McDonnell Douglas MD-12
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| MD-12 | |
|---|---|
 CG render of the proposed MD-12, a full double-decker configuration concept |
|
| Type | Double-decker wide-body aircraft |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | McDonnell Douglas |
| Status | Design study |
The McDonnell Douglas MD-12 was an aircraft design study undertaken by the McDonnell Douglas company in the 1990s for a "superjumbo" aircraft. Had it been built, it would have been similar in size to the Boeing 747, but with a higher passenger capacity.
Contents |
[edit] Development
McDonnell Douglas studied improved, stretched versions of the trijet MD-11,[1] with a possible lower-front passenger deck with panoramic windows.[2] The design then grew into a much larger aircraft with four engines and two passenger decks extending the length of the fuselage. This was similar in concept to the Airbus A3XX and Boeing NLA, and would have been larger than the Boeing 747 with which it would have directly competed. Douglas had also studied double-decker design in the 1960s.[3]
The MDC board of directors agreed in October 1991 to offer the design to airlines. Initially the fuselage length was 242 ft, but a change was made to the design in April 1992 shortening it to 208 ft. First flight was to be in late 1995, with delivery in 1997.
Despite aggressive marketing and initial excitement, especially in the aviation press, no orders were placed for the aircraft. The study was perceived as merely as a public relations exercise to disguise the fact that MDC was struggling under intense pressure from Boeing and Airbus. It was clear to most in the industry that MDC had neither the resources nor the money to develop such a large aircraft, and the study quickly sank without trace. The MD-12 went unordered and was quietly forgotten after the 1997 merger between McDonnell Douglas and Boeing.
In retrospect, a new double deck widebody has proved to be extremely expensive and complex to develop, even for the remaining aerospace giants Boeing and Airbus. A similar concept to the MD-12, the massive Airbus A380 has been successfully brought to fruition. However, the A380 project was also hit with delays and significant cost overruns.[4][5]
[edit] Specifications (MD-12 High Capacity design)
Data from McDonnell Douglas promotional materials[1]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2 (1 pilot, 1 copilot)
- Capacity: 430 Passengers in 3-class arrangement, up to 511 passengers in high-capacity layout
- Length: 208 ft 0 in (63.40 m)
- Wingspan: 213 ft 0 in (64.92 m)
- Height: 74 ft 0 in (22.55 m)
- Wing area: 5,846 ft² (543.1 m²)
- Empty weight: 402,700 lb (187,650 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 949,000 lb (430,500 kg)
- Powerplant: 4× General Electric CF6-80C2 turbofans, 61,500 lbf (274 kN) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: Mach .85 (656 mph, 1,050 km/h)
- Range: 7,170 nmi (9,200 mi, 14,825 km)
- Wing loading: 162.3 lb/ft² (792.7 kg/m²)
[edit] See also
Related development
Comparable aircraft
[edit] References
- ^ a b MDC brochures for undeveloped versions of the MD-11 and MD-12, md-eleven.net, accessed April 14, 2008.
- ^ MD-11 page, Airliners.net, accessed October 18, 2007.
- ^ Proposed double deck DC-10 design in 1965
- ^ Airbus will lose €4.8bn because of A380 delays, Times Online, October 4, 2006.
- ^ Big plane, big problems, CNN, March 5, 2007.
- Steffen, Arthur. McDonnell Douglas MD-11: A Long Beach Swansong. Midland, January 2002. ISBN 1857801172.
[edit] External links
- Undeveloped MD-11/MD-12 models page at MD-Eleven.net
- "McDonnell May Build A Larger Jet", New York Times, March 16, 1992.
- "Orders for Douglas' commercial jets sag", Los Angeles Business Journal, June 22, 1992.
- "McDonnell Douglas Unveils New MD-XX Trijet Design", McDonnell Douglas, September 4, 1996.
- "Will Airbus Buy Douglas?", Flug Revue Online, December 1996.
- Douglas Drops Jet Program, Associated Press, 1996.
|
|||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
