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AvGeekery[1]: "On January 10, 1990, the McDonnellDouglas MD-11 took to the skies for the very first time over Long Beach, California"; Airport Spotting[5] and Wikipedia[2] agree.- Start
- Jan 10, 199090% CONFIDENCEfrom the source
McDonnell Douglas MD-11 Makes Its First Flight From Long Beach
Main competitors
- Airbus A340-300 · Airbus
250-290 seats in three classes - three-class range about 12,408 km (6,700 nmi) - four CFM56-5C engines - in service since March 1993
Source - Boeing 747-400 · Boeing
416 passengers in three classes - range about 7,285 nmi - four PW4000, CF6 or RB211 engines - in service since February 1989
Source
The first MD-11 trijet, a stretched and updated DC-10 derivative, took off from Long Beach on 10 January 1990, about nine months after its original schedule.
- McDonnell Douglas launched the MD-11 on 30 December 1986 with 52 firm orders and 40 options from ten airlines and two lessors, in passenger, combi and freighter versions[2][3]
- Assembly of the first prototype began on 9 March 1988 at Long Beach; the first flight, planned for March 1989, slipped after manufacturing problems, supplier delays and labour disputes, with the rollout delayed until September 1989[2]
- The airplane first flew on 10 January 1990; FAA certification followed on 8 November 1990 and the joint European authorities certified it on 17 October 1991 after about 200 issues were resolved[1][2][5]
- The MD-11 fell short of its range and fuel-burn targets, which hurt sales: only 200 were built, and American retired its passenger fleet in 1999[1][4]
- Finnair took the first delivery on 7 December 1990 and flew it into service on 20 December 1990[1][3]
Notable features
- MD-11 (passenger): length about 202 ft 2 in (61.6 m) with GE engines, wingspan 170 ft 6 in (51.97 m), height 57 ft 11 in[2]
- Seats: 298 in a 3-class layout (16 first, 56 business, 226 economy), up to 410 in 10-abreast economy[2]
- Three engines: Pratt & Whitney PW4460/62 or General Electric CF6-80C2D1F of about 61,500-62,000 lbf each; maximum takeoff weight 602,500-625,500 lb[2]
- Cruise Mach 0.83 (MMO 0.88); range 6,725 nmi with 298 passengers; ceiling 43,200 ft[2]
Translations completed using Gemini 3.8 Flash.
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