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Remembering the DC-10: End of an era or good riddance?
The DC-10, which makes its final passenger flight later, has been labelled a "death trap", hailed as a "workhorse" and even immortalised in a Clash song. (www.bbc.co.uk) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
LGM, UP has three E units in it's historic unit program, allof which run on the system. Norfolk Southern has F-units for its executive fleet.
Preservation is an issue.I was at an aviation museum over the weekend that needed "crew chiefs" aka volunteer leaders for most of the aircraft in its program. Alot of these aircraft are showing signs of deterioration and lack of care. I have seen where the museums want the planes that are donated, but then too late realize they don't have the resources or experience to maintain them. Back to the railroads, a museum in the north central region sold off several pieces of equipment because it determined the collection was too large. The decision was made to determine what pieces reflected the real role of that museum/historical society.
Preservation is an issue.I was at an aviation museum over the weekend that needed "crew chiefs" aka volunteer leaders for most of the aircraft in its program. Alot of these aircraft are showing signs of deterioration and lack of care. I have seen where the museums want the planes that are donated, but then too late realize they don't have the resources or experience to maintain them. Back to the railroads, a museum in the north central region sold off several pieces of equipment because it determined the collection was too large. The decision was made to determine what pieces reflected the real role of that museum/historical society.
Thanks for the clarification about the historic programs.
The costs on preservation are pretty high, and the real risk is that over time, history will really be lost to the ages. I'm not some crazy old person (not that all old people are crazy) saying that either; I'm 24 years old. My big fear is that years from now, people will look back and wish there had been more of an effort to preserve the early jet aircraft.
The costs on preservation are pretty high, and the real risk is that over time, history will really be lost to the ages. I'm not some crazy old person (not that all old people are crazy) saying that either; I'm 24 years old. My big fear is that years from now, people will look back and wish there had been more of an effort to preserve the early jet aircraft.
The article leaves out United 232 in Sioux City, Iowa from 1989. I was surprised this crash wasn't mentioned in the history of incidents. That crash was an excellent example of CRM at its finest.
I don't know how many KC-10's are being used, but I'd think that there are quite a few at this point, and does anyone know how many DC-10's are still hauling freight? And what in the world happened to the Lockheed L-1011? It didn't seem to stick around for very long.
L-1011 was a great plane, extensively used by DL and TWA, among others. There was a book called the "Sporty Game" that talked about Lockheed's insistence on using Rolls Royce engines, and at least one US airline wanted to buy American made engines (even though they otherwise preferred the L-1011)they ultimately decided on the DC-10, thus depriving Lockheed of the critical mass that they needed for the L-1011.
There is also the story about Fred Smith at FedEx buying up DC10's at bargain proces after the series of crashes.
There is also the story about Fred Smith at FedEx buying up DC10's at bargain proces after the series of crashes.
I would like to add to this chat that the UK Royal Air Force have been and are still using ex British Airways and Pan Am frames although even these are being retired in favour of A330 MRTT.
The DC-10 and L1011 were unique in being a three engined widebody passenger aircraft that met a market that did not fit the much bigger B747 of the day. I shall miss seeing these characters at airports because the current fleets are bland and sterile and would excite no one other than the dead noise protesters and aviation haters of this world.
The DC-10 and L1011 were unique in being a three engined widebody passenger aircraft that met a market that did not fit the much bigger B747 of the day. I shall miss seeing these characters at airports because the current fleets are bland and sterile and would excite no one other than the dead noise protesters and aviation haters of this world.
When it comes to trains, the big Class I railroads have actually taken a bit of a leadership role in preserving history. Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern both have steam locomotive programs. UP maintains several locomotives, and not just steam (There's a DDA40X and also an F-unit if I'm not mistaken). I'm not sure if the airlines - at least the US carriers anyways - would do something like that on a real level.
I big problem is that preservation just hasn't been valued. One of the things I've said about the Smithsonian Udvar-Hazy Center is that "It's not the number of planes they have, it's that 60 or 70 percent of them are basically airworthy or close to it." Once a plane is scrapped for parts, it's basically gone forever. Even cosmetic restoration for static display can become difficult if there's enough neglect over time.