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Delta flies last MD88 & MD90 flights
Today, June 2nd 2020, marks the end of an era for 2 Delta fleet types as the Delta McDonnell Douglas MD88 and MD90 make their last revenue flight. Both fleet types were set to be gradually phased out this year but had an accelerated retirement due to the covid pandemic. After the 2 iconic aircraft make their last flights with passengers, they will be repositioned to Blytheville Arkansas. (www.youtube.com) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
From the perspective of a passenger, I liked the Mad Dog.
Agreed! I always enjoyed the ride on the Mad Dogs
Always had good rides on them, all the way back to DC9, and also on the 727s. I guessed it had something to do with the power being mounted on the fuselage instead of hung off the wings, but have never seen anything to aerodynamically confirm that. Sad to see them go, but HA will likely be flying the 717s for quite a while yet.
Aerodynamically, under wing engine pods are better. However, there are plenty of other reasons to have the engines in the back (including "the other guys are doing it").
A couple factors contribute to the "fine ride" quality of the MD. Aft fuselage-mounted engines created a far quitter ride for all but the last several rows of the cabin. And the 2-3 seating configuration made for wider seats and half as many middle seats. These all combined to make the MD a passenger's airplane.
I question the wider seats. For Delta, the first class seats are in fact narrower than the Boeings or Airbuses. In coach each seat is about 0.4" wider so 2" over 5 seats, not enough cabin width for another whole seat.I do know the cabin cross section is smaller than most other mainline jets. Also at cruise, the slipstream noise is measurably higher. Agree half as many middle seats is nice though.