McDonnell Douglas DC-10 facts for kids
The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is a large American airplane with three engines. It's known as a "widebody" because it's very wide inside, giving passengers more space. Two engines are under the wings, and a third engine is at the back, near the tail. This plane was made to fly medium to long distances.
The DC-10 was built by the McDonnell Douglas company. It was designed to replace their older Douglas DC-8 for longer flights. It also competed with other big planes like the Airbus A300, Boeing 747, and the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar. The Tristar had a similar three-engine design.
Production of the DC-10 stopped in December 1988. A total of 386 DC-10s were delivered to airlines. Another 60 were given to the U.S. Air Force. These military versions were called the KC-10 Extender. They are used as fuel tankers to refuel other planes in the air. The DC-10 was later followed by a similar plane, the McDonnell Douglas MD-11, which started flying in 1990.
How the DC-10 Airplane Was Developed
The Douglas Aircraft company started designing this plane in the mid-1960s. In 1966, American Airlines asked airplane makers for a widebody plane. They wanted one that was smaller than the Boeing 747. However, it still needed to fly long distances, even from airports with shorter runways.
The DC-10 became the first passenger plane from McDonnell Douglas. This company was formed when McDonnell Aircraft and Douglas Aircraft merged in 1967. American Airlines was the first to order the DC-10, ordering 25 planes. United Airlines also ordered 30 planes in 1968.
The first DC-10, a Series 10 model, took its first flight on August 29, 1970. After many test flights, the plane was approved on July 29, 1971. It began flying for passengers with American Airlines on August 5, 1971. Its first trip was between Los Angeles and Chicago. United Airlines started using the DC-10 on August 16, 1971. The DC-10 and the L-1011 Tristar were very similar. They both carried about the same number of passengers and came out at the same time. This led to a big competition between the two planes.
Images for kids
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A prototype during flight testing. The DC-10 made its first flight on August 29, 1970.
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The inside of a Continental Airlines DC-10 in 1973.
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The DC-10's cockpit needed three crew members, including a flight engineer.
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The first DC-10-10 model had two main landing gears. It was powered by three GE CF6 engines.
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The heavier DC-10-30 model had an extra landing gear in the middle.
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The heavy DC-10-40 model used three Pratt & Whitney JT9D engines.
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A drawing of the DC-10 Twin concept.
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The KC-10 Extender is a military version used by the U.S. Air Force for refueling.
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The MD-10 had a modern "glass cockpit" inspired by the MD-11, needing only two crew members.
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Biman Bangladesh Airlines was the last airline to use the DC-10 for passenger flights.
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A diagram of the McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 from different views.
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See also
In Spanish: McDonnell Douglas DC-10 para niños
