44-YEAR-OLD DC-10 IN CALGARY! FedEx MD-10-30F Landing and Takeoff at YYC [4K]

[@basvanderhoek9293]

Regardless of the dreadful reputation these planes had, I enjoyed every single flight on them. KLM flew me from AMS to YUL and later on many times with the MD-11 from YVR to and from AMS. Even made many crossovers on CP Airs "Roach Coach". Thanks Alex. I always loved and still do, the two lights that pop out of the fuselage on landing. It has a face of it own. Greetings to all from a very warm YVR, Bas.

[@rono108]

Incredible video. Aviation is not easy to film. Thanks Alex. Well done!

[@dennisryckman5210]

I saw a KC-10 at Airshow London a few years ago. I couldn't believe just how HUUUUGE that plane is!!! It dwarfed the KC-135/B707!

[@torccchaser6712]

great to see an old friend back in YYC

[@MG101]

I love how unique the trijet design is nowadays, you can really only see freighter DC-10s, MD-11s and 727s

[@davidgarrett9711]

Great 👍 I live Memphis and grew up watching these birds.

[@mattman6461]

Big DC-10 fan here. Flew a United DC-10 as a teenager ORD-HNL-ORD back in 1989. Still one of my most memorable flights.

[@the_artist_sylveon]

As a Memphis native, I apparently had no clue how rare/amazing the sight of a MD/DC 10 aircraft is since I see them all the time here.

[@aviationlba747]

It’s gonna be a shame when these old girls are gone, but I thank FedEx for being loyal to them over the decades. Great footage there pal.

[@Vilde_The_Valkyrie]

What an absolutely beautiful old bird, always loved the look of the DC-10/MD-11 you are so lucky to have them over there

[@RealSaulGoodman78]

That engine noise is amazing

[@lush429]

One of my favs... Old school. L10 and the DC... nothing compares today. hard to get excited about the twins.. thanks for posting...

[@louisfk9880]

When I was walking down the field into Vista Heights last evening, I saw it take off as well, so darn cool!

[@williewalker8048]

What I love about this big bird is how graceful it is on approach. I live right near the largest airport in the Philippines, a former US military base called Clark. I walk my dog around 6 am every morning and the Fed Ex big bird comes in like clockwork. The turnaround time is pretty impressive as within' 30 minutes the bird is now taking off for its next Assian destination. Thanks for sharing Alex.

[@ethancampbell6076]

That buzzsaw never gets old 4:41

[@TeemarkConvair]

excellent positioning.. cool watching nose strut slowly extend..

[@robdc4829]

I remember seeing the Brazilian airlines VASP DC-10 then MD-11 do their high performance takeoffs from Pearson back in the day. Those things would climb like a homesick angel!

[@railplanetraveller]

The DC-10 is will always be my favourite plane to work in as a FA. It was advanced for it's time. The doors were electrically operated, the flight deck huge and for us poor FA's the galleys were spacious. Only annoying bit for us was the placement of the pax call indicator lights, instead of the overhead panel like all other planes, it was down low on the side of the aisle seat. Love that DC10........sorry it's still a "DC" to me hahaha. Thanks for the great videos!

[@davidcole333]

I'm old enough to remember these in airline service. I remember the American Airlines crash at ORD that was so tragic back in 1979. The newspaper the next morning had a still photo of the doomed aircraft in a knife edge profile just moments before slamming into the ground killing 258 passengers and 13 crew. The DC-10 went on to a long and distinguished career with its final chapters being written over 50 years after rollout. It is a beautiful aircraft.

[@jessemillington5988]

That was a magical set of days, I never thought after the KF DC-10's I would ever see these again. Yes a big thank you to the guys at Fedex for that fleet transfer to up here. I don't get to emotional but seeing that big ole girl land and lift off again was beautiful. Great and stunning job Alex!

[@slukas1375]

Alex! Wow! Well done. Just love these graceful, aging trijets. Awesome to see this 44-year old bird gracing the skies of YYC. My very first trans-Atlantic flight was in 1977 on a Finnair DC-10 from Montreal to Helsinki. I have a major soft spot for the DC-10 and the MD-11. And that measured, patient take-off rotation by an obviously skilled Captain was stunning. So beautiful. And the spool-up whine really "gets" me. Wish I could hit the "like" button over and over. Congrats and thanks for posting this. Rgds from YLW.

[@Royalblue228]

Nice to hear an old LOUD jet

[@cjbeatsbipolar]

I love those Tri-Jets

[@ericg43]

As the Dreamliners are re-certified I would absolutely love to see the Westjet 787-9 delivery flights into YYC (filmed of course), love your content keep up the good work

[@emilsarniak1299]

Awesome aircraft,flew many,many times from Amsterdam to Cape Town and back,had very comfy seats not a monkey seats as todays planes have.

[@davecrupel2817]

God that camera tracking was so buttery smooth, i almost thought it was watching a simulator or a videogame. VERY Well done on that!

[@floatplane]

THAT is a beautiful airplane

[@sevenapertures]

Great to finally see these things here! I honestly didn’t think YYC would ever get one of these from FDX but I was proven wrong! Great video and beautiful aircraft!

[@JackyNhatMinh]

Hey Alex! Today Westjet got their first 787-9 delivery after a long time!

[@dianericciardistewart2224]

Alex, this had to be a real treat to see!! I love freighters in general, but FedEx and UPS are my faves!! What a beautiful aircraft this is!! Thanks for filming and sharing!! 💕✈✈💕

[@CoastalAutoReactionCAR]

Thank you!

[@heathertruskinger6214]

Love those old "Mad Dogs" 🧡

[@chrisborland6787]

Great video. Well done of condensing with the editing and having the radio chatter.

[@cparadeee]

Beautiful old girl. L-1011 was my favourite

[@omigoat]

Thanks for the memories! Years ago as part of work was able to fly aboard a FedEx MD-10F from MEM to SMF on an animal transport (cheetahs!). Quite an experience from being in their massive Memphis terminal (they shut down and entire section just for the animals) and throughout the flight. Of course if you wanted a look out of the plane it required walking to the door to peer out the tiny window. The FO was a nice guy and I was hoping to get peek in the cockpit during the flight but there were a couple pilots deadheading so it was no go :(

[@spades9048]

I was jumpseating one time when it was supposed to be a MD-11 but it ended up with a last minute change to the -10. The other jumpseater wasn’t happy because the seats in the back didn’t recline as much. I was super happy though because I was going to sit up front anyway and was happy to get one last ride on the DC-10.

[@letto18]

I think it's interesting to know there are still MD/DC 10's flying! I saw/noticed one flying here in Kitchener, Ontario on it's way to Toronto over the past weekend or sometime recently. Looking at the Regos of the remaining fleet and going to FR24 it was either N321FE, N318FE last week or if it was more recently such as the weekend then it was N307FE that I think is more likely to be the one. Also interesting to know that N306FE is still in service to this day being the one involved in Flight 705 (Attempted suicide hijacking for insurance fraud) back in 1994.

[@jfmezei]

Memories of Flying Canadian Airlines DC-10s from YVR to HNL in the 1990s as well as doing the long flight to Taipei. At the time airlines were ditching their DC-10s, Fed Ex offered a home to all those stray DC-10s. During conversion to freighter, they also upgraded the cocpit with MD 11 avionics and gained MD-10 type rating since the plane moved from 3 to 2 person cockpit. However, Their DC-10 fleet seems much reduced these days with a whole bunch retired at Victorville. Boeing created the 777 to fill that 9-across capacity gap in its offering (and ironically in the eanwhile acquired McD). (of coursse today the 777 has since been "densified" with 10 across to replace 747s and make flying as painful as possible).

[@jamesheggie1854]

What a wonderful video Alex, such amazing and beautifully beastly aircraft.

[@NorthHoustonCityLimits]

Can’t believe it’s that old ! Great video! Thanks.

[@alleycatvietnam]

Alex happy to hear that you correctly called the DC-10 3 person flight deck the MD-10 a 2 flight crew of the MD-10 .hahaha Cheers from San Francisco...re-tired Fueler @ KSFO

[@TravelWithKabirCD]

Quite the shallow climb initially. Beautiful airplane!

[@jessemillington5988]

It was very hot that day, everything was climbing sluggishly

[@ohareplanespotting]

Amazing capture!

[@RVNspotting]

Superb content Alex! Can’t wait to see the MD-11!

[@DOMINICAAVIATION]

Impressive catch, Alex!

[@EhviatorProductions]

Stunning video as always!! Great work Alex!

[@amtrakharry]

Great catch Alex...:):):)

[@Chris-xj4kk]

Beautiful aircraft! Thanks for the footage 👍

[@springs9922]

I love the md-11 and dc10 they are both really common here at Toronto pearson and there's actually a little street right next to the fedex planes and u can see them taxi and pushback really close to u.

[@Iffy350]

I miss the L-1011 Edit: That was a lot of rudder deflection. It must've been really windy.

[@MarkRose1337]

Calgary's long runways run north-south despite the wind usually coming from the west.

[@danaitch4095]

I never liked flying in DC-10s, give me a 747 any day of the week. The last one I flew on was from St. Louis to LAX, upon landing, several overhead compartments opened up spilling their contents. It was a rattle trap. They are good for cargo though, I'll give them that.

[@joshuahalla.k.a.controlla6333]

Great video. ☺️

[@anthonymurdoch9437]

I'm pretty sure I saw this bird on Sunday making its way to the airport flying quite low over South Calgary. I'm fortunate to have flown as a passenger on a JAL DC-10 back in the early 90s.

[@sylviaelse5086]

4:46 Did they rotate a bit early? It seemed to take a while to lift off, but they climbed away with no difficulty.

[@Wheninflight]

Nice catch- get out while you can at YYC for their MD-10's. As of 8/31, they'll only have 5 remaining in the fleet 304 being scheduled for VCV on 9/29. The last 2 to go will be N306FE and N316FE on 12/31, FDX keeping up with their retirement schedule of about 1 a month.

[@nerd2814]

Fun fact about N306FE - that is the same plane that was involved in the Calloway incident of '94 when it was almost hijacked and crashed as part of a planned insurance fraud by Auburn Calloway. I really hope 306 gets sent to a museum when she's retired - that plane has quite a story behind her!

[@Wheninflight]

@@nerd2814 I know, I have a MD-10/11 captain as a neighbor who told me there are still scars in the galley behind the cockpit. I actually caught it on April 7 this year- the anniversary of the incident. I would also love to see it in a museum.

[@nerd2814]

@@Wheninflight That's awesome! Didn't know about that. The more you know, I guess.

[@gtpyyz]

Excellent catch, new sub here and thumbs up...

[@paulnewstead9693]

Any chance of seeing the Lockheed's version, cant remember its proper name but tri-star comes to mind. Lt-1011 maybe?

[@ericksuarezb.5994]

beautiful !!!!

[@potatobrotherstevedapotato4694]

I live in Calgary too!

[@Alek840]

On the 28 I saw it, I was arriawing on klm from Calgary 787-10 upgrade from the 787-9

[@davew8590]

Great video!

[@davecrupel2817]

Ah Claire. I've worked on that one a few times.

[@HoggerCaptain]

Seemed to take a while to get airborne. Heavy? Early rotation? Insufficient flaps? All of the above? Another great video, thanks for sharing.

[@FatGuyInaTruck]

Temperature, altitude, and air density are at play on warm summer days. That's why it has the longest runway in Canada

[@Kkp-s5c]

People who have fun and a People

[@AirborneRenegade]

I see them all the time in Memphis. I’m glad FedEx is branching out with these older aircraft. I doubt they’re going to exit the fleet fully anytime soon. They’re still actively picking up low hour MD-11s. Wouldn’t be surprised if a new demand for freight appears and they’d pull the younger MD-10-10s back out of mothballs to deal with it.

[@tkbuffalogaming]

LOVE THIS PLANE

[@wozja]

Amazing yyc finally getting some real avaiaton gems … a340, DC10! Anyone know where to find out when they are landing at yyc would love to catch these before they are gone

[@daktarioskarvannederhosen2568]

what camera and lens and audio you are using for this, please?

[@jonweigand3712]

Interesting how the rear engine also has reverse thruster up there, also curious what the cockpit on this aircraft is like. Cool video.

[@rallymodeller]

These have all been refitted to MD-11 two-pilot glass-cockpit standard and have a head-up display for the pilot.

[@daktarioskarvannederhosen2568]

although i think of macdonell-douglas as junk, i have flown several times on their dc-9, a couple of times on dc-8 (stretch), and once on dc-10. admittedly, i was excited regarding the dc-8 (stretch) and the dc-10.

[@WonderfulAircraft]

Long live the tri-jets!

[@republic_8116]

I was there as well, maybe you seen me, I was on the yellow ladder

[@derekimler9244]

I thought they retired the DC-10’s last year

[@BuonoBruttoCattivo77]

Any insight into how it is profitable to run such an old aircraft? Is it mostly due to low upfront purchase price? Surely fuel costs are huge.

[@CC80]

Did the original dc-10 have reverse thrusters? Or are those upgraded engines?

[@nurrizadjatmiko21]

6 Fedex DC-10s also known as the MD-10s are still in active service as of now

[@Kawirider1228]

Sadly one flew to Victorville today for its final slumber.

[@nurrizadjatmiko21]

I saw it on flightradar and it was N321FE

[@Digidude1]

Enjoy the MD-10’s while you can. The last 5 I believe are being retired very soon.

[@aschlech1]

I was the FO on this flight ask me anything! I feel like I sounded appropriately cool on the radios?

[@schm1035]

Maybe you flew with me at some time. I was captain on the MD-10s and 11s for 18 years. Who were you flying with on this flight?

[@aschlech1]

John I just got to the company last year and it was a fairly junior capt I don’t want to name on the internetz

[@schm1035]

@@aschlech1 Well then it looks like you have quite a career coming up. Have fun with it!

[@tiramisu7544]

What aircraft will you transition to flying after the MD 10 is retired in December 2022? These planes have max 2 months left. Are many MD-10 pilots transitioning to or already have certificates to fly other types of planes?

[@raitchison]

Always nice to see a Tri-Jet (saw a little one just about an hour ago at VNY). I've always wondered why the DC-10/MD-11 were able to survive as freighters while (almost) all the L-1011s were simply retired when they stopped flying passengers. Does the TriStar have some sort of shortcoming that made it unsuitable as a freighter (what's doomed the A380) or is there some other reason why we don't still see them flying?

[@MarkRose1337]

The A300 could carry 75-80% of what an L-1011 could with only 2 engines. It was cheaper to run A300s for the same freight, so they got converted instead.

[@0w3nn]

l1011 range WEAKNESS

[@lrg3834]

Modern jetliners are so pedestrian compared to their counterparts of the 70's. Airplane spotting is BORING today compared to what it used to be.

[@weatherstuff808]

don't get too settled in with the md10s, as they will likely all be retired by 2023 leaving the MD-11s as Fedexs only tri jets

[@sedatedturtle]

I think KF flew 727s not DC-10s

[@sedatedturtle]

@@SuperCnh320 didn't know that..thx

[@rangerrick8220]

Yup - not something you see everyday anymore. Now, lets see FedEx resurrect an L-1011 and bring THAT here! (I'm not holding my breath on that one... :) )

[@YT-rb3jy]

first

[@mikemortensen4973]

Big deal, one like it or the very same one flies into Salt Lake City once a week.