Douglas DC-8

Douglas · United States · first flew 1958 · airliner

The Douglas DC-8 was the four-engined jetliner built to rival the Boeing 707, sharing the swept-wing podded-engine layout in a long, slender airframe.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Low-mounted, swept
E — Engines	4 × turbofan, wing-mounted
F — Fuselage	Four underwing engine pods on a long body
T — Tail	Conventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Four underwing engine pods on a long body
Rounder, less pointed nose than a 707
Slightly less wing sweep than the 707

Very similar to the 707, the DC-8 is told apart by its rounder, less pointed nose, a flatter windscreen profile, different engine-pod and pylon shapes, and slightly less wing sweep; the Super 60 and 70 fuselages are strikingly long.

Specifications

The Douglas DC-8 has a length of 57.1 m (187 ft).
It has a wingspan of 43.4 m (142 ft).
Its maximum speed is 895 km/h (556 mph).
Typical crew: 3.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

First flown in 1958 and entering service in 1959, 556 were built up to 1972. A DC-8-43 became the first jetliner to exceed the speed of sound in a controlled dive in 1961, and the design's strong fuselage made it a natural candidate for later stretching and re-engining.

Variants

Early -10 to -50 series gave way to the stretched Super 60 (-61, -62, -63) and the CFM56-powered Super 70 conversions of the 1980s, which greatly extended the type's freighter career.

Where you'll see it

In Britain the DC-8 was operated only by cargo carriers such as British Cargo Airlines, IAS Cargo Airlines and Transmeridian Air Cargo, with no UK flag-carrier passenger use. A handful linger in freight service abroad, and no notable UK-preserved DC-8 is recorded.

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