Misplaced Pages

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96-703: From 1975 onward, Air New England was essentially a reincarnation of many of the New England routes of Northeast Airlines, complete with the aircraft Northeast used to fly those routes and Northeast's IATA code. The airline began as Boston-Maine Airways, founded as a Pan Am contract carrier on July 20, 1931, by the Boston and Maine Railroad and Maine Central Railroad , flying from Boston to Bangor via Portland . It flew only sporadically until August 11, 1933, when National Airways began to operate its flights under contract. National also operated Central Vermont Airways,

192-569: A T-tail for a cleaner wing aerodynamic. It has a two-person flight deck and built-in airstairs to better suit smaller airports. The Series 10 aircraft are 104 ft (32 m) long for typically 90 coach seats. The Series 30, stretched by 15 ft (4.5 m) to seat 115 in economy, has a larger wing and more powerful engines for a higher maximum takeoff weight (MTOW); it first flew in August 1966 and entered service in February 1967. The Series 20 has

288-479: A carrier flying “big” airplanes under CAB supervision. (For ANE, "big" aircraft were Fairchild-Hiller FH-227s , a slightly larger US built version of the Fokker F-27 turboprop. These were, in fact, the same aircraft Northeast had flown.) Air New England was the first domestic carrier in the contiguous US to be certificated for multiple routes at one time since the local service carriers had been certificated in

384-515: A decrease in revenue caused by the contemporaneous strike by the air-traffic controllers' union, PATCO . ANE had been carrying close to 600,000 passengers a year in 1980. In 1981, it depended on $ 6.1 million in federal subsidies to cover operating costs. During its 12-year existence, the airline suffered only one serious incident/crash [cited below] and had one of the highest safety/reliability ratings of all American based airlines over that 12-year period." In September 1981, Wright Air Lines signed

480-613: A fleet of Boeing 727-100s for their Florida routes, and McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s and Fairchild-Hiller FH-227s for shorter routes. These "Yellowbirds" featured a new yellow and white livery. In 1966 Northeast was the launch customer for the Boeing 727-200 , which they began flying in December 1967. Except for Florida their network was all north and east of Washington National Airport until 1969 when they added three 727 nonstops between Miami and Los Angeles, with Fort Lauderdale getting

576-484: A maximum weight of 82,000 lb (37,000 kg). The Series 10 was similar in size and configuration to the BAC One-Eleven and featured a T-tail and rear-mounted engines. Power was provided by a pair of 12,500  lbf (56  kN ) JT8D-5 or 14,000 lbf (62 kN) JT8D-7 engines. A total of 137 were built. Delta Air Lines was the initial operator. The Series 10 was produced in two main subvariants,

672-655: A result of the CAB's New England Service Investigation, the focus of which was the New England routes that caused long-term financial distress to Northeast Airlines . Northeast was a trunk carrier that had merged into Delta in 1972 after many years of losses. Northeast's New England route network was more similar to that of a local service carrier , the carriers the CAB had originally certificated to fly smaller routes. Northeast had been obligated to serve many small New England cities. Like most local service carriers, Northeast required subsidies to operate its network. After 1955, Northeast

768-458: A short-lived LAX nonstop soon after (fuel stops were sometimes required on these transcontinental 727 flights). Northeast obtained rights to fly between Miami and Montreal in 1967, followed by rights to serve the Bahamas in 1968, and rights to serve Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, and Bermuda in 1969, along with a new Miami-Los Angeles route authority. Northeast was the runt of the trunks. In 1971,

864-512: A sizable fleet of DC-9s, most of which were over 30 years old at the time. With severe increases in fuel prices in the summer of 2008, Northwest Airlines began retiring its DC-9s, switching to Airbus A319s that are 27% more fuel efficient. As the Northwest/Delta merger progressed, Delta returned several stored DC-9s to service. Delta Air Lines made its last DC-9 commercial flight from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Atlanta on January 6, 2014, with

960-592: A subsidiary of the Central Vermont Railway , and the two carriers together had a network across New England to New Hampshire, Vermont, and Montreal. Amelia Earhart and Eugene Vidal were among the co-founders of National, and Earhart was a prominent salesperson for the airline in its early years. National initially operated Stinson Airliners , and switched to a fleet of 10-passenger Lockheed Electras in November 1936. On May 31, 1939, Boston-Maine

1056-665: A tentative $ 10 million deal to purchase ANE. In the end, Wright walked away from ANE, with its owners doing the same, shutting Air New England on October 31, 1981. As an industry source noted, “Air New England didn't have anything to sell.” An on-demand charter operator named Air New England based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Portland, Maine, has been operating since 2010. At year-end 1970, Air New England's operating fleet comprised three DHC-6 Twin Otters, one Beech 99, two Beech 18s and one Aero Commander 500 B. In June 1974,

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1152-609: A two-year contract with the French aeronautics company Sud Aviation for technical cooperation; under the terms of this contract, Douglas would market and support the Sud Aviation Caravelle and produce a licensed version if sufficient orders were forthcoming from airlines. However, none were ever ordered from the company, leading to Douglas returning to its design studies after the co-operation deal expired. In 1962, design studies were underway into what would become

1248-405: A “regional carrier”, slotting it in under the local service carriers and above the single route certificated carriers like Aspen and Wright. Air New England was in a category of its own until Air Midwest was certificated as another regional carrier in 1976. Notwithstanding the poor hand it was dealt by the CAB, ANE made things harder on itself. For instance, at New York LaGuardia Airport, it used

1344-463: Is 600 nmi (1,100 km; 690 mi), increasing to 1,450 nmi (2,690 km; 1,670 mi) with full fuel. The aircraft is fitted with a passenger door in the port forward fuselage, and a service door/emergency exit is installed opposite. An airstair installed below the front passenger door was available as an option as was an airstair in the tailcone. This also doubled as an emergency exit. Available with either two or four overwing exits,

1440-553: Is 81,700 lb (37,100 kg). The Series 14 has a fuel capacity of 3,693 US gallons (with the 907 US gal centre section fuel). The Series 15, certificated on January 21, 1966, is physically identical to the Series 14 but has an increased MTOW of 90,700 lb (41,100 kg). Typical range with 50 passengers and baggage is 950 nautical miles [nmi] (1,760 km; 1,090 mi), increasing to 1,278 nmi (2,367 km; 1,471 mi) at long-range cruise. Range with maximum payload

1536-535: Is a further lengthened version. With a 6 ft 6 in (2 m) longer fuselage, accommodation was up to 125 passengers. The Series 40 was fitted with Pratt & Whitney engines with thrust of 14,500 to 16,000 lbf (64 to 71 kN). A total of 71 were produced. The variant first entered service with Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) in March 1968. Its unit cost was US$ 5.2 million (1972) (equivalent to US$ 28.73 million in 2023) . The Series 50

1632-562: Is a result of the rear-mounted engines. The DC-9 series, the first generation of the DC-9 family, includes five members or variants and 10 subvariants, which are the production versions (types). Their designations use the Series (DC-9-) prefix followed by a two-digit numbering with the same first digit and the second digit being a zero for variant names and a nonzero for version/type designations. The first variant, Series 10 (DC-9-10), has four versions (Series 11, Series 12, Series 14 and Series 15);

1728-638: Is derived from the DC-9 family. The ARJ21 is built with manufacturing tooling from the MD-90 Trunkliner program. As a consequence, it has the same fuselage cross-section, nose profile, and tail. The DC-9 was designed for short to medium-haul routes, often to smaller airports with shorter runways and less ground infrastructure than the major airports being served by larger airliners like the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8, where accessibility and short-field characteristics were needed. The DC-9's takeoff weight

1824-584: The BAC One-Eleven , Fokker F28 , and Sud Aviation Caravelle , and larger ones with the original Boeing 737 . The original DC-9 was followed by the second generation in 1980, the MD-80 series, a lengthened DC-9-50 with a larger wing and a higher MTOW. This was further developed into the third generation, the MD-90 , in the early 1990s, as the body was stretched again, fitted with V2500 high-bypass turbofans, and an updated flight deck. The shorter and final version,

1920-548: The Civil Aeronautics Board , which in June 1945 awarded the routes to Pan American World Airways , American Export Airlines and TWA . In 1956 Northeast began service to Washington National Airport , and received a temporary certificate to serve Florida, for which the airline purchased a fleet of new DC-6Bs . Northeast ordered ten Vickers Viscounts in the late 1950s and used them until financial problems in

2016-612: The Federal Aviation Administration , and the US Air Force . The Series 20 has an overall length of 104.4 feet (31.82 m), a fuselage length of 92.1 feet (28.07 m), a passenger-cabin length of 60 feet (18.29 m), and a wingspan of 93.3 feet (28.44 m). The DC-9 Series 20 is powered by the 15,000 lbf (67 kN) thrust JT8D-11 engine. The Series 20 was originally certificated at an MTOW of 94,500 lb (42,900 kg) but this

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2112-479: The Marine Air Terminal , far from the main terminal, making connections to other carriers difficult – it provided a courtesy bus to move people between terminals, but noted it might take 45 minutes to arrive. Considering ANE was designed to be a regional feeder airline, and that in the regulated era interlining among CAB carriers was mandatory, the difficulty of making connections with ANE at LaGuardia

2208-460: The Pratt & Whitney JT8D low-bypass turbofan engine, which had already been developed for the Boeing 727 , enabled Douglas to benefit from the preexisting investment. Pratt & Whitney had long collaborated with Douglas on various projects, thus their engine was a natural choice for the company. In order to reduce the considerable financial burden of its development, Douglas implemented one of

2304-539: The airport at Portland, Maine ). Of the ten points, seven of them have, as of 2024, no form of commercial air service, while the other three have Cape Air service which flies aircraft in the 10-seat class, yet Northeast served them with 44-seat FH-227s. Every trunk airline started with small points on their network (some just for the purposes of refueling), but over time, most of them shifted these to local service carriers or otherwise abandoned them. Northeast still had these small points on its network in 1969. That wasn’t

2400-452: The CAA would be moved to the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), which would closely regulate Boston-Maine/Northeast as a trunk carrier for the rest of its existence. The name Northeast Airlines was adopted on November 19, 1940, which was duly approved by the CAB, including the required signature of President Franklin D. Roosevelt . During World War II Northeast pioneered transatlantic service for

2496-480: The CAB certificated Air New England (ANE), to that point a commuter/air taxi operator, specifically to operate the former problematic New England Northeast destinations with “big” aircraft, which it did from 1975. Delta lent ANE the money to buy the ex-Northeast FH-227s (and another loan to help ANE to transition to certificated status) and N374NE thru N379NE duly appeared in Air New England’s fleet. Air New England

2592-590: The CAB to court to try to get that lost money, and lost. More generally, ANE seems to have had no serious plan for how to deal with deregulation. It did expand outside of New England, but such routes in the 1 October 1981 timetable, just before it died, have a random nature to them – Boston-to-Albany-to Rochester-to Cleveland-to Baltimore. There seems little rhyme or reason to these choices. Air New England shut down on October 31, 1981, with 400 employees. The company cited "intolerable financial losses" caused by competition, lack of federal subsidies, cumulative expenses, and

2688-417: The DC-9 was largely analogue, with flight controls mainly consisting of various levers, wheels, and knobs. The problem of deep stalling , revealed by the loss of the BAC One-Eleven prototype in 1963, was overcome through various changes, including the introduction of vortilons , small surfaces beneath the wings' leading edges used to control airflow and increase low-speed lift. The need for such features

2784-406: The DC-9, known as Model 2086. The first envisioned version seated 63 passengers and had a gross weight of 69,000 lb (31,300 kg). This design was changed into what would be the initial DC-9 variant. During February 1963, detailed design work commenced. On April 8, 1963, Douglas announced that it would proceed with the DC-9. Shortly thereafter, Delta Air Lines placed the initial order for

2880-489: The DC-9, ordering 15 aircraft along with options for another 15. By January 1965, Douglas had garnered orders for 58 DC-9 as well as options for a further 44. Unlike the competing but larger Boeing 727 trijet , which used as many 707 components as possible, the DC-9 was developed as an all-new design. Throughout its development, Douglas had placed considerable emphasis on making the airliner as economic as possible, as well as to facilitate its future growth. The adoption of

2976-521: The DC-9-10 can seat up to a maximum certified exit limit of 109 passengers. Typical all-economy layout is 90 passengers, and 72 passengers in a more typical mixed-class layout with 12 first and 60 economy-class passengers. All versions of the DC-9 are equipped with a tricycle undercarriage, featuring a twin nose unit and twin main units. The Series 20 was designed to satisfy a Scandinavian Airlines request for improved short-field performance by using

Northeast Airlines - Misplaced Pages Continue

3072-901: The Islands and Cape business (Martha's Vinyard, Nantucket, Hyannis), undercutting Executive (which, although larger, had a far worse cost structure), largely driving them out of this area by 1972. Then, fed by profits from the Islands and Cape, ANE moved its attention to the north, again undercutting Executive. Executive declared bankruptcy in December 1971 and went out of business entirely in December 1973, selling some assets to ANE. ANE's summer 1974 network linked LaGuardia and Boston to four destinations in each of Maine and Massachusetts, as well as one in New Hampshire and two in Vermont. See Fleet section below for how its fleet changed during this time. Air New England received certification in 1974 as

3168-522: The MD-90 was retired without freighter conversion. During the late 1950s, Douglas Aircraft studied a short- to medium-range airliner to complement their then-sole jetliner , the high-capacity, long-range DC-8 ( DC stands for Douglas Commercial ). The Model 2067 , a four-engined aircraft sized for medium-range routes was studied in depth, but work on it was abandoned after the proposal did not receive enough interest from airlines. In 1960, Douglas signed

3264-479: The MD-95, was renamed the Boeing 717 after McDonnell Douglas's merger with Boeing in 1997; it is powered by Rolls-Royce BR715 engines. The DC-9 family was produced between 1965 and 2006 with a total delivery of 2441 units: 976 DC-9s, 1191 MD-80s, 116 MD-90s, and 155 Boeing 717s. As of August 2022, 250 aircraft remain in service: 31 DC-9s (freighter), 116 MD-80s (mainly freighter), and 103 Boeing 717s (passenger), while

3360-468: The Model -51. Some visual cues to distinguish this version from other DC-9 variants include side strakes or fins below the side cockpit windows, spray deflectors on the nose gear, and thrust reversers angled inward 17 degrees as compared to the original configuration. The thrust reverser modification was developed by Air Canada for its earlier aircraft, and adopted by McDonnell Douglas as a standard feature on

3456-591: The New England routes that caused Northeast so many problems; the CAB did not require that Delta them all. For a couple of years, Delta operated ex-Northeast FH-227s, at least the five that had not been leased out, the only passenger turboprop Delta operated directly. The Delta Flight Museum has pictures of FH-227s in Delta livery. Delta’s July 1974 schedule shows Lebanon, Keene, New Bedford, Hyannis, Martha’s Vinyard and Nantucket on-line, and gone in July 1975. However, in 1974,

3552-590: The Series 10 fuselage, more powerful engines, and the Series 30's improved wings; it first flew in September 1968 and entered service in January 1969. The Series 40 was further lengthened by 6 ft (2 m) for 125 passengers, and the final DC-9-50 series first flew in 1974, stretched again by 8 ft (2.5 m) for 135 passengers. When deliveries ended in October 1982, 976 had been built. Smaller variants competed with

3648-399: The Series 14 and 15, although, of the first four aircraft, three were built as Series 11s and one as Series 12. These were later converted to Series 14 standard. No Series 13 was produced. A passenger/cargo version of the aircraft, with a 136-by-81-inch (3.5 by 2.1 m) side cargo door forward of the wing and a reinforced cabin floor, was certificated on March 1, 1967. Cargo versions included

3744-407: The Series 15MC (minimum change) with folding seats that can be carried in the rear of the aircraft, and the Series 15RC (rapid change) with seats removable on pallets. These differences disappeared over the years as new interiors were installed. The Series 10 was unique in the DC-9 family in not having leading-edge slats. The Series 10 was designed to have short takeoff and landing distances without

3840-491: The Series 30, 40 and 50, has a slightly lower basic fuel capacity than the Series 10 (3,679 US gallons). The Series 30 was produced to counter Boeing's 737 twinjet; 662 were built, about 60% of the total. The -30 entered service with Eastern Airlines in February 1967 with a 14 ft 9 in (4.50 m) fuselage stretch, wingspan increased by just over 3 ft (0.9 m) and full-span leading edge slats , improving takeoff and landing performance. Maximum takeoff weight

3936-587: The Series 31 is the JT8D-7 (14,000 lbf (62 kN) thrust), although it was also available with the -9 and -17 engines. On the Series 32 the JT8D-9 (14,500 lbf (64 kN) thrust) was standard, with the -11 also offered. The Series 33 was offered with the JT8D-9 or -11 (15,000 lbf (67 kN) thrust) engines and the heavyweight -34 with the JT8D-9, -15 (15,000 lbf (67 kN) thrust) or -17 (16,000 lbf (71 kN) thrust) engines. The DC-9-40

Northeast Airlines - Misplaced Pages Continue

4032-637: The US airline business that was unregulated because it flew small aircraft, which at the time were defined as carrying 30 or fewer passengers with a maximum payload of 7,500lbs. In that year, the US Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), a now defunct Federal agency that, at the time, tightly regulated the US airline business, certificated Air New England, allowing it to fly larger aircraft but also making it subject to CAB oversight. As discussed below, such certification of an air taxi or commuter operator

4128-470: The aircraft were made during flight testing, such as the replacement of the original leading-edge slat design to achieve lower drag . The flight test program proceeded at a rapid pace; the initial Series 10 received airworthiness certification from the Federal Aviation Administration on November 23, 1965, permitting it to enter service with Delta Air Lines on December 8. Through the DC-9, Douglas had beaten rival company Boeing and their 737 to enter

4224-477: The airline was generally unprofitable. ANE collapsed in the early years of US airline deregulation . Air New England, Inc., was incorporated as a Massachusetts company on September 25, 1970, originally located in Barnstable, MA with directors Joseph Whitney (president), Nelson Lee and George Parmenter. Parmenter was head of Cape & Island Airline , a dba of Cape & Islands Flight Service . Whitney

4320-458: The benefits of certificated service with larger aircraft. The Board's solution was to certificate ANE, giving them the routes Northeast and Mohawk had been unable to fly profitably, relieving Delta and Allegheny of the obligation. With this background, ANE's record of financial distress from 1975 onward (see nearby table) is not a surprise. The CAB essentially made ANE the designated certificated operator of routes that were proven losers, at least for

4416-622: The circumstances providing insight into the problems that plagued the airline. Northeast originally had seven FH-227s, delivered in 1966 to replace DC-3s. One (N380NE) crashed in Lebanon, NH as flight 946 in 1968, leaving six (N374NE thru N379NE). But in 1969, as its finances deteriorated, Northeast pulled out of ten New England airports, grounding the FH-227s and taking a write-down on them. The ten airports were for small New England points (the biggest of these, Lewiston, also being only 38 miles from

4512-420: The early 1960s forced the company to return them to the manufacturer. Beginning on December 17, 1959, Northeast became one of the early jet operators, flying a leased TWA Boeing 707-331 round trip between New York and Miami. In 1960 Northeast leased six Convair 880s and flew them to Florida for several years. Howard Hughes acquired control of the airline in 1962. The airline's temporary Miami route authority

4608-477: The end of 1969, following a long period of financial difficulties, Northeast announced its intention to merge with Northwest Airlines . The merger was approved by both the CAB and President Richard Nixon in 1970, but it was conditional upon relinquishing the Miami-Los Angeles route. Northwest terminated the merger negotiations in March 1971, and Northeast announced a new merger plan with Delta Air Lines

4704-504: The end of FH-227s for Northeast. It was able to walk away from some of the New England points by turning them over to Mohawk Airlines , which thought it could do better. Mohawk then had a disastrous strike in 1971 (which ultimately forced it to merge with Allegheny in 1972), after which it could no longer support Keene service. The CAB forced Northeast back into some of these points (like Keene, NH) and it had to pull two FH-227s out of storage, leaving three still stored with one leased out. At

4800-402: The family members would be: First generation (Series 10, Series 20, Series 30, Series 40, and Series 50), second generation (Series 81, Series 82, Series 83, Series 87, and Series 88), and third generation (Series 90 and Series 95). The Series 10 (DC-9-10) was the smallest family member and the Series 90 (MD-90) was the largest. The original DC-9 series was followed in 1980 by the introduction of

4896-445: The first shared-risk production arrangements for the DC-9, arranging for de Havilland Canada to produce the wing at its own financial cost in return for promises on prospective future production orders. The pace of development on the program was rapid. The first DC-9, a production model, flew on February 25, 1965. The second DC-9 flew a few weeks later, with a test fleet of five aircraft flying by July. Several key refinements to

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4992-577: The following month. The Delta merger was approved in May 1972, with the same condition that Delta could not operate the Miami-Los Angeles route. The merger was completed in August 1972. Note the delays between each merger announcement and final disposition. The CAB process took a long time, during which the company continued to lose a lot of money. The airline's IATA code was NE . Broadly-speaking, there were two legacies from Northeast: Nominally, Delta took over all of Northeast, including some (but not all) of

5088-522: The high customer demand for the DC-9 made the company attractive for either an acquisition or a merger; Douglas would merge with the American aerospace company McDonnell Aircraft to form McDonnell Douglas in 1967. The DC-9 family is one of the longest-lasting aircraft in production and operation. It was produced on the final assembly line in Long Beach, California , beginning in 1965, and later

5184-488: The high-capacity DC-8 , in 1959, Douglas was interested in producing an aircraft suited to smaller routes. As early as 1958, design studies were conducted; approval for the DC-9, a smaller all-new jetliner, came on April 8, 1963. The DC-9-10 first flew on February 25, 1965, and gained its type certificate on November 23, to enter service with Delta Air Lines on December 8. The DC-9 is powered by two rear-mounted Pratt & Whitney JT8D low-bypass turbofan engines under

5280-419: The largest local service carrier , Allegheny Airlines , had operating revenue over 40% bigger than that of Northeast, while the next smallest trunk, National , had significantly more than twice as much revenue. The largest trunk, United , had revenue over twelve times that of Northeast. As George C. Eads said about Northeast in his definitive book on local service carriers (the next tier of airlines down from

5376-426: The late 1940s/early 1950s, so its certification was a big deal. There had been US carriers certificated for international routes only (like Trans Caribbean Airways in 1957) and domestic carriers originally certificated to fly a single route only ( Aspen Airways in 1967, TAG Airlines in 1969 and Wright Air Lines in 1972) but nothing like Air New England. The CAB categorized its carriers and deemed Air New England

5472-476: The military under contract from the U.S. Army Air Forces . In June 1944, the CAB approved the takeover of moribund Mayflower Airlines , giving Northeast routes to Cape Cod , Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard from Boston. After the war, Northeast began hourly service between Boston and New York using DC-4s . Northeast applied for authorization to operate passenger service across the Atlantic but were stymied by

5568-431: The more-powerful engines and improved wings of the -30 combined with the shorter fuselage used in the -10. Ten Series 20 aircraft were produced, all as the Model -21. The -21 had slats and stairs at the rear of plane. In 1969, a DC-9 Series 20 at Long Beach was fitted with an Elliott Flight Automation Head-up display by McDonnell Douglas and used for successful three-month-long trials with pilots from various airlines,

5664-485: The only airline transport class jet certified to date by the FAA for skydiving operations as of 2006. This is the last and only -21 series still airworthy, and after being out of service for over a decade, it returned to the sky on May 7th, 2024 During the mid 1990s, Northwest Airlines was the largest operator of the type in the world, flying 180 DC-9s. After its acquisition of Northwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines operated

5760-407: The onset of its development, the DC-9 had been intended to be available in multiple versions to suit varying customer requirements; the first stretched version, the Series 30, with a longer fuselage and extended wing tips, flew on August 1, 1966, entering service with Eastern Air Lines in 1967. The initial Series 10 was followed by the improved -20 , -30 , and -40 variants. The final DC-9 series

5856-540: The operating fleet comprised five DC-3s, eight Twin Otters, four Beech 99s and two Aero Commanders. The Aero Commanders were not used in scheduled service. World Airline Fleets 1979 lists Air New England as having eight FH-227s and ten DHC-6 Twin Otters. On 17 June 1979, an Air New England de Havilland Twin Otter aircraft crashed while approaching Barnstable Municipal Airport in Hyannis, Massachusetts . One person,

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5952-585: The original DC-9 series. The MD-80 series includes the MD-81, MD-82, MD-83, MD-88, and shortest variant, the MD-87. The MD-80 series was further developed into the third generation, the MD-90 series, in the early 1990s. It has yet another fuselage stretch, an electronic flight instrument system (first introduced on the MD-88), and completely new International Aero V2500 high-bypass turbofan engines . In comparison to

6048-454: The original or first generation DC-9 series used the new designation with McDonnell Douglas initials (MD- prefix) followed by the year of development. The first derivative or second generation was the MD-80 series and the second derivative or third generation was the MD-90 series . Together, they formed the DC-9 family of 12 aircraft members (variants), and if the DC-9- designation were retained,

6144-541: The pilot, was killed. McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast, single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company . It was initially produced as the Douglas DC-9 prior to August 1967, after which point the company had merged with McDonnell Aircraft to become McDonnell Douglas . Following the introduction of its first jetliner,

6240-542: The possibility of replacing engines on the DC-9 with the JT8D-109 turbofan, a quieter and more efficient variant of the JT8D. This progressed to the flight-test stage, and tests achieved noise reduction between 8 and 9 decibels depending on the phase of flight. No further aircraft were modified, and the test aircraft was re-equipped with standard JT8D-9s prior to delivery to its airline customer. Two further developments of

6336-528: The second generation of the DC-9 family, the MD-80 series. This was originally called the DC-9-80 (short Series 80 and later stylized Super 80). 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 JT8D turbofan engine that had higher thrust ratings than those available on

6432-426: The second variant, Series 20, has one version (Series 21); the third variant, Series 30, has four versions (Series 31, Series 32, Series 33 and Series 34); the fourth variant, Series 40, has one version (Series 41); and the fifth or final variant, Series 50, has one version (Series 51). The original DC-9 (later designated the Series 10) was the smallest DC-9 variant. The -10 was 104.4 ft (31.8 m) long and had

6528-423: The series 50. It was also applied to many earlier DC-9s in the course of regular maintenance. As of May 2024, a total of 30 DC-9 series aircraft remain in service, of which 20 are operated by Aeronaves TSM and two passenger aircraft in service with African Express Airways , and the rest in cargo service. With the existing DC-9 fleet shrinking, modifications do not appear to be likely to occur, especially since

6624-446: The short-haul jet market, a key factor that contributed to the DC-9 becoming the best selling airliner in the world for a time. By May 1976, the company had delivered 726 aircraft of the DC-9 family, which was more than double the number of its nearest competitor. However, following decades of intense competition between the two airliners, the DC-9 would eventually be overtaken as the world's best selling airliner by Boeing's 737. From

6720-438: The structure associated with the slat is a more efficient torque box than the structure associated with the slotted Krueger. The wing had a six-percent increase in chord, all ahead of the front spar, allowing the 15 percent chord slat to be incorporated. The Series 30 was built in four main sub-variants. The DC-9-30 was offered with a selection of variants of JT8D including the -1, -7, -9, -11, -15. and -17. The most common on

6816-400: The tail-mounted engines was the reduction in foreign object damage from ingested debris from runways and aprons, but with this position, the engines could ingest ice streaming off the wing roots. The third was the absence of engines in underslung pods, which permitted a reduction in fuselage ground clearance, making the airliner more accessible to baggage handlers and passengers. The cockpit of

6912-547: The time of ANE's founding/first flight (which occurred November 16, 1970) speak of Beech 99s and DHC-6 Twin Otters and show a picture of an ANE Beech 99, but the US Civil Registry of January 1971 shows two Beech 18s (and a Twin Otter). A September 1971 schedule shows the fleet included Beech 99s, DC-3s, Beech 18s and Twin Otters. Until 1974, Air New England was categorized as an air-taxi, or commuter, that part of

7008-575: The trunks in the CAB's categorization of airlines ), "Although classified as a trunk, since it was certificated under the grandfather provisions of the Civil Aeronautics Act, it has always resembled a local service carrier with a few trunk routes appended." Like Local Service Carriers, Northeast needed government subsidies. Despite subsidies, it had a long history of incredibly poor financial results (see nearby table). Some of that had to do with its route network, as Eads said. But some of it

7104-449: The use of leading-edge high-lift devices. Therefore, the wing design of the Series 10 featured airfoils with extremely high maximum-lift capability to obtain the low stalling speeds necessary for short-field performance. The Series 10 has an overall length of 104.4 feet (31.82 m), a fuselage length of 92.1 feet (28.07 m), a passenger-cabin length of 60 feet (18.29 m), and a wingspan of 89.4 feet (27.25 m). The Series 10

7200-503: The very successful MD-80, relatively few MD-90s were built. The shorter and final variant, the MD-95, was renamed the Boeing 717 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. China's Comac ARJ21

7296-511: The wing design makes retrofitting difficult. DC-9s are therefore likely to be further replaced in service by newer airliners such as Boeing 737 , Airbus A320 , Embraer E-Jets , and the Airbus A220 . However one former Scandinavian Airlines DC-9-21 is operated as a skydiving jump platform at Perris Valley Airport in Perris, California . With the steps on the ventral stairs removed, it is

7392-469: The workhorses of their fleet in the 1970s and 1980s and at one time was the world's largest operator of the Boeing 727-200. Northeast Airlines served the following destinations during its existence: An asterisk (*) denotes this airport is no longer served by scheduled air service. Prop Aircraft Turboprop Aircraft Jet Aircraft A series of crashes damaged the airline's image: Air New England (1970%E2%80%931981) Air New England (ANE)

7488-525: Was a US regional airline in New England during the 1970s and early 1980s. It was headquartered at Logan International Airport in the East Boston area of Boston, Massachusetts . ANE was noneconomic for most of its existence. From 1975 through its last year, 1981, ANE depended heavily on government subsidies. Depending on the year, these accounted for 17 to 25% of operating revenues, despite which

7584-415: Was a big mistake. ANE was also asleep at the switch when deregulation was signed into law. It was a near-certainty this would make ANE's life harder, yet it failed to immediately apply to the CAB for increased subsidy. Established CAB practice was that subsidy changes dated from the day new rates were requested – no backdating. ANE didn't apply until months later, needlessly foregoing additional monies. It took

7680-537: Was a founder and former president and Nelson a former EVP of Executive Airlines, and at the start the airline was staffed with mostly former Executive staff. Whitney had left Executive after a disagreement with its main shareholder. ANE was billed as a “renaming” of Cape & Islands to better reflect the New England-wide service area of the airline but the two remained separate corporations until both were dissolved after ANE stopped flying. News articles at

7776-801: Was a niece of the childless founder of Hudson's , the one-time Detroit department store that was a forerunner to Target , explaining Robert Kanzler's middle name. Over the first four years of operation, Air New England grew to become the dominant commuter airline in New England, overcoming and ultimately driving out of business the former dominant player, Executive Airlines. ANE's original network linked New York LaGuardia and Boston to three destinations in Massachusetts (New Bedford, Hyannis and Nantucket) and three in Maine (Portland, Augusta and Waterville). ANE's traffic grew from 90,000 passengers in 1971 to 320,000 in 1974. It triumphed by first concentrating on

7872-682: Was certificated to be a United States scheduled airline by the Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) under the terms of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, which granted certificates to airlines that had been providing bona fide scheduled service prior to the Act. The CAA noted that Boston-Maine was 25% owned each by the Boston and Maine Railroad and Maine Central Railroads. The next year, the airline regulatory functions of

7968-511: Was in some ways a partially reconstituted Northeast Airlines, at least insofar as New England routes were concerned. From 1975, when Air New England took over the routes, until the 1981 when it ceased operations, ANE was in significant financial distress notwithstanding CAB subsidies that reached up to 25% of ANE’s annual revenues. In this respect, at least, the Northeast Airlines tradition lived on. Northeast’s lasting impact on Delta

8064-415: Was increased to 98,000 lb (44,000 kg), eight percent more than on the higher weight Series 14s and 15s. The aircraft's MLW is 95,300 lb (43,200 kg) and MZFW is 84,000 lb (38,000 kg). Typical range with maximum payload is 1,000 nmi (1,900 km; 1,200 mi), increasing to 1,450 nmi (2,690 km; 1,670 mi) with maximum fuel. The Series 20, using the same wing as

8160-440: Was limited to 80,000 lb (36,300 kg) for a two-person flight crew by the then-Federal Aviation Agency regulations at the time. The commercial passenger aircraft have five abreast layout for economy seating that can accommodate 80 to 135 passengers, depending on version and seating arrangement. Turnarounds were simplified by built-in airstairs, including one in the tail, which shortened boarding and deplaning times. The DC-9

8256-506: Was offered with the 14,000 lbf (62 kN)-thrust JT8D-1 and JT8D-7. All versions of the DC-9 are equipped with an AlliedSignal (Garrett) GTCP85 APU, located in the aft fuselage. The Series 10, as with all later versions of the DC-9, is equipped with a two-crew analog flightdeck. The Series 14 was originally certificated with an MTOW of 85,700 lb (38,900 kg), but subsequent options offered increases to 86,300 and 90,700 lb (41,100 kg). The aircraft's MLW in all cases

8352-925: Was on a common line with the second generation of the DC-9 family, the MD-80 , with which it shares its line number sequence. Following the delivery of 976 DC-9s and 108 MD-80s, McDonnell Douglas stopped series production of the DC-9 in December 1982. The last member of the DC-9 family, the Boeing 717, was produced until 2006. The DC-9 family was produced in total 2441 units: 976 DC-9s (first generation), 1191 MD-80s (second generation), 116 MD-90s, and 155 Boeing 717s (third generation). This compared to 2,970 Airbus A320s and 5,270 Boeing 737s delivered as of 2006. Studies aimed at further improving DC-9 fuel efficiency , by means of retrofitted wingtips of various types, were undertaken by McDonnell Douglas, but these did not demonstrate significant benefits, especially with existing fleets shrinking. The wing design makes retrofitting difficult. Between 1973 and 1975, McDonnell Douglas studied

8448-601: Was originally designed to perform a maximum of 40,000 landings. The DC-9 has two rear-mounted JT8D turbofan engines, relatively small, efficient wings, and a T-tail . The tail-mounted engine design facilitated a clean wing without engine pods, which had numerous advantages. First, the flaps could be longer, unimpeded by pods on the leading edge and engine-blast concerns on the trailing edge. This simplified design improved airflow at low speeds and enabled lower takeoff and approach speeds, thus lowering field length requirements and keeping wing structure light. The second advantage of

8544-412: Was self-inflicted. In 1968 Northeast, for some reason, ordered eight Lockheed L-1011s which were to be delivered in a 268 seat configuration. The total order was to cost $ 128mm including spares. In early 1970, following another abysmal set of financial results in 1969, Northeast cancelled the order, taking a $ 3.6mm charge against 1969 to do so. Northeast also wrote off its three year old FH-227s in 1969,

8640-410: Was terminated by a CAB decision that year, and Hughes decided to exit from the company, selling control to a trustee in 1964. Northeast launched an aggressive campaign against the CAB's decision, and got a permanent Florida certificate in 1965. In 1965 the airline was bought by Storer Broadcasting , who tried to rejuvenate Northeast in 1966 with a new marketing campaign and new aircraft. Northeast ordered

8736-526: Was that it was Delta’s entrée into Boston and points north (not all of Northeast’s New England routes were terrible, Delta kept a few), plus the Northeast to Florida routes, and routes to Bermuda and Bahamas. These are the bits that Delta wanted. This was the origin of Delta’s presence in these markets. Northeast also contributed the Boeing 727-100 and 727-200 to Delta's fleet, types Delta did not operate prior to acquiring Northeast. Delta used these types as

8832-418: Was the -50 , which first flew in 1974. The DC-9 series, the first generation of the DC-9 family, would become a long term commercial success for the manufacturer. However, early production of the type had come at a higher unit cost than had been anticipated, leading to DC-9s being sold at a loss. The unfavorable early economics of the type negatively impacted Douglas, pushing it into fiscal hardship. However,

8928-434: Was the largest version of the DC-9 to enter airline service. It features an 8 ft 2 in (2.49 m) fuselage stretch and seats up to 139 passengers. It entered revenue service in August 1975 with Eastern Airlines and included a number of detail improvements, a new cabin interior, and more powerful JT8D-15 or -17 engines in the 16,000 and 16,500 lbf (71 and 73 kN) class. McDonnell Douglas delivered 96, all as

9024-541: Was the only trunk carrier that needed subsidies to survive, subsidies the CAB paid until 1968. Also included in the investigation were a couple of New England routes that Allegheny Airlines had inherited in its 1972 merger with Mohawk Airlines . The recommendation of the CAB's administrative law judge and its staff was to give these unprofitable New England routes to unregulated air taxi or commuter operators. The New England states and communities saw things differently and board members themselves believed New England deserved

9120-544: Was typically 110,000 lb (50,000 kg). Engines for Models -31, -32, -33, and -34 included the P&;W JT8D-7 and JT8D-9 rated at 14,500 lbf (64 kN) of thrust, or JT8D-11 with 15,000 lbf (67 kN). Unlike the Series 10, the Series 30 had leading-edge devices to reduce the landing speeds at higher landing weights; full-span slats reduced approach speeds by six knots despite 5,000 lb greater weight. The slats were lighter than slotted Krueger flaps , since

9216-492: Was unusual. ANE was privately held. Its two major owners were Fairleigh Dickinson, Jr. and Robert Hudson Kanzler. Kanzler was a son of Ernest C. Kanzler, an early Ford Motor Company executive (who persuaded Henry Ford to move beyond the Model T , but was forced out as a result) and a friend of Edsel Ford . Ernest and Edsel married sisters so Henry Ford II was Robert Kanzler's first cousin. His mother, Josephine Hudson Clay,

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