MD-11 variant

About the MD-11F

The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is an American tri-jet wide-body airliner manufactured by American manufacturer McDonnell Douglas (MDC) and later by Boeing. Following DC-10 development studies, the MD-11 program was launched on December 30, 1986. Assembly of the first prototype began on March 9, 1988. Its maiden flight occurred on January 10, 1990, and it achieved Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification on November 8. The first delivery was to Finnair on December 7 and it entered service on December 20, 1990.It retains the basic trijet configuration of the DC-10 with updated GE CF6-80C2 or PW4000 turbofan engines. Its wingspan is slightly larger than the DC-10 and it has winglets. Its maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) is increased by 14% to 630,500 lb (286 t). Its fuselage is stretched by 11% to 202 ft (61.6 m) to accommodate 298 passengers in three classes over a range of up to 7,130 nautical miles [nmi] (13,200 km; 8,210 mi). It features a glass cockpit that eliminates the need for a flight engineer.

The MD-11 failed to meet its range and fuel burn targets, which resulted in the aircraft selling poorly, with only 200 examples built, of which roughly a quarter were freight aircraft. After retirement from passenger service (last flight being by KLM in November 2014), many of the MD-11 passenger fleet were converted into freighter specification, many of which are still in service today. The last of 200 aircraft was built in October 2000 after Boeing merged with McDonnell Douglas in 1997.

An MD-11F of FedEx, the largest operator

MD-11 operators

In total, 64 different airlines operated the MD-11, with 200 different aircraft in service. American airlines was the largest commercial MD-11 operator with 19 separate aircraft in service at one time. The last commercial MD-11 operator was KLM, making their last KLM flight on October 25, 2014. As of September 2024, 82 MD-11 are in service with just 3 Cargo Airlines. The last operators being FedEx, UPS, and Western Global Express

Photos

Credits

Original aircraft made by Galactasia