The McDonnell Douglas MD-90 was a twin-engine, medium-range, single-aisle commercial jet aircraft. The MD-90 was developed from the MD-80 series. The main differences being the change to more fuel efficient International Aero Engines V2500 engines and longer fuselage. The MD-90 has a seating capacity up to 172 passengers and was introduced into service with Delta Air Lines in 1995.
Design and development
The Douglas Aircraft Company developed the DC-9 in the 1960s as a short-range companion to their larger DC-8. The DC-9 was an all-new design, using two rear fuselage-mounted turbofan engines, and a T-tail. The DC-9 has a narrow-body fuselage design with a 5-abreast seating, and holds 80 to 135 passengers depending on seating arrangement and aircraft version.
The MD-80 series was the second generation of the DC-9. It was originally called the DC-9-80 series and the DC-9 Super 80 and entered service in 1980. The MD-80 series was then developed into the MD-90 entering service in 1995. The last variant of the family was the MD-95, which was renamed the Boeing 717-200 after McDonnell Douglas's merger with Boeing in 1997.
The MD-90 was a mid-size, medium-range airliner that was developed from the MD-80 series. It is a 5 feet longer, updated version of the MD-88 with a similar electronic flight instrument system (EFIS), and even more powerful, quieter and fuel efficient IAE V2500 engines. The MD-90 features seating for 153 to 172 passengers depending on seating arrangement.
The MD-90 program was launched in 1989, first flew in 1993 and entered service in 1995. The MD-90 came in two versions: -30 and -30ER. The -30 had a range of 2,400 miles (3,860 km). The -30ER had a higher gross weight and range up to 2,750 miles (4,426 km) with an auxiliary fuel tank. An even longer range version, the -50 was offered but was not ordered.
The 29 MD-90s delivered to Saudi Airlines feature a full glass cockpit with avionics similar to the Boeing 717's cockpit and an overhead panel similar to the MD-11's for easy transition for the pilots within Saudi Airlines.
No MD-90 orders were taken after Boeing and McDonnell Douglas merged in 1997 due to internal competition with Boeing's 737. Delta Air Lines had initially placed a large order for the MD-90 to replace some aging Boeing 727s. After the Boeing-McDonnell Douglas merger, Delta canceled their remaining 19 MD-90 orders in favor of the Boeing 737-800. A total of 20 MD-90s were to be assembled under contract in China under the Trunkliner program, but Boeing's decision to phase out the MD-90 meant only two were built by Shanghai Aircraft.
MD-90 production ended in 2000 with the last airplane being delivered to Saudi Arabian Airlines. The MD-90 is the least successful member of the DC-9 family with 116 airplanes sold. The main competitors of the MD-90 included the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 737-800.
The MD-90 was retired by it's last operator Delta Air Lines on June 2 2020
In August 2008, a total of 110 MD-90 aircraft were in airline service, including:
- Saudi Arabian Airlines (29)
- Delta Airlines (16)
- Japan Airlines (16)
- China Southern (13)
- Uni Air (11)
- China Eastern (9)
- Hello Airlines (6)
- Blue1 (5)
- Lion Air (5)
- Stretched variant with updated glass cockpit and two V2500 engines.
- Extended Range (ER) version of MD-90-30.
- Baisicly an MD-90-30, but built by Shanghi Aviation(only 2 ever made).
Incidents and accidents
|Passengers||153 (2 class)|
172 (1 class)
|Max Take-off Weight||156,000 lb
|Range||2,085 NM (3,860 km)||2,172 NM (4,023 km)|
*2,389 NM (4,424 km)
|Typical Cruise Speed||Mach 0.76 (504 mph, 811 km/h)|
|Length||152 ft 7 in|
|Wing span||107 ft 10 in|
|Height||30 ft 6 in|
|Power plant (2 x)||IAE V2525-D5|
25,000 lbf (111.21 kN)
Optional: IAE V2528-D5
28,000 lbf (124.55 kN)
- Norris, Guy and Wagner, Mark. Douglas Jetliners. MBI Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0-7603-0676-1.
- History - Chronology - 1977-1982, The Boeing Company, Retrieved 2007-12-14
- MD-90 page on airliners.net
- SAUDIA CALLS FOR HONEYWELL FLAT PANEL COCKPIT DISPLAYS FOR NEW MD-90s
- Glass cockpit photograph
- Glass cockpit overhead photograph
- Becher 2002, p.102-105.
- Delta's 1997 Annual Report
- China Northern Airlines Receives First MD-90 Aircraft
- Manufacturing Processes, Changes to the Trunkliner Program
- Boeing in China, Boeing.
- Orders and Deliveries search page, Boeing. Retrieved 22 April, 2008.
- MD-90 Statistics, Planespotters.net, August 2008.
- "World Airliner Census", Flight International, 19-25 August 2008.
- McDonnell Douglas MD-90 Accident summary, Aviation-Safety.net, 2008.
- McDonnell Douglas MD-90 Accident Statistics, Aviation-Safety.net, 3 December 2007.
- Becher, Thomas. Douglas Twinjets, DC-9, MD-80, MD-90 and Boeing 717. The Crowood Press, 2002. ISBN 1-86126-446-1.
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