DC-9: The end of an era is near

[robbedagain]

At us I remember the dc9 30 but I recall in abe seeing the nwa dc 9 different series planes

 

[Glenn Quagmire]

We had the -10 (hot rod), -15 (a -10 with a cargo door...I have great story about a stuck cargo door on that model), -20, -30, -40, -50, -80, then they became the MD series. The DC-9-80 is not the MD-80. Some with small galley doors (head knocker ex-EAL), some with plug doors in the aft. Some with fwd air stairs. Some with aft stairs, some without.

The NWA DC-9 family was extremely diverse.

 

[1Conehead]

About time,they were ready for the scrap yard when I started in '89.I'm not going to miss the soldered "cannon" plugs or any of the other '50s technology.
They did make me a lot of money in overtime though.

 

[Kev3188]

We had the -10 (hot rod), -15 (a -10 with a cargo door...I have great story about a stuck cargo door on that model), -20, -30, -40, -50, -80, then they became the MD series. The DC-9-80 is not the MD-80. Some with small galley doors (head knocker ex-EAL), some with plug doors in the aft. Some with fwd air stairs. Some with aft stairs, some without.

The NWA DC-9 family was extremely diverse.

 
I had no idea we ever had -15's or -20's!
 
Diverse is right!  

 

[700UW]

When I worked for the original Midway Airlines in LGA, we had -10s and -50s, aquired from every where, great airplane, the pilots loved the -10 pocket rockets.

 

[TDR1502C]

When the DC-9-10 was being developed Douglas had a magazine they sent out covering the milestones of the program. One was that they claimed the DC-9 was the first commercial computer aided design aircraft with pictures of the computer used in the process. Another was when they brought in four Delta mechanics (white coveralls), set up the area on the ramp, towed in a DC-9, then proceeded to show that the Delta mechanics could open, remove, disconnect from the lift equipment, install, leak check and close up an engine in one hour.

So one hour from gate to engine change location, one hour to remove and replace the engine, trim and to the gate for a total of 3.5 hours. 6 hours used to be the regular time for ORD, MSP, DTW and ATL in the 1980 and 90's. (PT7 gauge used instead of EPR gauge for the trim)

How long does it take now barring pylon problems? Is today's workforce more efficient?

 

[Glenn Quagmire]

When the DC-9-10 was being developed Douglas had a magazine they sent out covering the milestones of the program. One was that they claimed the DC-9 was the first commercial computer aided design aircraft with pictures of the computer used in the process. Another was when they brought in four Delta mechanics (white coveralls), set up the area on the ramp, towed in a DC-9, then proceeded to show that the Delta mechanics could open, remove, disconnect from the lift equipment, install, leak check and close up an engine in one hour.

So one hour from gate to engine change location, one hour to remove and replace the engine, trim and to the gate for a total of 3.5 hours. 6 hours used to be the regular time for ORD, MSP, DTW and ATL in the 1980 and 90's. (PT7 gauge used instead of EPR gauge for the trim)

How long does it take now barring pylon problems? Is today's workforce more efficient?

I can only speak for the NWA mechanics back in the '90's.

We would do the E/C in a shift.

Let me describe a shift. Punch in at 2200, get work assignment, get coffee, tools, maintenance Manuals, etc. head out and pick up the aircraft from the gate and taxi back to the hangar.

Bring it in and prepare for the E/C. From pulling it from the pylon to having the replacement hanging, would about 3 hours. We always had a couple of sheet metal guys ready to replace pylon parts (I was one of those that did that before my lead days).

We would have it field trimmed and ready for runup...then we would all get on and do our runup checks and if all was well, we would take it straight to the gate. We would use the PT-7.

Engine change on a 727 or DC-9 was an easy shift (unless you put the same engine back on that you took off before going to lunch...oops).

Could it be done in 3 hours as a challenge? No, but maybe 2.5 hours! Lol!

 

[TDR1502C]

 

...(unless you put the same engine back on that you took off before going to lunch...oops).

Could it be done in 3 hours as a challenge? No, but maybe 2.5 hours! Lol!

 

A some point you learned not to trust the crew chief or manager and check in SCEPTRE before yanking a part off.

In the old days if your engine change went to the next shift everyone would dog you. Now we have to be politically correct and say "heroic effort champ".

How long does JT-8 engine change take now?

 

[AdAstraPerAspera]

The DC-9-80 is not the MD-80. Some with small galley doors (head knocker ex-EAL), some with plug doors in the aft. Some with fwd air stairs. Some with aft stairs, some without.

The NWA DC-9 family was extremely diverse.

 
Why exactly did NWA decide to get rid of the -80s?

 

[Glenn Quagmire]

Why exactly did NWA decide to get rid of the -80s?

IIRC, we only had about 9 of them by 1995. Of course, one was lost on FLT 255 in '87.

I do not know for sure the reason.

Maybe someone made an offer that NWA couldn't refuse?

 

[AdAstraPerAspera]

in my preteen years my mom, little brother and I would nonrev every summer from OMA to RDU through MSP to visit family in Raleigh. As nonrevs of course we never sat together, and on one approach into MSP from OMA I remember sitting in the back of the plane next to a college-aged girl who was busy with textbooks and notebooks studying for something. The attitude of the a/c changed just enough for the condensation in the air conditioning to douse her with 2-3 cups of water, which also spilled onto pretty much everything she had been working on. I don't remember if I said anything, but I'm worried I might have openly laughed at her.  :blush:
 
Coming back once into OMA, I remember the captain was at the door as we deplaned, and he gave me a NWA DC-9 trading card. On the front was a picture of a DC-9-30, and the back had the a/c specs. I think he signed it for me and I remember him joking "Hang onto that, it'll be worth as much as a Michael Jordan rookie card someday." Wish I still had it.
 
A year or two later was another memorable DC-9 flight, from RDU-MSP, because it was the first one where I experienced the new interior, AND it also happened to have a lunchtime meal service in coach. Of course as nonrevs we weren't guaranteed a meal, the smell of the food as well as my little brother's apparent hunger had him burst into tears. We both ended up with trays of food on that flight, but I will never know if it was because there were some leftovers, or if the flight attendants just felt bad over my brother's bawling.

 

[robbedagain]

I recall a nwa dc9 30 that made an emergency landing in abe in 2006 or 07 or 08 be the left engine had issue I remember that it took a week or more before a replacement engine was brought in I had heard at that time it was a lga to dtw flight and the crew diverted to abe

 

[700UW]

The DC-9 was followed by the introduction of the MD-80 series in 1980. The MD-80 series was originally called DC-9-80 series. It was a lengthened DC-9-50 with a higher maximum takeoff weight (MTOW), a larger wing, new main landing gear, and higher fuel capacity. The MD-80 series features a number of variants of the Pratt & Whitney JT8D turbofan engine having higher thrust ratings than those available on the DC-9.
 
The MD-80 series was further developed into the McDonnell Douglas MD-90 in the early 1990s. It has yet another fuselage stretch, a glass cockpit (first introduced on the MD-88) and completely new International Aero V2500 high-bypass turbofan engines. In comparison to the very successful MD-80, relatively few MD-90s were built.
 
The final variant was the MD-95, which was renamed the Boeing 717-200 after McDonnell Douglas's merger with Boeing in 1997 and before aircraft deliveries began. The fuselage length and wing are very similar to those of the DC-9-30, but much use was made of lighter, modern materials. Power is supplied by two BMW/Rolls-Royce BR715 high-bypass turbofan engines.
 

 

[AdAstraPerAspera]

I'm on a 3-day MD-80 trip right now, and I should add: I am really going to miss that high-pitched whine of the JT8D once they're all gone; it's a sound that reminds me of a lot of travel as a young kid

 

[Kev3188]

 
Why exactly did NWA decide to get rid of the -80s?

 
I think the idea was that with the A320 fleet growing, and the 727 still in the fleet, we had enough types of 150(ish) seat planes. 
 
The Bus could also fly some of the hot & high routes the MD80 had been doing, so that niche went away as well. 
 
Not sure where all they were flying at the end (I think there were 8 planes left by then?), but I know MSN, MCI, SLC, and ONT all saw them.
 
I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure they all went to the desert...