficiently tall as to permit ground crews to stand up within it. While Douglas remained lukewarm about

4158-432: Was stretched by 36 ft (11 m) for 180–220 seats in mixed-class and a MTOW of 325,000 lb (147 t). It first flew on March 14, 1966, was certified on September 2, 1966, and entered service with United Airlines in February 1967. The long-range DC-8-62 followed in April 1967, stretched by 7 ft (2.1 m), could seat up to 189 passengers over 5,200 nautical miles [nmi] (9,600 km; 6,000 mi) with

4224-673: Was the more appropriate substitute. As of December 2010, the Avient Aviation fleet consisted of the following aircraft with an average age of 29.7 years: Both aircraft are grounded, currently at LGG airport, Belgium As of 2013, the DC-10 has been sold, and one MD-11 (Reg.: Z-BVT / CN: 48410) is grounded in Zurich since March 2013 (as of 29 April 2014). On 28 November 2009, an Avient Aviation McDonnell Douglas MD-11F crashed during its take-off roll at Shanghai Pudong International Airport , resulting in

4290-600: Was to collect data on a new leading edge design for the wing, and, while doing so, the DC-8 became the first civilian jet – and the first jet airliner – to make a supersonic flight. The aircraft was DC-8-43 registered as CF-CPG , later delivered to Canadian Pacific Air Lines . The aircraft, crewed by Captain William Magruder, First Officer Paul Patten, Flight Engineer Joseph Tomich and Flight Test Engineer Richard Edwards, took off from Edwards Air Force Base in California and

4356-465: Was used on all later DC-8s. The first DC-8-40 was delivered in 1960; 32 were built (of which three would eventually be converted to DC-8-50s). The Series 40 DC-8 first flew on 23 July 1959 and received FAA certification on 24 March 1960. The definitive short-fuselage DC-8 came with the same engine that powered the vast majority of 707s, the JT3D . Twenty earlier DC-8s were converted to this standard. All but

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