Luft Douglas DC-9

ADDITIONAL FEATURES:
* A self-contained stairway at the forward entry door for quicker turn-around times.
* A small baggage door located next to the forward entry door which utilized a pull-out style rack which passengers could place their carry-on baggage in as they boarded. This rack then slid back into the baggage compartment. At the destination it could be opened & pulled out for the passengers to pick-up their carry-on baggage upon deplaning. This feature was later dropped and the cargo/baggage area expanded instead.
* An Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) integrated into the airplane which would provide electrical and air pressure to start the engines rather than depend on ground electrical and air supply. This would speed up turn-around times.
* Aircraft was designed so it can easily be "stretched" for additional capacity & payload and therefore utilized as a future replacement for the Lockheed Constellations & Electras & Douglas DC-6s & DC-7s.

ESTIMATED PRICE: $3,100,000 USD

	A Brief History of Douglas Aircraft's Project 2086
	A DC-9 Prototype Finalist:
	Approximately 1 year after terminating Project 2067, Douglas Aircraft Corporation announced in October, 1961 that it was proposing a new two engine jetliner which could profitably operate over very short airline sectors of 300-500 miles, and up to 1000 miles.
	This new proposed jetliner was named Project 2086 which later became the Douglas DC-9 "Compact Jet."
	Whereas the earlier Project 2067 design was planned as four engine jetliner replacement for the DC-6 propliner with an operating range up to 2500 miles, the Project 2086 design was planned as a two engine jetliner replacement for the Douglas DC-4, Convair 240/340/440, Martin 404 & Viscount Aircraft which operated on these much shorter stage lengths.
	In finalizing the design of the Project 2086 > DC-9 Jetliner, the Douglas engineers narrowed the layout of the aircraft down to two types.
	The first type utilized pylon mounted engines, one mounted to each wing.
	The second type was to mount each of the engines to the body of the aircraft at the tail and utilize a "T" tail design for the horizontal & vertical stabilizers.
	JRLucariny DC-9 Model Both of these Project 2086 proposals were designed to be approximately the same in size, weight, payload, passenger capacity, range and would use the same type of Pratt & Whitney or Rolls Royce engines .
	In the end, it was Donald Douglas Senior who made the choice of which design type that would be implemented and that, of course, was the rear mounted engines with the "T" tail design which we know & love as the Douglas DC-9.
	Mr. Douglas was actually leaning toward the wing mounted engine design (as the model above depicts) but was persuaded by his staff that the tail mounted engines would make the cabin much quieter and thus have more passenger appeal. The engineers also felt that there were aerodynamic advantages to using the "T" tail design, which were later proven correct, and this reinforced Mr. Douglas' decision. On April 8, 1963 Donald Douglas Sr. officially launched the DC-9 Program with certification and first deliveries to the airlines expected in early 1966.
	FINAL DIMENSIONS & SPECIFICATIONS LENGTH: 100.3 Feet (30.57 Meters) WINGSPAN: 87.4 Feet (26.64 Meters)
	MAXIMUM TAKEOFF WEIGHT: 77,000 Pounds (34,927 Kilograms) MAXIMUM LANDING WEIGHT: 73,350 Pounds (33,271 Kilograms) ZERO FUEL WEIGHT: 60,000 Pounds (27,216 Kilograms) TAKEOFF RUNWAY LENGTH: 4,750 Feet (1,448 Meters) With a Full Load of Passengers CRUISING ALTITUDE: 35,000 Feet (10,668 Meters) CRUISING SPEED: 560 Miles Per Hour (901 Kilometers Per Hour) POWER PLANT: Pratt & Whitney JT8D-5 Turbofan Jet THRUST PER ENGINE: 12,000 Pounds (5,443 Kilograms) Static Thrust
	PASSENGER CONFIGURATION/CAPACITY: All First Class: 55 Passengers in Four Abreast Seating* All Coach Class: 77 Passengers in Five Abreast Seating* * Both Configurations Using Conventional Airline Seats with Passenger Service Units (lights, air vents, flight attendant call button) located above the passenger, underneath the luggage rack (later replaced with luggage bins to store carryon luggage). RANGE: 500 Miles (805 Kilometers) with 77 Passengers & Baggage or up to 1,100 Miles (1,770 Kilometers) with 55 Passengers & Baggage.
	ADDITIONAL FEATURES: * A self-contained stairway at the forward entry door for quicker turn-around times. * A small baggage door located next to the forward entry door which utilized a pull-out style rack which passengers could place their carry-on baggage in as they boarded. This rack then slid back into the baggage compartment. At the destination it could be opened & pulled out for the passengers to pick-up their carry-on baggage upon deplaning. This feature was later dropped and the cargo/baggage area expanded instead. * An Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) integrated into the airplane which would provide electrical and air pressure to start the engines rather than depend on ground electrical and air supply. This would speed up turn-around times. * Aircraft was designed so it can easily be "stretched" for additional capacity & payload and therefore utilized as a future replacement for the Lockheed Constellations & Electras & Douglas DC-6s & DC-7s. ESTIMATED PRICE: $3,100,000 USD
	SOURCES FOR THIS DATA: "Great Airliners Volume Four Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9" by Terry Waddington Douglas Aircraft Company Publications & Press Release. More in Link Drawings: Douglas Aircraft Corporation DC-9 'Project 2067' "The Mini DC-8 " Details Link