Airlines System (SAS) and Swissair being
just three of the many European customers.
In March 1966 it had been reported in the
aviation press that Douglas was looking into
the production of high-density variants of
both the series 10 and the 30. These would
be based around the normal airframes but
would be able to seat up to 102 passengers
(on the -10), or 132 passengers (on the -30)
by incorporating new vinyl-covered sofa-
type seating with a 32in seat pitch. Aircraft
con gured in this way would carry the
marketing suffix ‘Diplomat’ after their model
number. In the event, little interest was
shown by the airlines and the project was
dropped.
But Douglas did produce two specialised
versions to meet the demanding air eld
requirements of the SAS internal network.
The series 20 combined the fuselage of the
-10 with the increased wingspan of the -30
and was powered by 14,500lb thrust JT8D-9
turbofans. It could accommodate up to 90
passengers and entered SAS service in
January 1969. Also developed for the airline
was the series 40, which was like the -30
but had a fuselage lengthened by 6ft 4in to
provide seating for up to 125 passengers.
SAS continued to operate various versions of
the DC-9 until January 27, 2002.
On May 2, 1970 the crew of an Overseas
National Airways’ DC-9-30, on lease to ALM
Dutch Antillean Airlines, carried out what
was later described as the rst ditching of acommercial jet airliner when they set it down
on the sea some 33 miles (53km) from St
Croix in the US Virgin Islands. N935F had
taken off from New York’s JFK airport with 63
people on aboard – 40 survived, including
the ight crew.
In July 1973 Douglas announced the
DC-9-50, and from 1976 this became a
major production model. The -50 retained
the wingspan of the -30 but had a fuselage
lengthened by another 14ft 3in, representing
a total increase of almost 28% over the
original series 10. Other improvements
included more powerful JT8D-15 or -17
engines and new thrust reversers. The
cabin featured a fresh layout and décor,
designed to give a more spacious feel to
travellers accustomed to widebodied aircraft
including the Douglas DC-10. Up to 122
passengers could be accommodated in
standard layout, increasing to 139 in high-
density con guration. The rst customer
was Swissair, which ordered ten and took the
model into service in August 1975. By mid-
1979 the DC-9 was in operation with around
50 airlines throughout the world.
In total, 976 examples of the DC-9 series
10 to series 50 models had been constructed
when production ended in 1982. Used
aircraft found a ready market, and in the UK
British Midland Airways utilised the DC-9
to inaugurate jet services on a network of
routes from Heathrow. The airline’s rst
series 15 entered service in August 1976,and by 1986 British Midland was operating
six -15s and two -32s.
Former airline DC-9s also found a new
role as luxurious corporate transports, as
well as for other, more unusual, duties. From
March 1970 until 1976, Purdue Airlines and
then Ozark Air Lines operated DC-9-32
N950PB on behalf of Playboy magazine
founder, Hugh Hefner. This aircraft was
painted black overall with the ‘bunny’ logo
on its tail n and carried the name The Big
Bunny.
From 2004 until 2018 NASA used former
airline series 30, N932NA, as part of its
reduced gravity aircraft programme, replacing
a Boeing KC-135 on astronaut training
duties.
Probably the most unlikely operator of an
ex-airline DC-9 was Skyline Perris, based at
Perris Valley Airport in California. Its onetime
SAS DC-9-21 N217K was modi ed to carry
80 skydivers and their equipment in airline
comfort up to 13,500ft. From this altitude
they exited the aircraft via the ventral airstair,
from which the steps had been removed. As
of January 2018, this aircraft was grounded
for re tting, but is expected to resume its
duties in due course.
By the beginning of 2018 only a few
examples of the series 10 to series 50
variants continued to y. Their operators
included Kalitta Air Charters II of Willow Run
Airport, Michigan, which had a -15F and
a -32F on cargo duties. The Mexicanhttp://www.aviation-news.co.uk 59A DC-9 Super 80 in the manufacturer’s livery. This variant
made its rst ight in October 1979. Key CollectionAmerican Airlines operated a large eet of MD-82s and
MD-83s, in addition to earlier DC-9s. Key Collection56-61_dc9DC.mfDC.indd 59 04/04/2018 12:58