DC-8 Supersonic

They are built like a freight train. Very solid airplanes. I never got one over M0.84. M0.80 was normal cruise and M0.82 was high-speed cruise.

Never flew one with a passenger on the outside, either.

 
They are built like a freight train. Very solid airplanes. I never got one over M0.84. M0.80 was normal cruise and M0.82 was high-speed cruise.

Never flew one with a passenger on the outside, either.


“The FAA wasn’t thrilled about it ... but the only thing they could find is we didn’t have an approved maintenance program on it... but I knew people in Washington...”

ROFLMAO. Get Er Done.
 
They are built like a freight train
..that's what I've been told about all the Douglas products.. this guy certainly named it as one of the things he loves, how rugged everything feels

 
They are built like a freight train. Very solid airplanes. I never got one over M0.84. M0.80 was normal cruise and M0.82 was high-speed cruise.

Never flew one with a passenger on the outside, either.


Did you ever use the thrust reversers in the air?
 
Did you ever use the thrust reversers in the air?
A few times. It was demonstrated in training (IOE) and I, or the other pilot, used it a couple of times in normal operations. All on freighters.

It produced significant vibration and the inboard engines, the only ones you could reverse in flight, would visibly shake. You wouldn't want to do it with passengers without warning them first. The airplane did not have speed brakes, just ground and roll-control spoilers, so you didn't have as many drag options as you do on most transports. Mostly, we just tried to stay ahead on our descent planning and avoid situations where it would be needed. At flight-idle, it would descend better than the higher-efficiency modern transports.
 
I can just see the FE back there shoveling coal. I remember this. The Santa Ana winds were pretty bad that day in KONT.
 
I can just see the FE back there shoveling coal. I remember this. The Santa Ana winds were pretty bad that day in KONT.

Some of the worst crap I've ever flown in involved the Santa Ana winds. Back when I was based at SNA and had a hang tag to drive on the property, on a terribly windy day we'd set up shop just off the approach end of (what was then) Runway 1 with some beers and watch the fun. :p
 
I can just see the FE back there shoveling coal. I remember this. The Santa Ana winds were pretty bad that day in KONT.

I've run that thing back and forth several times trying to figure out where the approach went wrong. Did he get hit by a gust, or was he doing a crab and stab, and took the crab out too soon? Or something else?
 
I've run that thing back and forth several times trying to figure out where the approach went wrong. Did he get hit by a gust, or was he doing a crab and stab, and took the crab out too soon? Or something else?
If I remember correctly, the winds were horrible that day and gusty. They tried one approach, went around and I believe diverted to KLAX. It was the late 90s so I could be wrong.
 
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