Country of origin:

United States of America

Description:

Medium-range commercial transport

Power Plant:

Three 52,500 lbst General Electric CF6-50C1 turbofans

Specifications:

History:

The Douglas DC-10 series, or McDonnell Douglas DC-10 as it became known following the amalgamation of McDonnell with the Douglas Aircraft Company, was designed to meet a requirement of the US domestic airlines in 1966 for a large capacity medium-range aircraft. Design work proceeded towards an aircraft with a gross weight of 185,976 kg (410,000 lb) and powered by 40,000 lbst General Electric CF6-6 engines. This aircraft, known as the Series 10, was ordered by American Airlines (25) and United Airlines (30). Subsequently a longer-range version was ordered by Northwest Airlines, which specified 45,000 lbst Pratt & Whitney JT9D-15 engines for commonality with its Boeing 747 aircraft, and this version became known as the Series 20. A little later the Series 30 was announced, this originally being powered by 45,600 lbst General Electric CF6-10 engines, these being up-rated as development continued, power rising to 52,500 lbst at a later stage.

The prototype of the series, the DC-10-10, flew for the first time on 29 August 1970, a second aircraft joining the test programme in October, and a third in December. Full FAA certification was obtained on 29 July 1971 and the DC-10 entered service with American Airlines on 5 August that year, operating a daily non-stop flight between Los Angeles and Chicago. After some little time the Series 20 was renamed the Series 40, the Pratt & Whitney engines being re-named the JT9D-20. The maximum take-off weight increased over the years, the Series 10 being certificated to 195,045 kg (430,000 lb) and in the Series 30 and 40 reached 259,457 kg (572,000 lb).

A convertible version was also developed, known as the DC-10F, with a side-loading cargo door ahead of the wing with provision for freight carrying in the forward part of the fuselage. The first of this model, the Series 30CF, first flew on 28 February 1973; and later pure freight versions were offered to operators. The DC-10 had a flight crew of three, with provision on the flight deck for two supernumerary crew. Typical mixed-class accommodation was provided for 225 to 270 passengers; but the maximum authorised passenger accommodation was 380 persons, plus a crew of eleven.

Air New Zealand operated a fleet of eight DC-10-30s fitted with General Electric engines, the airline having its own facilities for maintenance of the engines. The Company’s first DC-10 ZK-NZL (c/n 47846) landed at Mangere in January 1973 and entered service shortly thereafter, taking over from the DC-8s on the Nadi service in February that year, Los Angeles in April, and Singapore in October. Used on the Company’s international routes, the aircraft was very successful, the final aircraft being received in 1977. However, the fleet was grounded for two weeks in May 1979 following the loss of an American Airlines DC-10 at Chicago, Illinois. The DC-10 was operated from 1973 to 1982 and gave the airline the opportunity to fly to London with 252 passengers in economy and 18 in first class configuration, flights being direct from New Zealand to Hong Kong and Singapore and then on to the United Kingdom.

Air New Zealand suffered the loss of one aircraft when one ZK-NZP (c/n 46919) on an Antarctic tourist flight crashed into Mount Erebus, an active Volcano on Ross Island, and all 257 persons on board perished. Following this the airline made the decision that it would replace the type with the Boeing 747, but it continued in service for a few more years until December 1982 when the first 747 with Rolls Royce engines arrived. As the Boeing 747s came on line the DC-10s were sold overseas, three going to American Airlines, one to Western Airlines and one to LAM Mozambique.

The other Air New Zealand DC-10 Series 30s were: ZK-NZL registered 10 January 1973 to 21 October 1982 when it was sold to the USA as N136AA; ZK-NZM (c/n 47847) registered from 13 September 1973 to 17 August 1982 when it became N137AA; ZK-NZN (ex ZK-NZO [ntu] – c/n 47846) registered 17 January 1974 to 22 April 1981 when it became N821L, later N144AA; ZK-NZP (c/n 46910) registered in December 1974; and ZK-NZQ (c/n 46911) registered 1 October 1975 to 22 December 1982, later becoming F-GDJK, F-ODOV, F-GDJK and F-GDNC.

ZK-NZR (c/n 47849) was registered from 7 June 1976. In 1979 it was leased to National Airlines and was expected to become N85A but retained its New Zealand registration. It returned to Air New Zealand in 1979 and was cancelled on 29 June 1982. It then for a period became CC-CJS and returned to Air New Zealand in 1986. It later became SE-DFH, F-GKMS [ntu] and F-ODLY.

ZK-NZS (c/n 46954) was first registered in June 1976. It survives derelict at Havana Airport in Cuba and consideration has been given to obtaining the aircraft and shipping it to a museum at Wanaka on New Zealand’s south island. ZK-NZT (c/n 46950) was registered from 9 November 1977 to 10 June 1982 when it became CC-CJT and later N164AA.

The DC-10 has seen many years of service as a tanker with the United States Air Force, being obtained in some numbers as the McDonnell Douglas KC-10A Extender. On 19 December 1977 the USAF selected the DC-10 advanced tanker/cargo aircraft (ATCA), the aircraft being a modified DC-10-30CF which had seven bladder fuel cells in the forward fuselage. The first aircraft (79-0434) was delivered to the USAF at Barksdale, Texas on 17 March 1981.

Sixty were delivered, the last KC-10A (87-0124) being delivered in November 1988. USAF KC-10As escorted and refuelled a number of times the first two McDonnell Douglas FA-18s for the RAAF, the fighters being flown non-stop with aerial refuelling from the United States, arriving at Williamtown RAAF Base, NSW on 17 May 1985. USAF KC-10s have regularly visited this area during exercises with the RAAF and whilst escorting fighter aircraft which have visited the bi-annual Australian International Airshow at Avalon, VIC. The tanker variant has also seen service with the Royal Netherlands Air Force, two ex-airline MDC-10-30CFs being converted for tanker/transport work.

One of the first important missions of the KC-10A was in April 1986 when a number of tankers operating from RAF bases at Fairford and Mildenhall, United Kingdom provided fuel to Lakenheath and Upper Heyford-based General Dynamics F-111Fs and EF-111As when they made attacks on Libya. The DC-10 has also been converted to freight configuration, conversions commencing in 2000 at the Boeing facility at Long Beach, California Federal Express ordering 79 examples for conversion, with an option for a further 40.

On 28 September 2015 a DC-10-30 N612AX (c/n 48290 – Southern Belle) arrived in Brisbane,QLD from its owners [Omni Air] based at Albuquerque, New Mexico, continuing on to RAAF Richmond where it took up duties with the NSW Rural Fire Service to operate during the 2015 – 2016 bushfire season as “Tanker 910”. The aircraft was during the fire season on standby to deliver 43,900 litres (9,670 Imp gals) of water, retardant or suppressants in an area up to 30 m (98 ft) wide and over a kilometre long. This aircraft was a converted Northwest Airlines aircraft and was one of three that 10-Tanker Air Carrier had working on fires around the world. It was configured with five in-line external tanks attached to the centre fuselage, each being the same as the one tank used by the Sikorsky S-64F Aircrane.

A DC-10 tanker has since regularly visited Australia’s east coast for fire bombing operations, particularly in 2019-2020. During the 2020 fire season on the eastern seaboard of Australia two DC-10 tankers were operated from RAAF Richmond as Tankers 912 and 914.