End of an ErAA: Aeroclassics 1/400 Ozark DC-9.
THE MAD DOG SUPER 80 BOWS OUT AT AMERICAN Article and Photos by Richard Stretton AA MD-82 N473AA Dragon Wings 1:400 Scale early colors.
From the time that deregulation of the US civil aviation market began, in 1978, until at least the turn of the century American Airlines stood as probably the best run and most successful of the ten legacy trunk airlines that pushed, or were pushed, into the new age. Partly this was due to superb leadership, but an important factor for American was also its choice of the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 (or Super 80 as it preferred to call it) as its primary equipment on short-medium routes. No aircraft, since the DC-3, has so personified American, and its importance in the carrier’s history is matched by few other aircraft/airline combinations. 2019 marked the end of the type’s career with the airline and almost the end of the MD-80 in civil service in the USA, with only Delta still
using the type in any numbers. It may be seen as a gas guzzler today but as McDonnell Douglas’ last great civil success its place in the history of aviation in the US is assured. It wasn’t always the case that the DC-9 Super 80’s place in history would be so positively looked upon. As the name suggests the aircraft was McDonnell Douglas’ attempt to stretch its successful DC-9 series into the 1980s, as a viable replacement for older 727-100s and 200s. Unfortunately for McDonnell Douglas the optimistic and lucrative mid-70s would turn into hard times for the airlines at the end of the decade. Hit by both the impact of deregulation (high competition and low fares), a worsening global economy and the 1981 PATCO strike most airlines were bleeding red ink and not in the market for new aircraft.
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