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First MD-80 Freighter Set To Fly in U.S.

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Miami, Florida-based Aeronautical Engineers (AEI) received the world’s first supplemental type certificate (STC) from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration for the MD-80SF passenger-to-freighter conversion, the company announced last week. (www.ainonline.com) Mais...

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WALLACE24
WALLACE24 6
Why convert from cargo to pax. Just strap people to the floor. Matter of fact you can sit on your carry on.
JetMech24
JetMech24 4
LOL. UPS had a couple 727's that could switch back and forth between PAX and Cargo.
StymieHo
Chris Donawho 5
We had one at the DFW ramp that got the conversion done from time to time. There was not a lot of interest from the vacation charter market, UPS's target demographic for this "experiment." The little UPS Airline came and went without much fanfare in either direction.
WALLACE24
WALLACE24 1
I'm kidding in one sense but we rode like that in the military and I'll bet people would sign up if the fares were cheap enough-sort of a bus class. Stack 'em in, give 'em a seat belt in a slide track, and sell tickets. Hell, people ride like that on buses and trains all over the world, some real close by. If the plane crashes your probably gonna die anyway. Lol again.
StymieHo
Chris Donawho 1
Yes. If they had a true steerage class, I would sign up for the savings alone.
sparkie624
sparkie624 1
Sure would speed up Passenger Loading... Could start with 3 isles getting into the plane... LOL.
WALLACE24
WALLACE24 2
No isles. Pack 'em shoulder to shoulder. Carry 25% more pax.
AWAAlum
AWAAlum 1
hehehe i'm guessing you guys don't really mean isles and that you're talking about the aisles. yes?
sparkie624
sparkie624 1
Not really... Once they get in the plane... then they are boarded... Would be great for Southwest... They cattle board anyway. Just open the door and let them trample in.
WALLACE24
WALLACE24 1
You got us teach!
vanstaalduinenj
What a great concept, looks like between Delta and cargo users, we will see these birds in the air for a very long time, although I will miss the 727.
fllkap1
kirsten parker 2
You are correct. The 727 is agreat plane an reliable workhorse .
They have a higher operating cost with 3 engines and 3 crew.
Not to mention them being phased out
fllkap1
kirsten parker 2
I saw this a/c at MIA. Very cool.
mikezc128
Michael Misorski 2
Who wants to pitch in a few million and start an airline with some MD-80's?! :D
vanstaalduinenj
Still curious as to why a used 737 worth 4 times what a used MD80 series is.
nec1978
Eduardo Carneiro 1
Hey,..... Look at this, we are all cargo... doesn't make a diference if we walk and talk...
Vinings1
Lyle Perry 1
Wonder who else in the U.S. might pick up some of these given the market they're predicting for them?
damianmiller
damian miller 1
Alaska, where old planes go to spend their golden years and die.
vanstaalduinenj
Now, why is a retired 737-400 worth so much more then a retired mad dog?
StymieHo
Chris Donawho 1
It's not just worth more, it costs a hellavuh lot more to operate too. Of course, just when compared to the 400 series. The next gen planes are much more cost-effective. If only they didnt break the bank in the process.
vanstaalduinenj
Great reference, decent film, a unique vertical stabilizer that was neglected prior to a tragic Alaskan airlines crash.
StymieHo
Chris Donawho 3
It was OK, they still (for me anyways) didnt come up with a valid reason as to why the nose didnt pitch back down when he rolled back right-side-up. One could only presume the absence of power made this possible? Should have gone ahead and landed the thing inverted, as the stabilizer issue would have drilled the plane in as soon as he rolled back upright.

If Tom Clancy had written this, he would have landed inverted. That's why I favor his writings; he takes the time to study up and make sure the ensuing fiction is, at the very least, plausible.

I dont think the average movie-goer knows or cares one way or the other.
stonrdude
Tim Howard 1
At 750K lots of people could write a check for that and never need another damm boarding pass! Few chairs and a sofa, couple of lamps and a card table and the days over. American had great galleys and lots of carts and ovens. Stock up on choice of hot grilled cheese or pimento cheese snacks. No more TSA or sassy seat mates. Long delays or flow control! American has plenty of those MD-80s, take your pick and never buy another ticket! Carry On as much as you want!
julianjim
jim garrity 1
Alaska flies "combi's" in the upper one all the time (737)! I use to fly for a company up there in the summer,and see them even convert the 73's either way in about 15-20 minutes. I don't know how everybody got off track talking about movies,Alaska's crash and all? I flew the 3 holer and it was a true "truck",you could even go 10% over MTOW,and it would fly the same!You can pick one up for 1Mil.but have fun with the up-keep!!
StymieHo
Chris Donawho 1
"It's a pickup truck with wings." - And a jackscrew that likes to misbehave if you dont check it every month, causing control problems that only Denzel Washington can overcome... as long as he has time to fire up a joint, run through a couple of rails of coke and chase it all down with a Screwdriver beforehand.

Make sure you buy the extra insurance for your parcel.
flyingcookmosnter
flyingcookmosnter 6
I fly on maddogs all the time. I would stand up for them. How many elevator trim runaways has the MD-80 had? One. Faulty maintenance can cause any aircraft to malfunction - old or new.
HunterTS4
Toby Sharp 3
you know anything about these airplanes other than what you saw from a movie? a movie that sucked at that
StymieHo
Chris Donawho 0
Yeah, I think everyone knows a lot more than the general public should about that aircraft. Of course, it took the Alaska Airlines crash to point it out to the whole world... Always does I guess.

I wouldn't chalk that crash to faulty maintenance. The issue wasnt well-known enough to warrant anything beyond standard procedure. Sure, AAL and DAL are all over it now, but not until the issue was discovered.

Same thing with the tail snapping off of Airbus products... Over-controlling a rudder, while traversing a wide-body's wake turbulence... Next thing you know, planes are being grounded and cracks are being discovered. Not faulty mainenance at the time. Now that the operators are aware of the potential, it is now part of the routine checks.

Now that we know about these things, future occurences will be chalked up to faulty maintenance. That's why you have one runaway trim incident and one tail snapping incident.

The movie reference was a joke. Remember the real incident? They really did put that through the sim sessions and NO ONE landed the airplane. This movie allowed ONE person to pull it off.... on weed, coke and booze. I find that funny.

Put your panties back on man.
flyingcookmosnter
flyingcookmosnter 3
Mostly true Chris.

Check out conclusion #22, #45 on the NTSB report. Heck, Wiki even. Alaska's maintenance procedures were faulty. They did the job that suppose to take 4 hours in under 60 minutes and created their own devices to check the jackscrew that proved to not function. If they had followed manufacturer lubrication schedules and end-play checks (even though they were extended per FAA approval) they would have caught this excessive wear on the jackscrew. Have you seen the pctures? Everyone would agree that the FAA dropped the ball also but so did Alaska. Big time.

<www.ntsb.gov/doclib/reports/2002/AAR0201.pdf>

"...buy the extra insurance on you parcel" So you are just saying that the DC-9/MD-80 is a faulty aircraft then?
StymieHo
Chris Donawho -2
That was another example of my poor attempt at humor. Apparently I hit a maddog nerve in here...lol
flyingcookmosnter
flyingcookmosnter 4
Worked around MD-80s for years. Honestly, Im gonna miss those screaming JT8 exhaust trails on climb-out. Darn the noise regulations, full speed ahead!
onceastudentpilot
tim mitchell 3
The 737 also had rudder issues at one time due to the "thermal shock" of the servo that controlled it.
HunterTS4
Toby Sharp 1
panties on and pulled up high today! I missed your joke, thanks for your comments. Good to hear somebody speaking from experience and not flight sim stuff
WALLACE24
WALLACE24 4
My decision was made to save my money and not see the movie was made instantly after seeing the preview. But thanks for the re-enforcement. Lots of people will believe it though, you know, the ones that watch wrestling. Lol
StymieHo
Chris Donawho 2
The movie was OK. Worthy of a trip to the Redbox. Wouldn't go much further though.
onceastudentpilot
tim mitchell 2
lol.....yeah I believe the folks over at "Seconds from Disaster" did their episode about those jackscrews.

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