McDonnell Douglas DC-10
McDonnell Douglas · United States · first flew 1970 · airliner
The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is a widebody trijet with two underwing engines and a third mounted straight through the base of the vertical fin.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Low-mounted, swept |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 3 × turbofan, wing-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Widebody trijet with two underwing engines |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Widebody trijet with two underwing engines
- Third engine straight through the fin base
- High tail inlet bisecting the vertical fin
Note the third engine mounted as a straight-through nacelle with a high inlet bisecting the fin, distinguishing it from the TriStar's low S-duct, plus a distinctive centreline main gear leg on long-range variants.
Specifications
- The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 has a length of 55.5 m (182 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 50.4 m (165 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 908 km/h (564 mph).
- Typical crew: 3.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
First flown in 1970 and in American Airlines service from 1971, the DC-10 competed directly with the Lockheed TriStar. Early cargo-door and pylon failures, including the catastrophic Turkish Airlines Flight 981 in 1974 and American Flight 191 in 1979, prompted major fixes that restored confidence in the type.
Variants
Versions include the US-domestic -10, the hot-and-high -15, the long-range -30, the Pratt & Whitney-powered -40, the KC-10 Extender tanker and the glass-cockpit MD-10 cargo conversion.
Where you'll see it
British Caledonian flew DC-10-30s from Gatwick, around ten passing to British Airways in the 1988 BCal takeover and retiring about 1999, while Laker Airways ran DC-10 Skytrain services from Gatwick to JFK from 1977 until its 1982 collapse. The nose of Monarch's G-DMCA is preserved at the Runway Visitor Park, Manchester Airport.
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- Lockheed L-1011 TriStar
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