Northwest DC-10-40 N151US (46760/120) Del. 10/30/1973, is seen departing LAX during east traffic conditions
(due to Santa Ana Winds) in December 1997. The aircraft was taken out of service last year
and broken up on October 10, 2002.
(Photo By Michael J. Carter)
The DC-10-40, began life as the DC-10-20 in early 1971 when DAC announced the latest series also advertising that the series 20 would match the Series 30's
555,000-pound Minimum Takeoff Weight (MTOW). To achieve this, engine supplier Pratt & Whitney claimed that the JT9D-25W which generated 50,000 pounds of thrust would be available. Interestingly the engine ulilized water injection to create additional power and test results showed that the engine did not produce smokey exhaust trails as with older models.
The first Series 20 N141US (46750/28) flew on February 28, 1972 with Captain George Jansen and F.E."Phil" Blum at the controls. The flight which lasted 4 hours 10 minutes was a total success meeting all pre-flight expectations. The flight complete, the aircraft made it's way to DACs Yuma, Arizona flight test center where it would later be joined by a second Series 20 aircraft N142US (46751/36) to complete the flight and certification program.
By early October 1972, the Series 20 had logged 576 hours of flight time performing magnificantly throughout the program. So on October 4, 1972 the FAA issued a provisional type certificate for the series 40 which would allow launch customer Northwest Orient Airlines to commence pilot training and route proving flights. The series designation was changed from the Series 20 to Series 40 due to a request from Northwests Donald Nyrop. He claimed that this latest series was so vastly improved over the original design that he wanted to advertise that he was operating the latest version of the DC-10.
The second Northwest Orient Airlines DC-10-40 N143US (46752/53) was used to establish point-to-point records which would also complete the types certification program. Three record flights were acheived during these early October trials; Long Beach-Hong Kong (6,600 miles--14 hours 44 minutes ) against headwinds, Honolulu-Buenos Aires (6,725 miles--14 hours 8 minutes) and Rio de Janeiro-Long Beach (6,616 miles--11 hours 52 minutes).
On October 27, 1972 the FAA issued the Series 40 type certificate with the first delivery to Northwest Orient Airlines occurring on November 10th during ceremoines held in Long Beach, California. The first revenue flight was operated on December 13th between Minneapolis and Tampa via Milwaukee.
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-40 Production List **Updated** (10/27/2004)
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-40 Photo Gallery One
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-40 Photo Gallery Two
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-40 Photo Gallery Three
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-40 Photo Gallery Four
