The Douglas DC-9 was the second jet aircraft produced at Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach, California and first flew on 25 February 1965. It entered service on 8 December the same year, with Delta Air Lines.
Designed for short to medium haul routes, it typically seated 72 to 135 passengers. The most popular variant was the DC-9-30, which was built to compete with the Boeing 737.
Douglas DC-9 Video
Following on from last weeks video about the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, this week we take a look at the Douglas DC-9. Running for a little over a minute, this is a snapshot about the aircraft produced by Bloomberg when it was finally retired.
As the video points out, the aircraft has some legacy, being the basis for the later McDonnell Douglas MD-80 and MD-90 series. The more modern Boeing 717 started life as the MD-95 before Boeing took over McDonnell Douglas, so it is essentially a 1990s update of the DC-9-30.
What Is A Night Landing In A DC-9 Like?
Night landings when viewed from the cockpit of an airliner have a unique romance about them that can’t be beat. Here is four minute video of a landing in Merida, Mexico filmed from the jumpseat.
The views are amazing as it was a very clear night. It gives you some indication of what pilots might get to see during the course of their duties. Pretty cool stuff!
Overall Thoughts
There were 976 Douglas DC-9s delivered during the production run which lasted from 1965 to 1982. Final services in the USA were by Delta Air Lines, who inherited a fleet from Northwest when they merged. At the time, the aircraft were over 35 years old and still providing stellar service.
Just like the Boeing 727 and BAC One-Eleven, the Douglas DC-9 also had rear stairs built in that dropped down under the tail. Airlines around the world used the aircraft, such as Eastern Airlines, TWA, both TAA and Ansett in Australia, SAS, Finnair, British Midland, Air Canada, Southern Airlines, North Central, Allegheny, JAT, KLM, Swissair and lots more.
Have you flown on board the DC-9 before? What did you think? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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I flew on a DC-9 from Flint, MI to Atlanta on New Year’s Eve 2010 on Delta. I was 15 at the time and I was on cloud 9 when I found out the first leg of my trip to Jacksonville would be on a DC-9 because I knew full well that that bird’s days were numbered.
I would have been just as delighted as you if I had that aircraft on a flight. That was very late in the DC-9’s career as you know. Hope you enjoyed the flight!! Thanks for the comment.
The boarding announcements used to be different. At my parent’s hometown airport, they made announcements in the “classic” way into the 80s. What I mean is most airlines had some sort of nickname or terminology hoping to make their version of what everyone else flew seem different.
You might hear “Eastern Airlines announces Flight 213 DC-9 Whisperjet service to Louisville and Washington D.C. ready for boarding at Gate 12.” Not to be outdone: “Delta Airlines Flight 453 is ready for boarding at Gate 3, DC-9 fanjet service to Memphis and New Orleans.” PanAm had Clippers. Piedmont had Pacemakers. American’s Astrojets. Certainly Delta’s “fanjet” wasn’t very glitzy or romantic, but it served the purpose.
Anyway – on point – the Allegheny / USAir “Vistajets” as I recall were outfitted with club seating at the first two rows, separated by a table. Very nice arrangement for working, although I wasn’t fond of sitting backwards. Seemed it was impossible to look up without catching someone’s eye – awkward. Ozark ran DC=9s back and forth from NYC Laguardia to St. Louis, with the westbound trips I rode in the evening always serving a decent supper – with a fresh flower on each tray. Nice touch.
Like other JT8D-powered planes, the throwback from the target-style reversers created soot stains on the fuselage behind the engines – another blog site made the point that TWA gave their -9s “tail washes” to keep the birds looking fresh. Later on, burner can revisions reduced the engine’s notorious smoke and soot output, thus reducing the staining problem. (Boeing switched from double-clamshell units on the 727-100s and initial -200s to cascade-style units – similar to devices on the 1-11 and 880 – for the advanced -200s which helped with this situation and fewer moving parts, along with the improved engines.)
The Douglas twin-jet, along with the 727 and to a slightly lesser degree the 737-200, were the backbone of the US short to medium haul routes for many years. The -9s and I flew together from my youth in the 60s to their retirement. Airlines (including the MD versions) were Allegheyn/USAir, American, Continental, Delta, Eastern, North Central, Northwest, PSA, Ozark, Republic and TWA. Sorry to ramble on, but this series has reminded me of long forgotten moments.
I love that airplane! Best teaching aircraft, old-school systems… and the MadDog (MD80) excellent aircraft…. with -219 engines is just a rocket! I started as a mechanic at Aeropostal airlines working on these birds…
Oh that’s great you have worked on them! From what I hear, the Douglas products are pretty sturdily built and tend to last. Thanks for the comment!
My Mom was a Reservations Agent for Ozark Airlines so I basically grew up on those birds. Flew the -10, -30, -40 and -50 by way of Ozark, Delta, Air Canada, Eastern, Northwest, TWA and Hawaiian. Got to board via the tail cone stairs once or twice. My shortest flight on the -9 was from Peoria, Illinois to Champaign/Urbana Illinois, a whopping 86 nautical miles and my longest flight was on the rare DC-9-30LR on Ozark from St. Louis to San Diego, a 1,557 nm run.
On a certain aviation forum, my user name is OzarkD9S, so that will give you all an indication of my fondness for that plane.
US aviation was certainly more interesting back in the day, what with there being so many different airlines all around the country. I remember reading about Ozark, then finding out about the Ozarks. I used to pronounce Allegheny wrong until an American person said it to me. They were interesting times! That’s some difference between shortest and longest flight but I’d say you definitely know your DC-9s after all that experience. I do have a TAA DC-9 safety card that I found in the terminal in Sydney in 1989 – that’s really my only connection to the aircraft. Great that you are a fan!
If you count the MD80’s and 90’s, I was and currently am a fan of this plane. Less middle seats mean are a big plus. I also flew BWIA to Barbados once where the rear of the DC-9 had a self-lowering staircase, which let us just walk down onto the tarmac. I loved the idea.
Very true, that staircase makes a difference when it comes to getting on and off. It’s unmistakable that you’re boarding a flight. I guess nowadays the only chance of 5 abreast is the Bombardier CSeries – oops, I mean the Airbus A220 – which is coming into service with Delta. Hopefully lots of airlines operate it so we can all enjoy no middle seat. And you flew Bee-wee! 🙂 Awesome! I haven’t been to Barbados yet either, but it’s on the list. Thanks for the comment!
Flying on Northwest and TWA (post-Ozark) were good ways to be aboard a DC-9. I remember being on many DC-9-10, DC-3-30’s and a few DC-9-50’s. Sadly, I have never been aboard a DC-9-20, those flying only for Scandinavian. The DC-9-20 was, in general, a DC-9-10 body with DC-9-30 wings.
Yes, I always found the Douglas marks to be somewhat confusing when compared to Boeing for example. Sometimes just different engines meant a different mark altogether. Great that you’ve been on most of them though – I haven’t flown on a DC-9, only the MD-80 and 717, so I guess I partly know what it’s like. Thanks for the comment!
The first plane I flew on as a child on a Christmas time trip from MCI to New York (LGA I think) on TWA DC-9 quite the memory. I was about 9 years old at the time in the mid 1970’s.
I’d say a lot of people first flew on the DC-9 as it was so popular an aircraft. Sounds like a great experience! At 9 you can usually remember it pretty well – my first flights were at 9 also. Thanks for the comment!
The edge of that cockpit jumpseat always used to hurt my ass!
Hahaha! Was it particularly bare bones then? Sure sounds like it! Thanks for the comment!
It was about a 14 inch square that folded from the wall next to the bifold door then has a small flip-up back. It was a small cushion but there was a metal lip on the front edge that dig into the back of your legs. Sitting on that thing was always a last resort!
Sounds like it was made primarily to save weight, definitely not for comfort. I can imagine that would be a last resort – not fun! Hopefully you wouldn’t be having to do multiple sectors in that!
I listen to Joe Ely’s Song “Dallas” every time I pass through Dallas.
Well there you go, Dallas from a DC-9. The aircraft has been preserved in song – there are a few others that mention aircraft too, so that’s an idea for another post, I think! Thanks for that!