Posted on 06/25/2019 1:42:02 PM PDT by DFG
In 71 days, American Airlines will retire its remaining MD-80 aircraft.
At one point, the MD-80s, also known as the Super 80 and nicknamed the "Mad Dog," made up more than half of AA's fleet. American Airlines called the aircraft the "workhorse of the airline's fleet throughout the 1980s and beyond."
But decades since they first took flight, the planes tend to burn more fuel and require more maintenance than the Airbus aircraft and Boeing 737s that have replaced them.
Monday, American Airlines released the schedule for their last passenger flights, which will take place on Sept. 3 and Sept. 4.
The very last of those flights, Flight 80, will depart at 9 a.m. on Sept. 4 from the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and land at 11:35 a.m. at Chicago O'Hare International Airport.
After that, American will send its 26 remaining MD-80s to a boneyard in Roswell, New Mexico.
I have had a few flights on the MD-80s and MD-90s.
As have I, and also in some (now defunct) AirTran Boeing 717s.
When I was traveling (consulting) - traveling every week
I was on a lot of MD-82, MD-84 aircraft. A lot of them.
A ping to Evening Star - gone now - didn’t always agree with him politically but he kept up with aviation (the ping won’t do anything of course, but to inform some of you out there)
I was on 727’s, once on a 707 (what a bird), and I think even once on a DC-8.
And my favorite, the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar. A few times.
Always liked the Mad Dog 80
Sad. MD-95 was the Hot-Rod w/ the V2500’s on the arse end. They came to show it off w/ the “experimental” sticker still on it, when I worked for a certain aerospace firm and they let us tour it. I think I flew on one once..
Excuse me the MD90.... My bad...
I thought that it was pretty comfortable.
i flew on these jets often on American Airlines (as a passenger)...how i hated them
I remember my flight with Grace L. Ferguson Airline (And Storm Door Co.) on a DC~4. I got a student discount and used my own piece of rope to tie me to my seat. They retired the plane here at work it was only 49 years old. 747-100s were a cool plane too.
During my Air Force days, I remember boarding a Delta flight in Atlanta for a (relatively) short hop to Dallas, and discovering my aircraft was an L-1011. Of course, the ATL-DFW segment was the first leg of a flight that continued to LAX, as I recall. Nice flight, albeit short, on a very underrated wide body jet.
Thought the MD-80 was a smooth riding plane, but the fuselage mounted engines were very loud in the rear passenger seats
not in my experience
I flew an L-1011 a couple of times years ago. . . massive plane. Hard to tell you were moving sometimes. It was very impressive.
Them babies still have rope starts? ;)
Beautiful aircraft. Loved it a lost. Two were lost that didn’t have to be (Eastern 401 and the Dallas micro-burst).
Easter 401 had two different computers on the auto-pilot - two different settings for release on the yoke - the pilot apparently bumped his and disengaged the autopilot. The co-pilot never felt his disengage. Early production plane I think - one side had I-7 the other had I-8.
They were all so concerned about making sure the gear was locked (nose gear) that they didn’t monitor the altimeter. When they went to turn back to the airport, they were at 50 feet and put a wingtip into the Everglades. It was at night so they had no visual reference either.
Loved it when you’d land and those RR engines would pull back the cowling a bit to let the thrust reversers pop-up.
Landed in one, January or February it was, many, many, many years ago.
I knew I had felt the gear go down.
But I kept watching the runway come up. For a sec I was afraid we were too low with no deployed gear because the runway was THERE.
Yes, he landed it that smoothly. My father (RIP) and I personally complimented the pilot and the co-pilot on their skill. Amazing.
It’s the only time I never actually felt contact with the runway. Impressive.
Among my least favorite airliners. Taking off in one from Denver Stapleton on a hot day was fun only if you were a thrill seeker. The takeoff run alone must have used up a set of tires. LOL Seriously, the plane didn’t exactly “jump into the air” and liked running along in ground effect before the runway disappeared.
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