Why The MD-11 Was More Successful As A Cargo Aircraft

I Fly on MD-11 Swiss air in 1997 NY GVA (SR111) was my best flight experience with half of the passengers and amazing service and comfort

Yes have flown with back in the days.

The MD-11s were beautiful planes.

I always loved tri-jet planesz they looked so space aged!

She’s so gorgeous

I’m guessing weight distribution

Maybe it’s just my age but I always view DC and MD aircraft as antiquated unsafe junk

Flew one of first MD-11 Whit Finnair From Helsinki to Malaga.. It was Just like DC-10 but newer..

I would never fly dc 10 and 11 in fact i m so afraid of them, that i would not want even my ordered packs to be transported with them😅

Who’s idea was it to put an engine in the middle of tail control surfaces. What a nightmare for tail control maintenance.

Always love seeing the trijets fly over at work

no ... many DC-10's though

He got the efficiency argument very wrong. The reason higher engine count can still work with cargo isn't because of lower sortie rate, it's because freighters typically fly a lot heavier than passenger aircraft. More engines = more cargo per flight, meaning fewer flights to move a given amount. When you operate closer to the load limit, the cost per kg decreases (efficiency increases) and once you cross the limit of a 2 engine airframe you need an entire extra trip.

I still work on the MD-11. I hate that airplane with a passion. They are getting old and are not maintenance friendly.

Yes, I had a Flight from Chicago O'Hare to Atlanta Hartsfield International many years ago. I had a seat over the wings and was amazed at the wing's flight surface control action. When they say full flaps, you could definitely see what they were talking about.

I believe UPS restricts their MD-11 to domestic rotes due to poor maintenance reliability.

Probably because if it crashes only 3 people would die.

I prefer the looks of the Lockheed L1011 but regardless... Love me a good trijet!

I've flown on a DC-10, but not an MD-11.

Simply put: The MD-11 was built at the end of an era. The MD-11 is a freakin truck of an airplane. Overbuilt in many ways, (especially in comparison with the A300's they operate beside in the UPS fleet) the maintenance actions are simpler and faster to repair than similar actions on a smaller Airbus.

I'll just use the loading system for the main deck as an example. On the A300, there are about 1000 pieces of very light sets of rollers/stops/locks that must be removed and reinstalled in the exact same position at the end of a 5/10 year inspection. On the MD-11, said rollers come out in 10 foot sections. Heavy, but easy to keep track of, and virtually indestructible compared to the Airbus counterparts. In the cargo bays, the rollers don't get removed during C4 checks, because the rollers are built into the floor frame.

The other big advantage to the MD-11 is overseas operations. MD-11's are NOT! subject to "ETOPS" (Extended Twin-engine OPeration) restrictions, that require aircraft to stay within 30 minutes of a large enough airport in the case of an engine failure. ETOPS 180 (180 minutes away) certification and maintenance is expensive, but allows direct trans-Atlantic flights, whereas those rules don't apply to the MD-11, since it has 2 engines.

I'm tired, and rambling, let's see if the video makes any conclusions that I did.

Flew JFK to Moscow Sheremetyevo r/t on an MD11.

I wonder if there are any L-1011's operating as freight aircraft.

I flew on a DC-10 in 1985 operated by Malaysian Airlines and then an MD-11 operated by Delta in 2001. The DC-10 was much more dynamic and a but louder, while the MD-11 I remember to be a smoother experience.

Now UPS and Fedex have announced they will be retiring these planes

Flew in one from Brazil to London with Varig back in 2003. Was my one and only flight on one and was a good experience

Yes. Flew on MD-11s with World Airways

I flew on a Air NZ DC10 in the mid 70s. I was only 8 years old. But remembered it as an adventure. The plane seemed absolutely huge inside. And very quiet.

I always thought it was a cool looking jet, with it's unique tri-jet configuration.

DC 10 and MD11 have terrible safety history they are probably the worst wide body airplanes ever build in US

Maybe parcels weren’t as scared to be put in it.

My experiences with the passenger MD-11 were in the later 1990s flying Northwest Airlines DTW-CDG (Detroit-Paris). It was an okay airplane in my opinion. But at the time it was showing its age against modernized variants of the 747 (-400), A330 and A340, and the upcoming 777.
I effectively experienced the DC-10 and MD-11 when the models were ending their prime as passenger airplanes.

Flew on American Airlines DC-10s in the early seventies from L.A. to Memphis when I was in the Navy ! A great, smooth, quiet ride. Lots of room too !

With Finnair between HEL and JFK. Engine failure overhead Canada on the return leg, turning back to JFK, flight delayed to the next day.

MD-11 is the second most beautiful commercial aircraft I ever seen, the first is Concorde.

spoiler: it's cheap

If I was a company that was trying to create a 3-engine jet, I would simply place a 3rd engine mounted on a vertical pylon, where the vertical tail would normally be located, and then use a V-tail configuration for the main tail controls.

I flew with the amazing MD-11
from amsterdam to Vancouver in 2011 and from Vancouver to Amsterdam with KLM
One of my favorite aircraft’s….
I got it just in time before to retired !

I flew on the MD-11 non-stop from Frankfurt to Los Angeles. It was about a 12 hour flight. Great experience.

March 1994 DFW-London-DFW. I only really remember two things(I was 17, high school trip), 1) the acrid smell of cigars coming from the smoking section towards the back which was just a curtain hanging around some center seats and 2) waiting at the back of the luggage carousel at DFW, avoiding the crowd next to a man who looked a lot like Val Kilmer in a trench coat and sunglasses trying not to look like Val Kilmer.

Never been on a DC-10/MD-11, you couldn't get me near one of those death traps, at least when they're flying cargo, not as many people die when one goes down.

The DC10 developed such a bad reputation for crashes that airlines got rid of them as soon as economically possible. The MD11 solved most of the DC10s shortcomings, but it was too little, too late, especially when twin-engine jets were gaining momentum in the marketplace.

Great planes however the L1011 did a better job of incorporating the engine into the tail, much cleaner design.

Because when one goes down in flames far fewer souls are lost?

Never flew on a MD-11, but I did fly twice on a DC-10, in 1992 and 2010.

The MD-11 has a very loud interior due to wind noise more so than the DC-10. The flight deck is about the quietest place on the aircraft. Passenger cabin noise was the main complaint from passengers. That is a very big reason why the people haulers sold them to the box haulers.

My family & I flew on a PAL MD-11 back in March 1997 (totally unplanned) from Gimpo International to Manila, Philippines. Very roomy in the economy section and one of the most smoothest flight I'd ever taken.

I have a reoccurring nightmare about being a passenger MD-11. But no bad end. Just weird

Did a UK to Australia trip on MD11 not long after they entered service aircraft had electrical issues thankfully before take off pushed back to the gate six times never been so glad to get off an aircraft.

I flew the MD-11 pax service, Pacific routes. Stiff lander! Our carrier's CEO had a real hatred of horizontal rest facilities, so the Japan & Korean routes were a pain for the crew. Not the most fun flying, by a long, long shot. Currency was so bad, we had to do sims every so often just for the landings. But don't get me started..