McDonnell Douglas Jetliners: DCs and MDs (Osprey Civil Aircraft) [Paperback]

Robbie Shaw (Author)

Book Description

Series: New Colour Series | Publication Date: October 30, 1998

Recently bought by rivals Boeing, McDonnell Douglas has a long history in the airliner business, stretching back to World War II and the DC-3. This volume covers all their aircraft, from the DC-3 to the 405-seater MD-11 trijet.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This lavishly illustrated series from Osprey is packed with detailed cutaways and glorious full colour photography, including specially sourced air-to-air pictures, depicting both civilian and military aircraft.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (October 30, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 185532752X
• ISBN-13: 978-1855327528
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 7.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,042,539 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good information, good pictures, lacks some detail, May 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: McDonnell Douglas Jetliners: DCs and MDs (Osprey Civil Aircraft) (Paperback)

This book has good detail and coverage of the DC-9, MD-80, DC-10, and MD-11. However, there is not as much good detail on the very first DC-8s, especially the original turbojets. There also is not much detail on the MD-90. The text is generally good, although there are some factual inconsistencies. Overall, a pretty good book with some good pictures, but not a complete coverage of all Douglas types.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Avoiding touchy subjects., April 22, 2004

By 

A. J. Cherrington (New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: McDonnell Douglas Jetliners: DCs and MDs (Osprey Civil Aircraft) (Paperback)

Part of the Osprey Civil Aircraft series. Mainly a book of pictures.

Knowing the personal opinions that this author puts into his narrations, I wasn't expecting alot of indepth research. Starting with the DC-8, we are taken through the fleet and it's many forms. On to the DC-9 family and then to the DC-10.

As expected, the author keeps the narrative of this (DC-10) airlner's early history quiet by simply not writing about it. Instead he focuses on the positives and the fact that the DC-10 did enjoy a good reputation among pilots, cabin crew and passengers alike.

Next up the post McDonnell-Douglas merge airliners starting with the continuing improvments of the DC-9, the MD-80 and MD-90 family.
Like the B737 they were the next generation and before the Boeing takeover the ultra efficient MD-90 was going to be the new generation to go head to head with the B737,700-900 family.
The shorter '95 was allowed to live on as the new B717 untill the global climate brought production to an end in 2007.

The last entry is the failed MD-11 trijet.

The long overdue stretch of the DC-10 arrived in the early 1990s however it failed to live up to expectations at first and by the time improvments were made, potential airline customers had walked away.
All was not lost as the MD-11 has proven to be an excellent freighter, Boeing promoted it as the B11F but the lack of orders no longer warranted a production line and it closed in 1998. The MD-11 will live on in both roles as Boeing will continue to support the type even though they now no longer build it.

An overview of this book reveals a good batch of pictures and a few rare gems, such as the Rich International DC-8s at the end of that company's exsistance. But as usuall the author's imput leaves you alittle depressed with his constant reminding of fallen airlines.

Mainly good for pictures.