The Rise And Fall Of The McDonnell Douglas MD-11

The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 was one of the most visually striking aircraft of its time. Developed from the earlier DC-10, its distinctive three-engine configuration helped it to stand out wherever it flew. While it promised a lot, the MD-11, particularly in its passenger configuration, failed to live up to expectations. This is the story of its rise and fall.
Article link: simpleflying.com/md-11-rise-f...
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#Aviation #Flight #Avgeek #Flying

[@keithmiller2714]

At UPS, we just bought the last 5 of Lufthansa’s MD-11s. The last MD-11 ever produced is current tail# N262UP - bought from Lufthansa. I just worked that jet the other day. It’s a great workhorse with large payload capability. A freshly painted one always still looks good. There’s also a beauty in functionality. There’s a lot to say about it. Not the friendliest ground crew jet but still holds a special place in hearts of avgeeks.

[@xlr__ryan]

WGA bought the last 3 Lufthansa Cargo MD11’s not UPS.

[@established_on_the_run]

Definitely. Love hearing the UPS MD-11 on final right above my house every morning, right around 04:45. It’s iconic.

[@sparkyobrian6417]

interesting- At Fedex we just put two lufthansa md-11F's in the hangar for standardization and paint. They must have had 2 hidden Lol

[@factorystock71]

Which UPS facility? I work at Detroit metro and there's an md11 just sitting there by the hanger....that thing is purely massive

[@keithmiller2714]

@@factorystock71 PDX (Portland,OR)

[@CheapBastard1988]

I remember a ground engineer watching the final sendoff of the last passenger MD-11 with almost a teardrop in his eye saying: "It was the Alfa Romeo of the skies." I was thinking what he could have meant with that statement until he said: "It always had very odd faults." 🤣

[@atharvajoshi5331]

Was his name "Jeremy Clarkson"? 😂

[@gwnlars_8306]

@@atharvajoshi5331 Wouldn't been a suprise to me lol.

[@gwnlars_8306]

@@alunesh12345 I think you're in the wrong comment section my friend.

[@jaredkennedy6576]

I had an Alfa Romeo, can confirm.

[@syxepop]

@@jaredkennedy6576 - yes, sexy, fast and temperamental, just like today's Giulia ....

[@Flies2FLL]

"Every landing is a drama" Told to me by a former MD-11 Captain. He went on to say that FO's landing this thing scared the hell out of him on a regular basis.

[@Flies2FLL]

@@alunesh12345 Bullshit fairy tale.

[@petergaylord4241]

Yes, I was surprised there was no mention of the criticism that the horizontal stabilizer was too small making pitch control on landing a challenge. The most obvious example being the crash of a FedEx MD-11 on landing at Narita being the most famous example. After the end of production of the type. But perhaps an issue accelerating the demise of the aircraft? At least in the passenger version of the plane?

[@Flies2FLL]

@@petergaylord4241 The LSAS system was one of the worst problems with this airplane. What killed it for passengers was American Airlines; They bought it thinking they could load it up and fly nonstop from Dallas to Hong Kong, and it couldn't even come close to that sort of range. Other airlines realized the same thing and sold them off quickly.

[@dbertobis]

@@alunesh12345 so much unconditionally that if you don’t repent he doesn’t love you anymore. 😂😂😂😂

[@syxepop]

@@Flies2FLL - just report the SPAMMER and don't feed them...

[@fabriziopiantamar]

I live in the city that was the headquarters of Varig, in Brazil. I will never forget the day the Company received the first MD-11, because it made several low passes over the city. It was so beautiful to see him fly.

[@dc10fomin65]

Voce mora em Porto Alegre?

[@BobbyGeneric145]

I remember the footage of the Varig md11 landing with Sennas body.

[@fabriziopiantamar]

@@dc10fomin65 Sim

[@duartesimoes508]

@@BobbyGeneric145 when Senna died I was ATCo in LPCS, Portugal. When I started my shift that day I noticed that there was someone talking to the Operations Room on the phone making the greatest fuss. It happened to be Adriana Galisteu, his Fiancée, who was living in Sintra, a mere 10 km to the North. She was maddened with despair and wanted a jet to fly to Imola immediately. We did get her a Citation in no time and a Flight Plan was filed, but she didn't show nor phoned back again. Many years later I read that she was not welcome by Senna's family. I cannot comment this. Senna was a regular user of our Aerodrome, since it is situated 6 km from Estoril racetrack and allowed him to either fly to the Algarve in a MD-530 or to the UK or elsewhere in his BAe 125. Senna was extremely quiet and never looked at, smiled or talked to anybody. Not really a warm person.

[@Petertjeehh]

KLM's MD-11 fleet always stunned me. Such character and the blue livery suited it so well. It was a sad moment to see them go, but KLM, Martinair Cargo and Amsterdam Schiphol Airport made it a worthy goodbye, by performing final flights for enthousiasts above the Netherlands, handing out memorial gifts and escort and salute the planes one last time on the ground. This beauty has a special place in my memories!

[@mobiusone3923]

Still one of my all time favorite commercial jets. When I was 10 years old, I saved my allowance, and bought a model MD11 in Delta Trident livery from the Delta Membership Magazine (dad flew for business A LOT) For my 11th bday in LA, dad pulled over, and I got to see that iconic MD11 with Delta fly in and land at LAX. Will never forget that view.

[@3000dives]

I was an MD-11 instructor for both Douglas and Boeing in Long Beach and Miami. It is quite an aircraft and I enjoyed teaching it mostly to transition pilots. It handles more like a much smaller jet and most experienced pilots tend to over control it. It was a tough tendency to overcome for people who had experience on Boeing aircraft (eg. Landing flare attitude was a mere 2° Nose up). Consequently many would porpoise on landing.

[@mickstubbs]

Flew it for nearly 2 decades. From a pilot perspective it was a very satisfying aircraft. Not very forgiving for sloppy flying, but very satisfying to fly.

[@duaneronan8199]

I did quite some engineering design on this aircraft type, in Long Beach. I also worked at McDonnell, in Saint Louis, during the Boeing takeover. A significant cause in its demise was the bizarre parochial attitude of Boeing management. The MD11 & MD80 were both money making product lines. McDonnell lost a couple new fighter contracts, forcing the takeover. Boeing pledged they would keep the two types in production "as long as there were orders". They refused to give airlines favorable financing terms compared to their Washington State manufactured types. Naturally, airlines bought the types offering the most favorable financing. Finally leading to the demise of the Douglas designs. Harry Stonecipher was MD CEO during the takeover negotiations. He got a fat bonus from the sale, & Douglas inevitably went out of the commercial airline business later, due to his failure, in the fighter business & protecting the commercial business. The Long Beach employees suffered, but Harry cleaned up. People were upset. I coined the chant "hey hey, ho ho, Harry Stonecipher got to go".

[@stephenlight647]

As one can note today, Boeing’s arrogance has cost it a lot!!

[@Sylinnilys]

It's Boeing, anything new?

[@bradcrosier1332]

The MD-11 was a band-aid solution. It needed a new wing, but the fact that Lockheed and MD tried to split the wide body tri-jet market essentially meant that neither won (though the DC-10 undeniably was more successful than the L-1011, largely due the the R.B. 211’s development problems and delays), leaving MD with insufficient resources to do so. No offense to the OP, but having flown the L-1011, DC-10, MD-11, and B-747-400, some of the engineering that went into the DC-10 was rather lacking, and it showed. Yes, there were the big things like the cargo door latching, lack of a hydraulic fuse in the tail, slats that were held extended by hydraulic pressure, and making a second stick-shaker an option (rather reminiscent of the MCAS debacle). The MD-11 stretched the capabilities of the airframe significantly, and greatly modernized the cockpit interface, but behind it all was still a significant amount of the cobbled together fixes from the DC-10. Then missing its performance guarantees finished it. I wouldn’t say it was the final mail in the coffin, more like an overdose of Tylenol - it didn’t kill it right away, but it made its demise inevitable. It wasn’t economical for passenger ops, and was relegated to freight. By then, large wide body twins had come of age, and except for freight operators, no one wanted the expense of the additional engine which was no longer needed for performance reasons.

[@BobbyGeneric145]

Dude, your company mgmt destroyed Boeing!

[@carltonmoser7606]

At AA, not only did the MDs have range and fuel burn issues, they were notoriously unreliable. Everyone cheered the day ship 7AA (1st 777) arrived and we saw the MDs slowly leave.

[@TuckerWhite94]

I mean who wouldn't cheer at the sight of a 777? It's such a beautiful plane!

[@vitalyandryushin9053]

This is how bigger corporations swallow smaller ones.

[@cefb8923]

We're the really unreliable? The KC-10 wasn't bad.

[@brownbear1657]

@@TuckerWhite94 BEAUTIFUL??? the 777 is not beautiful, it's got amazing capabilities but the MD-11, A340, 747, 757 or many others are much better looking.

[@sparkyobrian6417]

we have great dispatch reliability on our Fedex md's, -its not as good as the 777 in our fleet, but they are also new.

[@gwnlars_8306]

While being rapidly retired over the last few years, the MD-11 must not be forgotten. Beautiful aircraft that may not be easy to land, but is a pleasure to fly and see.

[@fracturedmind8124]

I love the MD-11. It’s my favorite passenger airliner. So majestic and beautiful. It was unfortunately plagued with reliability issues and unimpressive range. Still, I think it’s one of the most beautiful modern jets, and was of course one of the very last Trijets to enter service.

[@scottzegarelli4644]

I love the MD11. I’ve worked around them for years. They are a true workhorse and I’ll be sad when they finally disappear as they most certainly will. Yes, I work in air cargo so they are still in my world.

[@zakvilanilam3388]

5:12 That was the plane operating Swiss Air 111

[@lipkinasl]

I was treated to a Delta MD-11 flight from Manchester, UK to Atlanta. I think the flight was quite smooth. But I do remember it arriving 2 hours late, due a tech issue at Atlanta on the outbound. They did a quick turnaround, picking up 30 mins, got fairly favourable winds and permission from HQ to play catch up as far as speed goes during the flight, resulting in arriving only 45 mins late into Atlanta. All in all - that's not bad going.

[@indyracingnut]

To me, the downfall of the MD-11 was the change they made to ETOPS, not demand for the aircraft.

[@johannesbols57]

In 1994 I worked at the north end of Seattle Tacoma International airport. Being an avgeek I was in heaven! The most outstanding memories I have are watching an IL-62 crawl its way into the air practically horizontally. The other memory was watching the extraordinary lift of the MD-11 when the planes took off to the north. To see the mass of the underbelly effortlessly angling upward just after rotation at a particularly steep angle was to witness amazing technology of high-lift surfaces. They were comparatively quiet on take off as well.

[@sking2173]

Perhaps that draggy high-lift wing is why the thing was so thirsty. The things looked like two giant, swept-back Hershey bars glued onto the fuselage ...

[@benligil]

10 years ago I was honored fly with "Audrey Hepburn" and "Florence Nightingale" from Schiphol to SFOX. Great and beautiful planes...

[@gododelgordo]

SFOX? No such ICAO code for an airport.... maybe you meant KSFO (San Francisco)?

[@akosuge]

Flew the MD-11 when they were in operation for Japan Airlines and VARIG from LAX to NGO. Very smooth landings.

[@BGreez]

This old bird will forever have a place in my heart. ✨🙏🏾✨

[@mikemontgomery2654]

I got to fly on a couple of MD-11s with KLM. Went out of my way to do so. I loved it! Such a cool airplane. I was very surprised at the power and climb rate of the aircraft. KLM is such a great airline, too. The flight back to YUL from AMS was a very good one. Got the first economy row behind the first class bulkhead, with a window seat. The extra legroom was beautiful and only had to sit next to one person. That was before airlines started charging for seats like that.

[@philippgabler5835]

The MD-11 is absolutely my favorit aircraft! She just looks beautiful ❤️

[@AidanEyewitness]

I was stunned when for the first time, I saw the DC-10 standing at the end of the International Pier at Manchester Airport, when it went into service with Laker airways. Later I flew on a Northwest MD-11 when travelling around the States, a night flight, a bit scary. Lately, on the excellent real-life docu Flughafen Frankfurt Mittendrin, I saw the final departure of the last MD-11 to the US, a sad moment. Maintenance staff were upset, the last plane with old-fashioned mechanics. A stunning aircraft I often compared to the Tri-Star, which I also flew on.

[@lars-goranwillny42]

In October 1998 I flew BKK - ARN in business class on a MD11 from Thai Airways. It was a truly comfortable night flight. When flying over Central Asia (Kazakstan) on some 30 000 ft, I saw hundreds of flames on the ground: flares from the oil fields and oil refineries of an enormous amount...

[@longbeach7623]

The MD-11ER ultimately reached 7,240 NM on full payload by 1996. This was one year before the 772ER and competitive with the original first generation models that went to British Airways in early 1997. Of course by then, Boeing insured McDonald Douglas would be history.

[@VincentSchoenmakers]

Flown the maiden flight on one of the Martinair MD11's from AMS to MIA as a teen. Returned flight was a nightflight on a DC10, remember that I was allowed to take the elevator to the cargo deck with one of the flight crew to pet one of the animals in the cargo-hole. Good old times :)

[@ljacobs357]

Much preferred the L-1011. Quieter and more comfortable.

[@sking2173]

What I remember most about the L-1011 was the steep deck angle when those things were flying slow. Walking from back to front when the plane was in that flight regime almost required cleated shoes ...

[@Solar55]

@@sking2173 I remember this was a complaint from the flight attendants at the time.

[@matthewbarber9846]

My first ever jumpseat flight was on an MD11, I loved them, shame they went away too quickly!

[@Wheninflight]

I will miss them when they are retired. Being from Memphis, I see them fly over my house every day with FedEx. Back when we had KLM service to AMS, I flew roundtrip on it when I was a year and a half old.

[@rogerbee697]

L1011 from Riyadh to ORD. Civilian charter flight bringing troops back from Saudi Arabia. It was HUGE! I suspect that’s the closest heavy Tri-Jet aircraft to a DC10 or MD11.

[@jaredkennedy6576]

I flew on one of these on an oddly short flight from I think Orlando to Atlanta in 1993. The odd standout memory is that as soon as we got to the runway, we had to go back to the gate so a luggage door could be properly secured.

[@RobEJC]

I flew as a Space-A pax on a KC-10 from Clark AFB to Andersen AFB in 1989 - obviously one-class seating and it was a cavernous beast, brimming with cargo (and fuel, of course).

[@49erca]

Outstanding aircraft, Loved the space and the smooth rider.

[@nurrizadjatmiko21]

Actually, 118 MD-11s are still in service because for the last few weeks i sometimes look at the MD-11 operators. In 2022, only 3 major carriers are still flying the MD-11s and with Lufthansa Cargo retired the last MD-11 in October 2021, all 3 are US Airlines and here's the list : Fedex : 59 UPS : 42 and Western Global Airlines : 17

[@dewiz9596]

Because packages don’t care if they get killed. . .

[@zeroelus]

I thought the flying eye hospital was an MD-11 at this point, but no, its an MD-10. I wonder if FedEx pitches in some maintenance assistance for it.

[@tessabakker662]

@@alunesh12345 So rapists and killers go to heaven so long as they believe in Jesus, but I'm going to hell having done no wrong just because I don't believe an ancient book's relevance in the modern day? Please, I beg you, go preach somewhere else. People like you give real christians - whose plight I can respect - a bad reputation!

[@christopherescott6787]

@@tessabakker662 Just for clarification. Just because some says 'I believe" does NOT mean they get anything more than you.That narrative is pure garbage and is NOT taught in scripture. There is far more than simply making a statement.

[@tessabakker662]

@@christopherescott6787 that feels like a cop-out. Plenty of convicted killers earnestly believe there to be a creator, but still committed their horrible deeds. What will happen to them? I genuinely don't want an argument here, I'm just wondering how the bejeebus this supposed salvation works, and what kinds of pure acts could possibly forgive terrible crimes.

[@darkokoporcic7146]

I flew in one of those just twice (3 legs). The first time was in the last days of December '97 on Varig from Rio to Frankfurt. The second and last time was with Swissair in business class from Zurich to Dulles and back. That was in June 2001, if I am not mistaken. The latter was my farewell to MD11 and Swissair for good and also to long haul flights for a very long time.

[@julioaot472]

Stunning, spacious aircraft. Flew on Varig's RIO-LHR a few times.

[@mfcosi]

Flew both 10 and 11 at Varig. Nothing special - nothing to miss it as a passenger. As a spotter I love it.

[@Drigo30]

first time I flew was on a VASP MD11, São Paulo/Buenos Aires in 1997 since then it's my favorite on the list ❤️

[@d8889]

I had the change to fly from SFO to AMS in the aft galley of a KLM Md11 more than 20 years ago. Since I had stand by tickets and the flight was fully booked my brother and I had been lucky to be offered that option. I doubt it would happen nowadays. For take off and landing we were sitting on crew seats but since during the flight crew took its rest in those places we got a folding aluminium chair put just by the last emergency door, where there was an inscription : forbidden to place any object in front of this door!! At the beginning we were told there would be no meal available and we were given a lot of snaks, but at the end we got meals too. What a memory! I still flew then many times on the Northwest DC10 between AMS and MSP.

[@gustavo320]

Most beautiful jetliner ever made

[@stephenlight647]

From a passenger standpoint, I liked this plane a lot. It seemed smooth and quiet to me. I was always happy to see it on any route I flew.

[@ElAye]

That landing at 7:19 had to be an inspiration for the kiddie bounce house industry. Nvr flown on one.😑

[@BobNSuch]

Always had a love affair with the DC-10 and MD -11 planes. I did fly on a United DC-10. From L.A. to Chicago in 1991. Smoothest plane ride ever

[@marianogermain3326]

Great airliner. Had the chance to fly as a child back in the 90's several times between Miami and Buenos Aires in American Airlines. Great experience, I do miss it. Terrific airliner.

[@28ebdh3udnav]

I saw a few in my small city working for FedEx before I no longer saw them and I can say that they're beautiful. I miss em

[@Gameflyer001]

Flew on one once, back in 2013 aboard KLM's PH-KCE ("Audrey Hepburn") from AMS-YYZ. I had chosen that return flight because I had yet to fly on a Douglas/MD aircraft at that point in my then-16 years of flying as a passenger. It didn't disappoint. I wanted to get on one of its final flights the next year, but I had midterm exams in the way.

[@josesantizo4432]

I have never flown on one but I love them!

[@truekisoka]

I'm so sad that I couldn't experience a trip on any tri-jet. They just look so special in my opinion.

[@seyidmadeh8583]

I flew myself 14 years on the DC-10 and flew also A340, B747 and 5 years on the A380 but my favorite was and will remain the DC-10. The large passengers and cockpit window and the sharp climbing at take off were just fantastic. In the 14 years on the aircraft never had any major problem. The MD 11 is so elegent and so powerful, its just a great joy to watch it... Sadly the company was bought by Boeing who didn't have interests of continuing the development of the DC family....

[@uriblaketheriddimprotege]

my favorite all time aircraft. Was fortunate to fly on it ONCE with Martinair in 2011

[@cefb8923]

Where else are you going to put it and not get asymmetric thrust? The L1011 with the S duct does look way better though.

[@violinforever]

Flew on one of those bad boys in November of 2002 from Amsterdam to Detroit with Northwest Airlines. I was so excited to be on board. Never knew it was my first and last flight on one of them.

[@ebarteldes]

I flew from Salvador to NY and back on VASP Md-11 shortly after they got their international license. The company went under shortly after that. Nice aircraft

[@Edpinguins]

I went with KLM from Amsterdam to Quito in an MD11 and back in 1995.I remember that when taking off in Quito the MD11 already boosted the engines in the last half turn to the runway to already gain speed for the short runway at high altitude there.

[@Flash-uj9wz]

Md-11 is such a beautiful aircraft!

[@JETZcorp]

Here in Portland we get daily visits from UPS AND FedEx MD-11s. Whenever I see one I always stop to soak it in, because very soon you just won't be able to see any more Douglas airplanes in the sky. It's great to see at an airport that's 80% 737s all day.

[@established_on_the_run]

That’s me in Milwaukee, too! While I don’t mind the 737 and A320 parade, the daily UPS MD-11 is always the highlight. FedEx typically flies a 767 or A300 but once and a very long while they bring an MD-11 or even a DC/MD-10 and then I get REAL excited.

[@elijaha773]

Cool video about my favorite plane.

[@established_on_the_run]

I’ve always loved the DC-10 and MD-11 despite their not-great reputation. They were always the largest aircraft that came to my airport when I was a young avgeek. There’s such a distinct and iconic sound they make. A UPS MD-11 wakes me up every morning just before 5 AM while on final approach right over my house. Kind of like it.

[@Cynsham]

I currently work at an aircraft maintenance facility and our entire UPS hangar is filled with nothing with nothing but MD-11F's for most of the year, and since UPS has most of their planes flying right now we have a Fedex MD-11 in the hangar. These planes are beasts, they have a special place in my heart and I have to say that I miss the trijet aircraft, it's unfortunate that the MD11 wasn't as well equipped for passenger flights, but they are still carrying lots and lots of cargo around these days.

[@MrJetformula1]

Good to have worked on cargo versions of this aircraft, doing headsets and loading supervisions. Always stories to tell about it

[@gregshaw30]

I loved the ride of this aircraft. Delta had 17 and I have been on 16 of them. Mostly in the southeast US but a few from US to Japan. These were great airplanes.

[@29brendus]

I flew in an MD-11 in 2007 from Amsterdam to Ghana and back. Before the flight I hated the look of the engine 'on the roof'. However, it was the smoothest, fastest, and most comfortable flight that I can remember, and at this stage I have been on them all. Another of my favourites was the Airbus A340.

[@dewiz9596]

How about a piece on the Lockheed L-1011

[@aussierob7177]

In 1975 i was on a UTA DC-10 30 from Papeete to Los Angeles. At that time i had no knowledge of the problems that plagued that plane.

[@hiroyakubota6986]

I flew SR's SIN-BKK-ZRH-GVA, and liked the seat configuration (3-4-2)!

[@2-girl-dad]

I think I flew one to Germany back in the 90's. I just remember the center row of seats was 5 across and I was smack in the middle seat. That made for a long flight

[@wazzer2348]

Ouch......

[@Unknown_Ooh]

MD-11s are amazing aircrafts. I got to ride on the freighter conversion twice. I've never had the chance to ride the passenger config.

[@JuanGarcia-vb3du]

Miss spotting Martinair's MD-11s at MIA!

[@lawyerpan]

I remember flying to LA years ago on the MD-11. Comfortable business class seats. Twins were more reliable and cheaper to operate, and they started to match and exceed the range of the MD-11. It wasn't difficult for the airlines to make a decision to move towards twins.

[@dm5374]

Until the next bird strike, when you'll wish you had more engines.

[@E4_MAFIA]

Such a beautiful bird.

[@davidyoung7872]

Was a ride on mechanic for the MD-11, From a maintenance standpoint, it was a pain in the ass. The No 2 engine alone made it a headache if you were in a remote part of the world. The 1 good thing was the fuel management system , could do everything from the cockpit, I now am a ride on mechanic for the 747, if it had that fuel system, she would be a perfect airplane

[@sethtan715]

I see A FedEx MD11 almost every week at Changi Airport in Singapore.

[@googlreviews7813]

I live near Hamilton Airport in Ontario, Canada and I Love plane spotting and following on Flightradar24. MD-11 is a beautiful aircraft, and I see FedEx MD11s flying overhead every night 😊

[@jacquelinechellis4036]

Flew on one to Hawaii it was so smooth and very smooth landing.

[@armandomantovani4889]

Flew several times Zurich - Rio de Janiero with Swissair, and a couple of times Alitalia on Rome-Rio route..also got Varig flight to Madrid. Great plane, great comfort

[@ellen21393]

I was a load master for a major cargo airline from 86-2021 and the MD-11 was the most forgiving aircraft in terms of CG. Never saw a Mad Dog out of fwd CG. Piece of cake with regards to weight and balance. Not a pilot so I loved the silhouette as it flared to land. Nothing like it. I was told folks would run to the widows in the terminal to see what was taking off. Such a nice deep growl of the GE engines.

[@established_on_the_run]

@@ellen21393 That sound is unmistakable! I still run to my own window when I know one is coming in (UPS) and when it leaves again at night.

[@mhz9003]

I always loved the look of these planes. Only flew once on a Thai Airways flight. Probably the most comfortable flight I've ever had.

[@1950dcs]

I occasionally flew from Zürich to Paris in Varig’s MD-11s. Comfortable, and a nice change from the usual narrow bodies, but dinner was served on the Paris-Brazil leg of the flight! By the time they’d given the announcements in English, French, German, Spanish and Portuguese, it was almost time to land. My only other MD-11 flight was even shorter: Zürich to Munich in 1999, when Swissair was re-introducing the type after the Nova Scotia crash.

[@dc10fomin65]

Your comment about numerous languages is funny, I used to fly Varig between Miami and Rio and Sao Paulo, but only with English and Portuguese, did that at least monthly for decades, I am now 74, retired and don;t care to be inside an airplane again, unless its a Varig DC10!

[@JDFloyd]

My only flight on a MD-11 was Swiss Air Zurich to Los Angeles.

[@pankracy111]

I have flown with KLM MD-11 for 16 times. Great aircraft.

[@finalascent]

That "third" engine always looked like an afterthought to me...

[@sking2173]

It looked like a tumor to me ...

[@donaldalbano6484]

I've flown on a Delta, KLM (think it was a combo?) MD-11. I do remember the KLM flight where we flew close to 800mph. On the Delta flight, the pilot seemed to have a nervous landing, I remember it felt like a lot of input controls on the landing. Also, it always seems to have a bumpy landing.

[@eyestoenvy]

I worked for AA when the MD11 was still with the carrier and boy did it looked stunning fresh from servicing with the old shiny silver polished livery and red, white, & blue stripes. The plane had lots of character to it. Not the friendliest to handle and service on the ground but it was aviation eye candy nonetheless.

[@roblong8263]

I flew on a KLM MD-11 from Raleigh N.C. to Amsterdam Holland.....about 20 years ago,flew 747-400 the other European trip and A-380.. awesome passenger jet......

[@tspcrowther]

I flew in a Delta MD-11 from London Gatwick to Atlanta in the early 2000's. Although dirty and tired looking on the outside, it was considerably more comfortable and quite inside than a DC-10 I had travelled in not long before and a far less dramatic landing. Also flew higher than any other flight. The in-flight information showing well over 40k feet near the end of the flight. Late go around at Atlanta due to traffic crossing runway, so does that count as 2 trips?

[@themomentchannel3498]

I flew once on a KLM MD-11, it was a very cool experience, a issue with the MD-11 is that its tail engine produces a lot of noise which makes sleeping in the back of the plane pratically impossible

[@gododelgordo]

I worked for American from 1988 to 2000, I remember the hype when they brought them in. Beautiful aircraft, majestic, state of the art at the time. but not long after, the troubles started, so much that it gained the nickname of the "MD911" as the amount of emergency diversions started adding up.

[@miketorguson]

I always preferred the Tri-Star / Sduct, but the DC10 / MD11 has a simple elegance.

[@NitroGnome]

I has nice memories from Finnair's md-11... Actually i has one model plane with Finnair's theme on top of my bookshelf. I got it when i was kid and travelling to Rhodes in md-11...

[@ElectricUAM]

I flew on the DC-10s and MD-11s. If memory serves me well, the DC-10 was rushed out the door in order to compete against Lockheed's amazing LT-1011 and Boeing's 747. Bringing it into this market context you can understand why the company rushed it out. If I recall, it had a cargo door problem. The cargo door mechanism hadn't been fixed in time for the launch. The company was hoping to sort it out before a catastrophe. The catastrophe happened first. Many believe this type of management bled into Boeing after the so-called merger, which explains a bit about the MAX debacle and the ongoing certification sparring with the FAA. I also heard pilots say landing a DC-10 or an MD-11 meant coming hotter than with most airplanes that size. It was good but certainly nothing like the LT-1011. I did fly in one of those OneWorld MD-11s you show in the video. Once I flew an MD-11 on a charter. When we landed in NYC, one of the flaps had an aluminum panel peeling back. I told the crew and no one seemed very concerned. So it went in the 90s...

[@peoplesambassadordm8279]

Md11 was a good aircraft... if these were fitted with NEO just imagine the improvements in range and capacity, not to mention cheaper to overhaul than build new from scratch maximizing profitability in theory on paper

[@bandbigred]

Wait I’ve see this one before …. It didn’t work out too well. And they couldn’t have NEO’d it because the tail engine is restricted in diameter

[@peoplesambassadordm8279]

@@bandbigred the ilyushin 62 has 4 engines on its tail just picture the md11 with 2 gas on the wing n 2 electric on its ass... super gas savings... some out of the box thinking right there... or two hydrogen engines at rear... that's easy to do... if man making rockets to orbit space whats that to do... copyrighted ideas..

[@ToneeBologna.]

The mighty MD-11 never “fell” still going strong today!

[@thanhkimvuong9938]

I always wanted to fly in one as the MD11 is one of my favourite aircraft, sadly that never came to fruition as now all passenger variants are in the history books. the MD11 had a very short life span in the passenger category. I always wondered how noisy it was to fly in one, due to the 3rd engine on top?

[@davidkarmann406]

I flew MD-11 (and DC-10-10 and -30) for FedEx for 13 years. The DC-10 was noisy and the -10 was underpowered, but it was a completely honest airplane. I once flew with a USAF test pilot who had flown over 140 types & he said the 2 nicest-handling of them all were the C-130 and DC-10. The MD-11 was a hoot 99% of the time. Fast, quiet, climbed like a rocket! But there was always some uncertainty on landing. LSAS was making its own inputs, and it was possible to get out of sync with it (PIO: make a correction, nothing seems to happen, make a bigger one, then both kick in resulting in an overreaction). The MD-11 wonderful from takeoff to 50' RA.

[@planesandcooking5142]

Flew once October 1998 London Gatwick to Dallas Ft.. Worth. Very wide cabin and huge windows.

[@cheyenneasiafoxe292]

wow love those old now defunct airlines like Varig!

[@skivijimmy]

When I was a kid, my dad worked for the airlines. I got to fly on all of the first generation Jets, including the dc-10. The DC-10 was an awesome airplane. The few problems that it did have was because of faulty maintenance and pilot errors.

[@randyburton]

I did fly with American Airlines the was my first time see a 3 Engine aircraft but I enjoy the flight it was pretty nice

[@jonathanchester5916]

It was a great bird in the air. Remember flying HNL-SFO back in the late 90's with ATA. Walk-up ticket in flip flops and slept all the way across a center bank of 5 seats. Truth be told it was on the seat well in my sleeping bag, but that's another story. That cabin looked vast in ATA's single cabin config!

[@erict5234]

ATA did not fly md11's, You were probably on one of our lockheed L1011's. The L1011 was a superior aircraft to any widebody the douglas ever made.

[@wiltzu81]

Plane was marvelous machine. And what a beast. Specially when after heavy maintenance they did flow domestic short haul routes with them. Pilots at Finnair loved it. Sadly fuel burn was not in its favour, nor did the cost of operating three engine jet in world of ETOPS. Also passenger appeal was old and obsolete. Finnair replaced MD-11 with A340 as A350 was delayed and hat to operated couple years with used and brand new A340-300. When pilot switched from MD-11 to A340, everyone was joking that they lost plane with engines and had to managed with plane that only had five APU's

[@Psichlo1]

As someone who works on these and used to work on the DC-10, I can tell you that I would take a DC-10 any day of the week. They are great cargo a/c in the sense that they have great lift capabilities, however, their inherent problems seem to come from the fact that the aircraft was design to fly, not hop from city to city the way the freight companies are using them now. The other issue has become availability of parts. I am sure that Boeing would be extremely happy to get rid of the rest of these and move on to more modern aircraft. The saying was always, "how many engines dose the DC-10 and MD-11 have?" "one, the number two".

[@gunner9936]

My dad was one of the engineers on the design team for this airplane in long beach CA, it was his baby, it was ahead of it time