McDonnell Douglas MD-94X

Last updated
MD-94X
McDonnell Douglas MD-94X propfan aircraft.png
A model of the proposed McDonnell Douglas MD-94X clean-sheet aircraft with two propfan engines.
Role Airliner
National originUnited States
Manufacturer McDonnell Douglas
StatusCanceled project
Number builtNone
Developed from McDonnell Douglas MD-80

The McDonnell Douglas MD-94X was a planned propfan-powered airliner, intended to begin production in 1994. Announced in January 1986, [1] the aircraft was to seat between 160 and 180 passengers, [2] possibly using a twin-aisle configuration. [3] An all-new design that was investigated internally since at least 1984, [4] the MD-94X was developed in the mid-1980s to compete with the similar Boeing 7J7. The price of oil would have to be at least US$1.40 per gallon for McDonnell Douglas to build the plane, though. [5] Configuration was similar to the MD-80, but advanced technologies such as canard noseplanes, [6] laminar and turbulent boundary layer control, side-stick flight control (via fiber optics), and aluminum-lithium alloy construction were under consideration. [7] Airline interest in the brand-new propfan technology was weak despite claims of up to a 60% reduction in fuel use, and both aircraft were canceled.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Under development at the same time were two propfan-powered commercial variants of the MD-80. The "MD-91X" would have seated 100-110 and entered service in 1991. The "MD-92X," a 150-seat aircraft targeted for service entry in 1992, [2] was originally to be a 76 in stretch (1.9 m) of the MD-80. [3] The price per engine would have been an estimated US$1.6 million dollars more for the propfans than for the MD-80's Pratt & Whitney JT8D-200 series engines. [8] Existing DC-9s and MD-80s would also have been eligible for an upgrade to the new propfan powerplants. [9] On May 19, 1987, McDonnell Douglas tested General Electric Aviation's unducted fan (UDF) engine in flight for the first time on an MD-80 demonstrator, [10] an aircraft that was restored after suffering an empennage separation in 1980 during the landing of a certification test flight for the DC-9 Super 80. [11]

A propfan-powered military variant of the MD-87 or MD-91X, called the P-9D, was also proposed as an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft. The P-9D was intended for use in the United States Navy's Long Range Air ASW-Capable Aircraft (LRAACA) program, which was to initially replace the existing fleet of 125 Lockheed P-3 Orion aircraft. [12] In October 1988, the Navy selected a derivative of the P-3 Orion (which was later renamed Lockheed P-7A) as the LRAACA aircraft over the P-9D. [13]

On October 10, 1989, McDonnell Douglas publicly announced that it was abandoning the development of propfan-powered aircraft, because of airline companies were concerned about the technology risk and cost compared to a conventionally-powered airliner. [14]

Specifications

A desktop scaled model of the proposed McDonnell Douglas MD-91 propfan airliner. McDonnell Douglas MD-91 desktop model (cropped).jpg
A desktop scaled model of the proposed McDonnell Douglas MD-91 propfan airliner.
Characteristics
AirplaneMD-91X [15] MD-92X [15] MD-94XP-9D [12]
Derived from [9] MD-87MD-88N/A (clean sheet)MD-87 or MD-91X
Mixed-class seats114165N/A
Sale price [16] US$25 million>US$30 million
Length120 ft 11 in (36.86 m) [17] 157 ft 4 in (47.96 m) [17] 132 ft 2 in (40.3 m)
Operating empty weight 83,508 lb (37,879 kg)91,579 lb (41,540 kg)
MTOW 133,000 lb (60,000 kg)155,000 lb (70,000 kg)165,000 lb (75,000 kg)
Cruise speed Mach 0.76430 knots (490 mph; 800 km/h)
Range 2,563 nmi (2,949 mi; 4,747 km)2,424 nmi (2,789 mi; 4,489 km)2,000 nmi (2,300 mi; 3,700 km) (4-hour loitering time)
Takeoff field length [18] 5,200 ft (1,600 m)7,000 ft (2,100 m)
Engines (×2) General Electric GE36-C22
or PW-Allison 578 		General Electric GE36-C25
or PW-Allison 578		General Electric GE36 or PW-Allison 578-D [13]
Thrust per engine22,000 lbf (98 kN)25,000 lbf (110 kN)25,000 lbf (110 kN)
Lower hold cargo volume773 cu ft (21.9 m3)1,250 cu ft (35 m3)N/A

See also

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

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References

  1. ↑ Ramsden, J. M. (February 22, 1986). "Propfans—'the genie is out of the bottle'" (PDF). Air Transport. Flight International . Vol. 129, no. 3999. New Delhi, India. p. 8. ISSN   0015-3710 . Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  2. 1 2 Haggerty, James J. (1987-08-01). "Toward future flight". Spinoff (PDF) (1987 ed.). NASA (published August 1987). pp.  30–33. hdl:2060/19880002195. OCLC   17914180. Archived from the original on April 12, 2009.
  3. 1 2 Kehe, R. N.; Morrison, Jr., H. F. (September 15–18, 1986). Cargo airlift: what's old? What's new?. International Forum for Air Cargo and International Air Cargo Exposition. SAE Technical Papers (13th ed.). Basel, Switzerland (published October 1986). doi:10.4271/861152. ISSN   0148-7191. JSTOR   44470563. OCLC   5818017739.
  4. ↑ Hawley, Arthur V. (July 1993). Development of stitched/RTM primary structures for transport aircraft (Report). Vol. CR-191441. McDonnell Douglas Aerospace - Transport Aircraft. p.  13. hdl:2060/19950025000. OCLC   34053899 – via NASA.
  5. ↑ Moll, Nigel (December 1986). "GA strong at Farnborough". Minifeature. Flying . Vol. 113, no. 12. pp. 96–97. ISSN   0015-4806.
  6. ↑ Green, William; Swanborough, Gordon; Mowinski, John (12 September 1988). Modern commercial aircraft. Portland House (published November 1, 1988). ISBN   9780517633694.
  7. ↑ Morris, John (September 7–12, 1986). A propfan status report (PDF). International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences (15th ed.). London, England, United Kingdom. pp. 1091–1098.
  8. ↑ Harr, Amy, ed. (January 1990). "Propfan is shelved". Reporting Points. Flying . Vol. 117, no. 1. p. 13. ISSN   0015-4806.
  9. 1 2 Learmount, David (June 13, 1987). "Propfan: the price factor". Flight International . Seattle, Washington and Long Beach, California, USA. pp. 76–79. ISSN   0015-3710 . Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  10. ↑ Mongelluzzo, Bill (May 19, 1987). "New engine gets first test flight" . Journal of Commerce . ISSN   1530-7557.
  11. ↑ "Hard landing: The demonstration MD-80 slammed into runway, lost its tail". History. Avgeekery.com. December 25, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  12. 1 2 "MDC studies propfan ASW" (PDF). Defence. Flight International . Vol. 132, no. 4076. Long Beach, California, USA. August 22, 1987. p. 8. ISSN   0015-3710.
  13. 1 2 Bailey, John (September 2, 1989). "After Orion". Flight International . Vol. 136, no. 4180. Los Angeles, California, USA. pp. 31–33. ISSN   0015-3710.
  14. ↑ Vartabedian, Ralph (October 11, 1989). "Douglas unveils 2 jets, drops prop fan" . Los Angeles Times . ISSN   0458-3035.
  15. 1 2 Henne, P. A. (July 31 – August 2, 1989). MD-90 transport aircraft design. AIAA/AHS/ASEE Aircraft Design, Systems and Operations Conference. Seattle, Washington, USA. doi:10.2514/6.1989-2023. OCLC   1109563682.
  16. ↑ Donne, Michael (September 7, 1988). "Farnborough International Air Show: US launches propfan sales drive". UK News. Financial Times . No. 30635. p. 8. ISSN   0307-1766.
  17. 1 2 "Douglas ponders MD-80 stretch" (PDF). Flight International . Vol. 134, no. 4140. November 19, 1988. p. 17. ISSN   0015-3710.
  18. ↑ at MTOGW, sea level, 84 °F (29 °C)

Bibliography

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