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FedEx, UPS Call Time On MD-11 Fleets

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End of an era: Air cargo giants FedEx and UPS, the two largest remaining operators of the McDonnell Douglas-developed MD-11 freighter, have both announced plans to begin retiring their fleets of aging trijets. (aviationweek.com) More...

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stratofan
stratofan 12
The "Diesel 10" may have had a rocky start, but turned out to be a solid cargo bird. I flew several when I was in service, and never had a second thought the soundness of the plane. By the way, refering to AA 191, that is a good example of what happens when a wrench turner tries to cut a corner. The good ole' USAF has not had a problem with their KC-10s have they?
JeffDickinson
JeffDickinson 3
We are retiring the KC-10s as well. We past the 50% retired last month.
johntaylor571
John Taylor 3
With the KC-46 (767), the jumbo KC-10 really isn't needed anymore. Except the fact that it is still combat certified while the KC-46 is only certified for training and cargo missions due to bad design of the in-flight refueling system (boomer sits up front and not at the boom and has no spatial vision or depth perception of nozzle location due to using cameras instead of eyeballs).
woodhead711
Jeffrey Woodhead 15
Stating a preference here: DC-10/MD-11 is one of the most beautiful machines ever built. The girl your friends thought was ugly but you saw differently and were better for seeing it your way. To be replaced by 767’s, a dull tube, is a sad thing imo.
Rusted69
Tim Lamborn 6
Spent many an hour in one. Was sad to hear they are leaving the fleet.
ensley6969
Charles Ensley 5
Was in one of the first classes at FedEx to check out on the MD-11 back in 1990 since we were the launch customer. It was the first glass cockpit plane at FedEx, and it was quite a step going from round dials to glass cockpits. Most senior pilots didn't bid it because they wanted to see how everyone else did in training. It had like a 30% failure rate in training at first because it was such new technology. We all got through it and now it makes me feel old that a plane that was once new is now heading to the graveyard. That was somehow 33 years ago, and now I'm 70 years old in the pilot boneyard retired. Time flys and so do planes.
sparkie624
sparkie624 9
They are very old aircraft... Surprised that they have not timed out before now... It is not that they cannot be maintained Airworthy, but rather the cost of the required maintenance for Aging A/C is is that they are no longer profitable to fly. A Very sad day to see all of them Parked from Both Fleets.
boughbw
boughbw 3
Lift capacity and reliability are the key words for freight. Maybe more of a key word was cost: cargo outfits picked these up at good prices when they stopped passenger service.
While a few DC/MD-10s are continuing life as fire tankers, I doubt the MD-11 will see the same consideration. So when these are gone, they are gone.
RainbowRiver
Phil Nolden 3
At age 76, just about every airplane I ever flew is in the bone yard (except the T-38). End of an era.... all of us.
bea9077w
Wayne Beardsley 2
Yup - at age 74, the best I can hope for is seeing mine mounted as an "airplane on a stick."
Aviation777300
Dale Boehm 3
There is a guy who films Tampa international airport says that he is going to miss the heavy tri howlers and to be honest to you all that I am going miss them too. this is starting and it is the end of an era for the tri jets.
N204TA
N204TA 2
I started my ATC career at Long Beach (KLGB) when the MD-11s were first rolling off the line. I already feel old being retired myself, but this story makes me feel older.
rickascott
rick SCOTT 2
Many FedEx/UPS volunteered to fly the Orbis DC10 with an onboard surgery room for eye operations. Lives have been changed by these pilots and the volunteer surgeons and nurses. Hats off to those airmen! I hope Orbis can continue their mission.
thedolphinsfan1
David B 1
this is outrageous.
bcayley
Bill Cayley -2
I've flown DC-10's many times in the past, but I can never see a DC-10 or MD-11 w/o thinking about the American 191 crash at ORD in 1979.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Airlines_Flight_191
jbsimms
James Simms 3
Or FedEx Flight 705
bentwing60
bentwing60 0
Uhmmm, maybe some will remember the Fedex MD-11 ops. for these events that never occurred with the -10,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FedEx_Express_Flight_80, et.al.,

but then, I never heard of a cargo door/cabin floor failure occurrence with the -11, so neither will pass into history as shining examples of McDoh engineering.
Mugabi123
William Perry 1
I was young and with my family driving to O'Hare to pick up my grandmother a day or two after that and drove by the field next to reg trailer park where the plane crashed and it was an incredible scene.
roy1001
Roy Miller -1
Flew business cloass JoBurg to New York on World Airways ill advised MD11 service some years ago. Nice enough aircraft but Business Class was a joke. Had better EVERYTHING on some charter flights.
Not surprised the route failed after a couple of months.
gretair
RG GR 1
In 1991 World Airways was flying worshipers with the MD-11 during the Hajj. Dispatch reliability was 100%.
ElliotCannon
Elliot Cannon -1
MD-11 = POS

[This comment has been downvoted. Show anyway.]

E1craZ4life
Edward Bardes 2
The DC-10 and MD-11 are different aircraft.
zuluzuluzulu
zuluzuluzulu 2
About like the MD-80 was different from the DC-9. Not reaaly that different.

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