The Making of a DC-10 - McDonnell Douglas 40570 HD

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This film shows the manufacturing and design of the DC-10 airplane, with much of it being shot in Santa Monica, California, home of the McDonnell Douglas factory. It also shows the McDonnell Douglas plant located in Torrance, CA, which is now part of Northrop.
The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is a three-engine wide-body jet airliner manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 has range for medium- to long-haul flights, capable of carrying a maximum of 380 passengers. Its most distinguishing feature is the two turbofan engines mounted on underwing pylons and a third engine at the base of the vertical stabilizer. The model was a successor to McDonnell Douglas's DC-8 for long-range operations, and competed in the same markets as the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, which has a similar layout. The DC-10 had a poor safety record initially that was continuously improved over the years.
Production of the DC-10 ended in 1989 with 386 delivered to airlines and 60 to the U.S. Air Force as air-to-air refueling tankers, designated KC-10 Extender. The largest operator of the DC-10 is U.S. cargo airline FedEx Express. The DC-10 was succeeded by the related McDonnell Douglas MD-11. Boeing, which merged with McDonnell Douglas in 1997, conducted an upgrade program that equipped many in-service DC-10s with a glass cockpit that eliminated the flight engineer position; the upgraded aircraft were re-designated as MD-10s. The DC-10's last commercial passenger flight took place in February 2014, although freighter versions continue to operate.
This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD. For more information visit www.PeriscopeFi...

[@Highland_Moo]

I’m 44 and a wife of 20 years and mum of 3 grown kids. I never got the opportunity to fly on these beautiful ladies, I didn’t even get to see one up close. I live in the Scottish highlands and I’m 2 hours from my nearest airport, Inverness, which is on the other side of the country. I have missed all these gorgeous aircraft, the DC10, MD11, the classic 747s and the 747/4. I doubt I’ll even get to fly on the 747/8. Today’s aircraft are much more economical and cleaner, but they’ve got no style or personality - not like the classic ladies. Anyway, thank you for sharing this - I just wish I could’ve seen these beautiful girls up close 👍🏻❤️

[@agents977]

You may have also missed the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar.

[@fernando13e]

Its amazing how most things from that era were almost designed and built by hand, thousands of people working on a single project and they made it possible! No computers or advanced software.

[@7ount]

probably why there was so much accidents

[@flippert0]

I'm old enough to remember the high amount of DC-10 incidents and accidents during the 70s. Especially in 1979 the DC-10 was grounded for a while. Seemingly the safety record got much better in the 80s and beyond.

[@gelatinous6915]

Basically, so many DC10s crashed that they had to spend millions on safety revamps

[@anthonywilfredwong4545]

Except for United 232.

[@sleepeasy-asmr8071]

Coffin economics

[@gvalley07]

Most of the spectacular accidents associated with this plane were maintenance-related issues. The plane itself was well- built.

[@richardlewis4288]

I’ve worked the DC-10 (MD-10) for decades especially Fedex. And still relevant today. A great aircraft

[@larrydiaz6837]

I remember when I first moved to Long Beach in 1989 and seeing all the finished jets awaiting delivery. The could be seen from Lakewood Blvd. There also used to be a bridge that the planes would cross that was built over Lakewood Blvd.

[@michaeltalbott6718]

AWESOME 😎 ENVY YOU .AVIATION FAN HERE!

[@katek6808]

Man, I love this... the Golden Age of aviation and civilisation... The DC-10 is the most beautiful thing to have ever graced the skies! :-)

[@zms8092]

The DC-10 was all we flew when I was growing up in the 80s and early 90s. Such an amazing and beautifully proportioned aircraft with that distinct DC-10 sound. Never were you on a narrowbody aircraft across the country or to Hawaii like today. DC-10 or bust!

[@Stefranvic]

l'un des plus bel avion de tous les temps.. .I Love DC 10 MD11 and DC9/ MD.

[@FLT111]

In June 1990, my parents went to Hawaii for their honeymoon. They flew on a Continental DC-10 from Melbourne - Auckland - Honolulu. At the start my dad was not satisfied it was a DC-10 given its history, however at the end of the flight he said it was smoothest flight he'd ever been on. Shame the DC-10 copped a beating it truly proved itself in the end.

[@chrisnizer5702]

Took many flights on those World Airways DC-10's during the 1980's. Their pilots were some of the best in the industry. They could land a fully loaded DC-10 on a sidewalk with a crosswind. Great memories and good times!

[@ryangriffith3729]

Nice seeing the CP air tails

[@jocelynharris-fx8ho]

CP Air had some of the prettiest airplanes. 🥰🥰 Next to the original Braniff International with their multi-colored jets and Hughes Airwest with their yellow jets. So sad that these airlines no longer exist. 😢 De-regulation killed em'.

[@PeriscopeFilm]

This film shows the manufacturing and design of the DC-10 airplane, with much of it being shot in Santa Monica, California, home of the McDonnell Douglas factory. It also shows the McDonnell Douglas plant located in Torrance, CA, which is now part of Northrop.

[@SouthBayRick]

+PeriscopeFilm Thank you for sharing this wonderful historical film footage. The Douglas Aircraft Company was originally founded in Santa Monica, CA. The Long Beach plant was where the DC-10 was assembled and delivered to customers.

[@steveskouson9620]

Final Assembly was in building 84. Next door was building 80. Wonder what they (we) built there? Buildings 80 and 84 were in Long Beach, right next to (and using) CSULB's football field parking lot. steve

[@biophillie]

Crazy place to work.. btdt

[@andrewstinson3284]

Dang, how can you be so badly misinformed? Both the DC-10 and DC-8 airliners were manufactured in Long Beach, not Santa Monica. Douglas Aircraft stopped manufacturing aircraft in Santa Monica back in 1967. Zamperini Field in Torrance has a 3,000 foot runway. The DC-10 requires over 11,000 feet for landing and nearly 6,000 feet for take off. How do you suppose those DC-10's left Torrance if they were manufactured there? Northrop's plant is located in El Segundo; not Torrance. The film even states in the beginning that the plant that built the DC-10 is in Long Beach.

[@wntu4]

That is the most exquisitely sharpened pencil I have ever seen.

[@natelove187]

This was the best generation of people that ever lived. I mis the family work ethics. Best time to be alive and the quality of life was much better. Plus the dollar went much farther than today.

[@alexanderkarl4025]

Absolutely and my dad was one of them in LB Yuma & Tulsa ;)

[@chrisnizer1885]

I flew on those World Airway's DC-10's many many times in the 1980's. From LAX to BWI and back. World had a terminal all by itself on the general aviation side of LAX that was easy to get in and out of. Flying has changed big time since then. And not in a good way either. It used to be fun. I'm not joking.....for reals....flying USED TO be fun. Imagine that!

[@derekrohan9619]

Really world airways? We flew them to Kuwait in the army during the war. We flew dc-10s. And md-11s.

[@paulschab8152]

9/11 changed everything for the worse. Big Brother Govt keeps getting bigger.

[@dunnmax1]

Thanks for sharing your memories. I actually flew world from BWI to HNL via LAX as an 8-year-old in 1982.

[@tomsamuelson8512]

@@derekrohan9619 They had 747's, 727's and DC-8's also.In the 70's thru the 90's that is.

[@topofthegreen]

Back when California was great.

[@thomasburke7995]

Worked the DC-10 for 20 years.. we always called them the death cruiser.. cuz if lost and engine its rate of decent was amazing.

[@philschroeder]

United 232 says, “Hold my beer!” They drove that thing around for 45 minutes after catastrophic engine failure.

[@Spuck1983]

I flew one from amsterdam to miami (11h47m) andback (8h39m). Loved it.

[@albear972]

Oh man! I looove that old school Saul Bass designed United logo and font at 0:49 The airline is really crap now, sadly. A little trivia, Mr. Bass also designed Continental Airlines' logo too. And decades later those airlines merged forming the crap we have today.

[@arnedeneeff1183]

Flew a few times on the DC1O It was less noisy And flew DC11 once Good memories

[@keithtempleton4173]

I loved flying on this plane in the 70's. There was just something about it that made it a lovely comfortable plane to fly in. Always preferred it over the Jumbo

[@gvalley07]

Human hands built this magnificent aircraft. All those people working and putting food on their tables. It's a shame we don't seem to manufacture anything of significance anymore.

[@Crookedcross322]

Awesome place to work, schooners at lunch, smoking a dubbie, no drug testing Awesome

[@cybermuff]

There was also a DC-10-15 version. It was a DC-10-10 airframe with -50 GE engines. Mexicana and Skyjet used this version for high altitude airports in South America.

[@Itapirkanmaa2]

And 10-30 ER with the extra tanks. First used by Finnair on the Helsinki-Tokyo polar non-stop.

[@diamonddog257]

they made 15 [ or was it 7 ?]

[@tomsamuelson8512]

Some of the -15's ended up flying for Sun Country for awhile.

[@DanknDerpyGamer]

@@Itapirkanmaa2 Also used by American Airlines for many trans-Atlantic flights, and flights to Hawaii too. IIRC Transaero Airlines leased a few from American for a while.

[@johneddy98033]

One particular DC-10 in this clip was to be delivered to Pakistan International Airlines. PIA would later exchange its DC-10s for Canadian Pacific Airlines' 747s.

[@mrkc10]

Awesome historical video

[@dc10fomin65]

My top 3 airliners of all time from a "beauty" perspective, the Lockheed Super Constellation G or H, the Convair 990A Coronado, and on top of the mountain the DC-10.

[@pcguy619]

Note how older women are all doing the wiring for the computers. This is due to it being similar to sewing, in fact, on the Saturn V rocket, the main memory components were wired by Russian grandmothers due to their skill IIRC, according to that one interview with Smarter Every Day. Interesting stuff!

[@paulthorne3457]

😊

[@beernpizzalover9035]

I wish I could have worked in Long Beach before they tore most of the place down...

[@freeflight4ever]

I worked there for 17 years, on DC-9/ MD-80 and MD-11/KC-10 lines. It was an amazing place. Some of the buildings were almost a mile long! Sad to see it all torn down. B-17 Flying Fortresses were once built there.

[@syedahmed8015]

Legendary 👍❤️

[@stuartcrimmins8707]

I have been looking for is documentary on you tube a long time

[@skiploader85]

Everyone one of those Douglas mechanics shown on this promotional film during filming were dreaming about those ice cold schooners of beer for lunch at the Thirsty Isle!

[@MD-on9fi]

The thirsty isle!!! I wonder if its still there?

[@skiploader85]

@@MD-on9fi, yes it is!

[@freeflight4ever]

@@skiploader85 Drank my share of schooners there, but the food was awful! DC-9 Building 13, Dept 510

[@remylopez4821]

LOL been there done that department 587 W. ramp 1987 to 2001 then went to the C-17

[@dlite1972]

4:15 love the fact that the workers in that factory could plod away on their machinery without any ppe. Wish I was working back then and not in todays overly sensitive workplace

[@BritanniaPacific]

Some years later, the Air Force’s kc-10 would be built for aerial refueling.

[@Stefranvic]

Mc Donnell Douglas Forever .. DC10 ./MD11.DC9/MD . forever❤❤❤❤❤

[@markdorais2846]

Enjoyed this a lot. Thanks for sharing ✨👍😀

[@auntbarbara5576]

While very serious without question, only the cargo door in the beginning of the DC-10's career was a design or build flaw. Everything else was maintenance issues. As bad as the Chicago 191 was, that was not the planes' fault. Neither was Iowa in '89.

[@zms8092]

Exactly. There was *one* accident due to the aircraft itself, yet it got such a bad rap. Look at the 737 and 737 MAX aircraft!

[@BradRoss63]

However, don't forget that the location of the 3 hydraulic lines contributed to catastrophic loss of control in both UA232 and AA191. After 191, the hydraulic system was modified to include shut-off valves to avoid loss of all fluid.

[@auntbarbara5576]

@@BradRoss63 tru dat 👌

[@Stefranvic]

👍👍👍👏👏👏👏 Bravo .Vous avez tout dit Le DC 10 a subit une terrible et profonde injustice, tout au long de sa carrière, (ce qui l'a achevé)..a cause de tous ces accidents aériens .Alors que ce n'était pas l avion qui etait coupable.

[@DanknDerpyGamer]

@@BradRoss63 IMO that valve retrofit supports the idea that the danger, especially after the first 15 years or so, was terribly overblown/exaggerated.

[@dirtyharry1844]

Check the cargo door...

[@KevinMeno2008]

MD plant was in at Long Beach Airport. MD is now part of Boeing

[@TS0513]

S. Mesut best thing that could have happend in the world is Airbus gone

[@dknowles60]

its long since close down

[@andrewstinson3284]

MD replaced DC because of the horrible reputation of this travesty of an airliner.

[@alhanes5803]

2 fatal crashes because of a design flaw numbnuts

[@robertaquilina3848]

a tragic start a beautiful ending

[@sleepeasy-asmr8071]

A lesson for any project engineer on corner cutting

[@allgood6760]

Thanks... we used to fly these planes👍🇳🇿

[@jimryan5280]

Ashame that such a beautiful left such controversial legacy. The faulty cargo door incident resulting in the crash of the Turkish airline DC-10 in March 1974 was a flagrant violation and one in which McDonnell Douglas could have been criminally charged. The DC-10 crash in Chicago further eroded public confidence resulting in a full grounding of all DC-10's in June of 1979, something unprecedented at that time. The DC-10 will always be remembered as an airplane with a very checkered past.

[@anthonywilfredwong4545]

Shame that she was labelled Death Cruiser 10.

[@steveskouson9620]

Notice the Series 40, with the "pickle barrel" #2 engine intake? steve

[@paulazemeckis7835]

No

[@2011mendo]

Only thing however, this never answered my question!!!. How does the Bulk pit door open on a DC-10, In or out?? I used to these at NA, but can't recall the Bulk pit door and how much room we had...

[@doubletap800]

Bulk door opens outward.

[@ad_2211]

Death Cruiser💀

[@hhout9242]

19:19 Nice 240z next to airplane.

[@BradRoss63]

At 09:23 the narrator states, "...the world's most advanced aircraft." This is a blatant inaccuracy, as it is well documented that the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar was technologically more advanced than either the DC-10 or B747.

[@ohmusicsweetmusic]

before computers- damn!

[@Mikeyp1054]

Great video and wonky music...brilliant

[@Nickah10amazing]

❤❤🎉

[@derekrohan9619]

I would love to get the soundtrack for this.. wicked good music.

[@ncascadehiker]

Many good jobs gone.

[@vladilenkalatschev4915]

At the beginning of the production there were lots of problems with quality of DC-10

[@Paul1958R]

Its so funny how the film talks about 'man hours' while showing (predominantly) a woman engineer.

[@Kiieerrann_xx]

Go home music your drunk

[@steveskouson9620]

"You're? Or were you referring to your drunk friend? DAMN, English is such a DIFFICULT language to use! steve

[@mohamadmokhtarahmad9901]

Malaysian Airlines DC-10..😍

[@MontoyaGamer1_Entertainment]

I flew an American DC-10 fron DEN to JFK on 07/26/2021

[@tomsamuelson8512]

In Fedex colors???

[@freddymonrroy8501]

Fly DC Jets

[@sheiladikshit5110]

death contraption 10.

[@stankakol5195]

Too bad about that pesky cargo door.

[@smms440]

Dc 10 by creating in 1970

[@morg9267]

what year is this?

[@christopherwaits7852]

Probably around 1979 or 1980. A KC-10 is shown there along with United DC-10s in Rainbow livery. Their last DC-10s were delivered in 1981

[@muhammadibraheem6037]

it looks like it was made 50 years before the dc 10

[@bobbypaluga4346]

DC-10 production line Mac- Hey Jed, I’ve got an idea, I’m going to slip It in the suggestion box during the break Jed- I hope you get the bonus, now tell me about this great idea to save the company money Mac- it’s like this Jed, we run all three hydraulic lines together, we’ll save a couple of days Jed- sounds great, after all what could possible go wrong?

[@Qboro66]

Fast forward to Sioux City...🛬💥⚰

[@steveskouson9620]

5 minutes 38 seconds, where was SHE when I was building the MD-11? steve

[@greglivo]

Sorry, bro. She was probably dating the dude with the big ol' mutton chops at 9:38.

[@goingslightlymad7172]

Pieces of crap. Cargo doors blown out-crashes. AA Flight 191 out of O'Hare-worst crash in US aviation history. I know the widow of one of the passengers on that flight. What a shame. AA didn't service the pylons/engines correctly. :(

[@Qboro66]

Maintenance/Mechanics didn't follow proper procedures. ✈🛬💥⚰

[@alhanes5803]

So it's a piece of crap because the airline handled mantinence wrong?

[@andrewstinson3284]

Ahhhhh, the good ole Death Cylinder-10 holds the record for killing more passengers due to engineering and design flaws than any other jet airliner! From cargo doors blowing off to high bounce potential on landing. One bounce and the wing hits the ground, breaks off, and the whole thing rolls over.

[@axl1632]

Ironically the Boeing 747 it has the double of deaths by each accidents from lacking of takeoff alarms (Lufthansa 540) to engine pylon's durability (China Airlines 352 & El Al 1862) so dont try to pressume that the DC-10 is "the only propense to crash".

[@andrewstinson3284]

@@axl1632 You have no idea what you're talking about.

[@axl1632]

@@andrewstinson3284 because I dont thin you ever bothered what its the jumbo jet that lost more airframe & lives. The DC-10 lost 32 frames and lost 1,261 lives while the 747 lost 63 frames and lost 3,748 lives ¿What its your excuse?

[@francksol0946]

THY 981 March 1974 . France' ..DC 10/..cargo door shit lock system 🔐...

[@ethansaviation2672]

@@axl1632 Yes but to be fair to both at the time safety wasn't good

[@cacarotocacimbinha2905]

Serial kiler totally