mrivc211
Well-Known Member
That's the plan, at least for our company. Of course, we're the Company that pushed the program, and paid for the program, and has exclusive use of the program.
But we can't do them all at once. I'm not certain, but I believe there is only one factory line doing the conversion currently. (I think there were two, and one was shut down for various reasons.) We would like to convert the airplanes, but they can't fly boxes while they're being converted. It's hard to take an airplane out of revenue service for a couple of days, much less a couple of months. We need all the lift we can get our hands on.
Nope. The conversions began around 1998/99.
It really was. Didn't you see me waving?
Well, you really do, but I'll answer your question anyway.(I kid, I kid.)
The MD-11 was effectively an upgraded DC-10. The MD / DC prefixes are different because the first was developed by the Douglas Corporation launched the first, and then McDonnell bought/merged/saved (save that for another discussion) the Douglas Corporation to become the McDonnell Douglas Corporation.
The upgrades included a longer fuselage, winglets, a tail fuel tank, and upgraded brakes. Replacing the traditional flight deck of round dials and large control panels for each major subsystem (electrics, hydraulics, fuel, and pressurization) operated by a flight engineer was an electronic flight deck, complete with "glass" instrumentation and automatic controllers for all of the flight engineer tasks. It also took the leap from analog control of components to digital control. Just as one example, in the DC-10 the flight engineer accomplishes a long series of tasks, checking the position of swithces, verifiying voltages and quantities, turning on pumps, etc. to start the APU. In the MD-11, either pilot pushes a single button. Voila. The result was the airplane with the highest level of automation, ever. Only the Space Shuttle uses more automation. 777? Nope, close, but less automation.
In the process, the 3-man crew was replaced with a 2-man crew. I believe that's one of the major reasons the conversion from DC-10 to MD-10 was pushed. Another reason was to take advantage of parts commonality. Rather than stock supplies to maintain one type of airplane, stock supplies for one. It should be cheaper, right? Well, I think that aspect was grossly overestimated, and they're still not the same airplane.
To convert the airplanes, they literally rip the skin off the nose, drop the "round dials" (a metaphor for all the DC-10 cockpit stuff) and replace it all with a digital flight deck, sans engineer. The trouble is, the analog jet behind the cockpit is still an analog airplane. So, the compromises begin. The electronic boxes try to mimic the behavior of the MD-11, but they aren't the same. (Kind of like Windows pretending to be a MAC.) Computing power is lost making digital-to-analog conversions and back to talk to fuel pumps, engine controls, etc.
When you walk into the cockpit of an MD-10, you will instantly recognize it as the layout of the MD-11. It's only when you begin to study the airplane that you begin to appreciate the differences and the compromises made to complete the conversion. Some differences are good (the displays are different, but I think better), and some are not so good. But really, there are few aspects of the airplanes that are identical. As you reach for the yoke, you realize that the DC-10/MD-10 has no LSAS (Longitudinal Stability Augmentation System) as the MD-11 does. No auto pitch trim, as the MD-11 does. As you reach for the throttles you realize that the DC-10/MD-10 has no FADEC as the MD-11 does. Your feet touch rudder pedals and you're reminded that most MD-10s have no autobrakes - - all MD-11s do. Even the seat that you sit in is a different part number (although it is identical in appearance and operation) than the same seat in the other airplane. You can't just swap one for the other. (Trust me, I've been there when we took a delay for changing the Captain's seat out - - twice.) Displays are missing data because there is no digital interface with all the components. The Air System controller, by design, can never be operated in an Automatic mode. Operating the same controller in the MD-11 in Manual Mode can only be allowed by MEL, and it imposes further restrictions and increased workload on the crew.
But, the biggest gain, I believe, is to be gained by the schedulers. Whereas now there are two groups of pilots that fly the airplanes, one that flies the MD-11/MD-10, and another that flies the DC-10, when the conversion is complete, there will be one larger group that flies only the MD-11/MD-10. It drastically improves crew management.
But, we've still got a Pinto with Mustang guts.
Yeah, that's what I should have said.
Now, back to my ramen noodles.
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I like ramen too, but I only developed a taste for it after college. According to my old gf, I should be a out of money college student to like'em. I beg to differ.
BTW- nice post.