  Designed in response to the same American Airlines requirement as the Lockheed TriStar, the DC-10, despite a sometimes troubled past, was the more successful of the two widebody trijets. Although originally conceived as a twinjet, the DC-10 gained a third engine at the base of its vertical tail to meet an American Airlines requirement that the aircraft be capable of operating from existing runways. The DC-10 subsequently was launched in February 1968 with orders from American and United. First flight took place on August 29 1970.
The first transcontinental range DC-10-10s entered service with American in August 1971. By then work was already underway on the intercontinental range DC-10-30 which introduced more powerful engines, additional fuel tanks and a third main undercarriage unit. Most DC-10s built were 30s (including convertible 30CFs and pure freight 30Fs), while the 40 is a Pratt & Whitney JT9D powered variant ordered by Northwest and JAL. The United States Air Force ordered 60 CF6 powered DC-10s as KC-10A Extender tanker transports.
A number of major and catastrophic accidents marred the DC-10's service record in the mid to late 1970s, but the various causes of these accidents were overcome and the DC-10 continues to operate reliably. Production ceased in 1989. The Boeing MD-10 conversion for Federal Express involves fitting DC-10s (both current freighters and "new" ex airliner freighter conversions) with a two crew Honeywell VIA 2000 EFIS flightdeck with six LCD screens. The instrument panel layout is identical to that in the MD-11, and pilots can be qualified to fly the two interchangeably. First flight was on April 4 1999, while the first of 89 MD-10 conversions for FedEx was delivered on May 9 2000 (the same day the conversion was certificated). Boeing is offering the MD-10 conversion to other DC-10 operators.
DC-10 / MD10 Weights
DC-10-30 - Empty 121,198kg (267,197lb), max takeoff 263,085kg (580,000lb).
DC-10-40 - Empty 122,951kg (271,062lb), max takeoff 259,450kg (572,000lb).
DC-10 / MD10 Performance
DC-10-10 - Three 178kN (40,000lb) General Electric CF6-6D turbofans, or 182.4kN (41,000lb) CF6-6D1s.
DC-10-30 - Three 218kN (49,000lb) CF6-50As, 226.9kN (51,000lb) CF6-50Cs, or 233.5kN (52,500lb) CF6-50C1s or C2s, or 240.2kN (54,000lb) CF6-50C2Bs.
DC-10-40 - Three 219.6kN (49,400lb) Pratt & Whitney JT9D-20s, or 235.8kN (53,000lb) JT9D-59As.
DC-10 / MD10 Dimensions
Wing span 50.40m (165ft 5in), length 55.50m (182ft 1in), height 17.70m (58ft 1in). Wing area 367.7m2 (3958.0sq ft).
DC-10 / MD10 Powerplants
DC-10-10 - Three 178kN (40,000lb) General Electric CF6-6D turbofans, or 182.4kN (41,000lb) CF6-6D1s.
DC-10-30 - Three 218kN (49,000lb) CF6-50As, 226.9kN (51,000lb) CF6-50Cs, or 233.5kN (52,500lb) CF6-50C1s or C2s, or 240.2kN (54,000lb) CF6-50C2Bs.
DC-10-40 - Three 219.6kN (49,400lb) Pratt & Whitney JT9D-20s, or 235.8kN (53,000lb) JT9D-59As.
More Resources
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