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The Series 50 was really a forerunner to the Super 80, being 6 ft 4 in longer than the Series 40 and more than 27 ft longer than the original Series 10
Profile – McDonnell Douglas DC-9
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Sir Reginald Ansett once described it as the best aircraft that Ansett had ever operated, and with a long production line behind it, the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is still today successfully making sales. Of over 1,000 ordered world-wide, twenty-four of these highly effective aircraft have operated with both Australian domestic carriers since their local introduction in 1967.
The DC-9 story started in the early 1960s when there was considered to be a need for a twin-jet aircraft, smaller than the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8, to service short haul passenger routes. To fill this requirement the Douglas Aircraft Company began the design of Model 2086, aimed to replace the larger piston and turboprop transports. In the early 1950s, Douglas had examined the possibility of scaling down the DC-8 to about two-thirds of its original capacity, but time saw the design shape into an entirely new T-tail aeroplane with rear-mounted engines. The British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) had already been working on a similar aircraft to fill the same slot in the market, and this aircraft, the BAC-111, also had of T-tail/rear-mounted engine configuration.
On 8th April 1963, Douglas announced its decision to proceed with the development and production of its design, now known as the DC-9, despite the fact that no firm airline orders had then been received. Shortly after this announcement, however, Delta Airlines placed an order for fifteen DC-9 aircraft with an option for a further fifteen. These first production DC-9s were known as the Series 10. Powered by two Pratt and Whitney JTBD-5 turbofans of 12,250 lbs (5,556 kg) thurst, the Series 10 was a 90-passenger version weighing 77,000 lbs (34,930 kg) gross. The wings spanned 89 ft 5 in (27.25 m) and the aircraft was 104 ft 5 in (31.82 m) in length. The cruising speed was 560 mph (900 kph). The prototype DC-9 made its maiden flight from Long Beach, California on 25th February 1965 (eighteen months after the BAC-111) but unlike the BAC-111 which encountered early teething troubles, the DC-9 programme proceeded smoothly and actually achieved FAA certification for commercial service two months ahead of schedule.
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