Guy Norris/LOSANGELES
MCDONNELL DOUGLAS (MDC) could launch a freighter version of its proposed MD-11 stretch by the end of 1997, as part of a renewed attack on the large-cargo-aircraft market.
"We hope to be out in the market with the MD-11 stretch by the second half of 1996 and, historically, we usually launch within 12 months of that," says MDC commercial marketing vice-president and general manager John Feren.
Revealing brief details of the freighter at the fourth annual Las Vegas International Air Cargo Symposium, on 1 May, Feren said that the stretched MD-11 will offer a payload capacity of up to 112t, compared with 85t for the current aircraft.
MDC claims that the aircraft's direct operating costs will be at least 4-6% less than those of the rival Boeing 747-400F. With a 9.1m fuselage stretch and improved operating economics provided by a new wing, the MD-11F stretch is expected to have an internal volume of around 875m3 (24,800ft3), compared with just under 750m3 for the standard MD-11. Although the 747 is larger internally, Feren says that the "net usable cube" of the stretched trijet will be larger, as a proportion of the ceiling volume of the 747's upper deck is unusable.
As part of a two-pronged attack on the cargo market, MDC has started work on a business plan for its MD-17, a commercial freight version of the C-17 military transport. The study involves "de-militarising" the C-17 by eliminating structural aspects related to missions such as air-dropping and air-to-air refuelling. Payload is expected to rise, from about 74,900kg, to almost 81,700kg. Range could also be increased by around 2,780km (1,500nm ).
Source: Flight International
