Hacker Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 6 hours ago, Stoker said: No idea, but my uneducated guess is that the common MD-10/11 type rating means that the MD-10s will keep flying longer than they would have if they were a different type, which would in theory keep the supply chain open. You know the "MD-10" is a different aircraft than the DC-10, in that the MD-10 has been modified with the flight deck of the MD-11 (which eliminates the flight engineer position)? It is a different type rating (for the pilots). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stoker Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 3 hours ago, Hacker said: You know the "MD-10" is a different aircraft than the DC-10, in that the MD-10 has been modified with the flight deck of the MD-11 (which eliminates the flight engineer position)? It is a different type rating (for the pilots). Yes, but given that you can convert a DC-10 into an MD-10 I assume there is at least some level of parts commonality (or else why convert them at all?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hacker Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 (edited) 3 hours ago, Stoker said: Yes, but given that you can convert a DC-10 into an MD-10 I assume there is at least some level of parts commonality (or else why convert them at all?). The purpose was for operators of both DC-10s and MD-11s to have a common pilot type rating to streamline training costs, as well as modernize the avionics and remove the FE position (and remove the weight associated with both). I still don't know what kind of parts commonality there is in terms of the airframe, systems, etc, between the KC-10 and MD-11. The MD has a different wing, different horizontal stab, a different empennage, a different #2 engine design...so far as I'm aware, parts commonality with the DC-10 fleet was never a selling point of the MD-11. FedEx is slowly retiring the entire MD-10 fleet, so there could be a small number of MD-10s available in the boneyard to support KC-10 fleet sustainment, although as mentioned earlier it sounds like the parts which really matter to keeping the KC-10 mission capable are KC-10 specific. Edited September 22, 2020 by Hacker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sua Sponte Posted September 27, 2020 Share Posted September 27, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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