Caught this beauty while at Balboa Naval Medical Center. Sorry for the slight blur; I couldn’t get my camera to focus.
I like seeing DC-10’s land, but I don’t when the gear collapses :(
All of FedEx’s DC-10s are now MD-10’s :)
For those of you who are confused, an MD-10 is a DC-10 with the cockpit window of an MD-11. It’s basically a transplant. :-)
That’s a cool sight!
You mean cockpit instruments
Isn’t the MD-10 just a DC-10 with a different name?
Nope!
The MD-10 is an advanced DC-10, which includes:
- structural reinforcement of the wings, fuselage, etc. to allow for higher MTOW and a higher service life
- structural modifications to add a main cabin cargo door
- reinforcement of the cabin floor structure to increase load capacity
- cockpit conversion from 3-crew to 2-crew with new instruments
- overhauls of wiring and systems, along with a complete inspection of the entire aircraft
- replacements of both wire harnesses and wire insulation
- overhauled versions of the DC-10’s engines
- a shiny new type certificate
So the MD-10 is just a DC-10 highly modified for cargo?
With the modifications aspect, the MD-10’s are outfitted with FLIR’s (Forward Looking Infrared). I took these pictures when I was in Memphis. This would be another way to identify it as a MD-10 if your close enough or if you have the zoom on your camera.
You can see the FLIR located in the Red box.
The whole reason it was converted to MD-11’s system is so that the pilots could somewhat have the same type ratings and training as your MD-11 pilot. It’s pretty much like how some airlines have an all Airbus fleet, pilots don’t need to be trained that extensively for each different aircraft cause the cockpit design is pretty much the same for Airbus aircraft. Thats why its called the MD-10.
Nice pics,hope see more
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