McDonnell Douglas MD-80 / MD-90
Boeing 717
The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 series comprises a number of stretched and much improved versions of the older Douglas DC-9. MD-80-versions seat up to 172 passengers and are intended for short and medium range flights.
Douglas, since 1967 McDonnell Douglas and in 1997 taken over by Boeing, started developing the DC-9 in 1963 as a short-range jetliner. The first version, the DC-9-10 seated up to 90 passengers. The DC-9 first flew on February 25 1965 and entered service in December of the same year with Delta Air Lines. Douglas soon developed several stretched versions, including the DC-9-30 (107 passengers), DC-9-40 (125 passengers) and DC-9-50 (139 seats). Of all DC-9 models Douglas sold 976 aircraft.
 In 1975 McDonnell Douglas tested a DC-9 with higher bypass ratio JT8D-200 turbofans and announced plans to develop a stretched aircraft fitted with these engines, designated DC-9-55. The DC-9-55 wasn't built, however, but in 1977 McDonnell Douglas launched the even further stretched DC-9 Super 80 (DC-9-80), which flew for the first time on October 18 1979. Apart from the longer fuselage the new airliner also incorporated increased wingspan, improved cockpits and more range. The first aircraft was delivered to Swissair in September 1980.
In 1983 McDonnell Douglas renamed the aircraft 'MD-80' and this generic designation stands for several versions: MD-81, MD-82, MD-83, MD-87 and MD-88. The MD-82 has more powerful engines compared to the MD-81 and the MD-83 offers more range. The MD-87 is a short-body version, intended for 'long thin routes' (=with a small passenger market) and it was first flown on December 4 1986, with a digital cockpit, an improved tail cone and a bigger tail. The MD-88 is essentially a MD-83 with a digital cockpit.
 McDonnell Douglas sold 1191 MD-80s, including 75 MD-87s. The biggest MD-80 operator is American Airlines with about 300 aircraft in service. The MD-80 competed on the market with the Boeing 737 and the Airbus A320, which have about the same seating capacity. Compared to both competitors the MD-80 has a smaller fuselage diameter, allowing five-abreast seating in economy class. The 737 and A320 have six-abreast seating. Another main difference is the MD-80's combination of the engines mounted at the rear of the fuselage and the application of a T-tail, while the 737 and A320 have the engines under the wing and a low horizontal tailplane.
The MD-90 is an even further stretched version of the MD-80, fitted with high bypass IAE V2500 engines. The first flight was on February 22 1993. The basic version is the MD-90-30 and two aircraft were built in China as MD-90-30T ('Trunkliner'). The MD-90-50 is a heavier variant with more fuel capacity and range MD-90-55 is a further variant with extra seating up to 187 passengers in a single class layout and with two extra doors to meet emergency evacuation rules. Production of the MD-90 ended in 2000, three years after the takeover of McDonnell Douglas by Boeing. A total of 116 MD-90s has been delivered.
 The final production version of the MD-80/MD-90 was the Boeing 717, which was earlier designated as MD-95. This is a short-body 100-seat version of the MD-90, intended for high-frequency regional airline operations. The first flight took place on September 2 1998 and the US airline AirTran Airways became the first user a year later. The aircraft is fitted with two Rolls-Royce BR715 engines. Boeing studied some stretched and shortened versions, but these were never built. The production of the 717 ended in 2006 after the delivery of 155 aircraft.
In the late 1980s McDonnell Douglas considered the development of the MD-91X, MD92X and the all-new MD-94X with propfan engines, but these projects didn't come to fruition. One MD-81 was used as a testbed for propfans - unducted fan engines - like the General Electric GE 36 and the Pratt & and Whitney/Allison 578-DX.
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McDonnell Douglas MD-82 - Specifications
Wingspan: 32.8 m (107ft 8in). Length: 45.1 m (147ft 8in). Height: 9.02 m (29ft 6in).
Empty weight: 37,925 kg (83,610 lb). Max. take-off weight: 67,813 kg (149,500 lb).
Accommodation: 144-172 passengers. Range: 3,800 km (2,050 nm).
Operating speed: Mach 0.76 (811 km/h - 504 mph).
Engines: P&W JT8D-209 (88.96 kN - 20,000 lb).
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McDonnell Douglas MD-87 - Specifications
Wingspan: 32.8 m (107ft 8in). Length: 39.75 m (130ft 4in). Height: 9.3 m (30ft 5in).
Empty weight: 33,237 kg (73,274 lb). Max. take-off weight: 63,503 kg (140,000 lb).
Accommodation: 114-139 passengers. Range: 4,395 km (2,374 nm).
Operating speed: Mach 0.76 (811 km/h - 504 mph).
Engines: P&W JT8D-217C (9,072 kg - 20,000 lb).
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McDonnell Douglas MD-90-30 - Specifications
Wingspan: 32.8 m (107ft 8in). Length: 46.51 m (152ft 6in). Height: 9.40 m (30ft 6in).
Empty weight: 39,915 kg (88,000 lb). Max. take-off weight: 70,760 kg (156,000 lb).
Accommodation: 152-172 passengers. Range: 3,862 km (2,085 nm).
Operating speed: Mach 0.76 (811 km/h - 504 mph).
Engines: IAE V2525-D5 (111.2 kN -25,000 lb).
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Boeing 717-200 - Specifications
Wingspan: 28.45 m (93ft 3in). Length: 37.81 m (124ft). Height: 8.92 m (29ft 1in).
Empty weight: 31,674 kg (69,830 lb). Max. take-off weight: 49,845 kg (110,000 lb).
Accommodation: 106 passengers. Range: 2,645 km (1,430 nm).
Operating speed: Mach 0.76 (811 km/h - 504 mph).
Engines: Rolls-Royce BR715-A1 (82.3 kN - 18,500 lb).
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