McDonnell Douglas MD-80 (MD-83) (MD83)

The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 began life as the DC-9 Super 80, the largest and last major development of the DC-9 that Douglas had launched in 1965. By the late 1970s airlines wanted a quieter, larger DC-9 for the growing short-haul market, and McDonnell Douglas responded with a 4.3 m stretch, a larger wing, higher weights and the new Pratt & Whitney JT8D-200 series engines, which were quieter and more efficient than the earlier JT8Ds. The Super 80 flew on 18 October 1979 and Swissair put it into service in October 1980; the family was renamed MD-80 in 1983 as the company sought a new identity for its products.

The MD-80 arrived at the right moment. US deregulation in 1978 had created hub-and-spoke networks that needed a 140-seat jet with good economics, and American Airlines' 1984 order, with leases structured so cheaply that the aircraft were nicknamed 'free', made it the backbone of the largest US carrier for thirty years. American eventually flew more than 360; Delta, TWA, Continental, Northwest, Alitalia, SAS, Iberia, Austrian and Finnair all built large fleets. The series grew into the MD-81, the higher-thrust MD-82, the long-range MD-83 of 1985 with more fuel and 21,000 lb JT8D-219 engines, the short MD-87 and the glass-cockpit MD-88.

Competition from the 737-300 and A320 in the late 1980s exposed the MD-80's limits: its 1960s fuselage was narrow, and the rear-mounted JT8Ds, however improved, were noisy and thirsty compared with high-bypass turbofans under a wing. The V2500-powered MD-90 and the smaller MD-95, which became the Boeing 717 after the 1997 merger, were the family's last developments. Production ended in 1999 after more than 1,190 MD-80s.

The 'Mad Dog', as crews called it, soldiered on for two more decades. American retired its last in September 2019 and Delta its MD-88s and MD-90s in June 2020, brought forward by the pandemic. A handful still fly with cargo and charter operators, and the type's rugged, pilot-flown character has earned it a devoted following.

The MD-80 is a classic rear-engined, T-tailed design: two JT8D-200 series turbofans on the aft fuselage, which keeps the cabin ahead of them quiet and the wing uncluttered, and a horizontal stabiliser mounted at the top of the fin. The wing was enlarged over the DC-9-50's with root plugs and new tips, giving more span and fuel, and uses full-span leading-edge slats and double-slotted flaps for strong field performance.

The MD-83 variant combined the highest-thrust JT8D-219 engines with additional fuel tanks in the holds and a maximum take-off weight of 160,000 lb (72.6 tonnes), extending range to around 2,500 nautical miles. The flight deck was a mix of eras: the MD-81 through -83 kept mostly electromechanical instruments with a digital flight guidance system, while the MD-88 and MD-90 introduced electronic displays. Pilots prized the aircraft's directness and its tolerance of hot, high and short runways.

Scheduled passenger service has all but ended. The last significant operators were Delta (MD-88 and MD-90, retired 2020), American (MD-82 and MD-83, retired 2019), Allegiant (MD-80s retired 2018) and a dwindling group in Africa, Latin America and Iran, where sanctions kept old fleets flying. Today the type is mostly a freighter and charter aircraft: USA Jet and Everts Air Cargo in the United States, Aeronaves TSM in Mexico and several ad-hoc charter operators fly converted MD-80s and MD-83s, and a few are kept in VIP or sports-team configurations. Dozens are preserved or in storage.

If you find yourself on an MD-80 today it is almost certainly a charter, and you are flying a piece of history. The cabin is a narrow 3-2 layout, three seats on the left and two on the right, so the right-hand side offers pairs with no middle seat, a quirk passengers of the American and Delta era remember fondly. Seats were typically 17–18 inches wide at 31–32 inches of pitch. The front half of the cabin is remarkably quiet because the engines are far behind it; the rear rows, beside the JT8Ds, are loud and the engines' rumble on take-off is unmistakable. Overhead bins are small by modern standards, and the low-slung rear airstair on some aircraft is a reminder of the DC-9's self-sufficient design. For the best seat, sit in the forward right-hand pairs; avoid anything behind the wing if you want to hear yourself think.

The MD-80 is a long, slim jet with two engines on the rear fuselage and a T-tail, a layout it shares with the DC-9, MD-90 and 717. Telling them apart is a matter of length and engines: the MD-80 is noticeably longer than a DC-9 and has larger JT8D-200 nacelles with a prominent exhaust mixer; the MD-90 has much bigger, rounder V2500 nacelles; the 717 is short, with its engine pylons angled and smaller nacelles. Within the MD-80 family the -87 is the short one, while -81, -82, -83 and -88 look identical from outside. The pointed nose with its small, rounded cockpit windows and the two overwing exits set close together are classic DC-9 heritage.