McDONNELL DOUGLAS (MDC) is in the final stages of defining two new versions of the MD-11, which will enable the company to compete head-to-head with Airbus and Boeing in the Boeing 747-100/200 replacement market and the emerging extra-long-range market.
"We got to the point that we had to make some significant changes to compete with the 777 and Airbus," says Douglas Aircraft design and technology vice-president and general manager Allen Haggerty. The attempt to revitalise the flagging fortunes of the MD-11 comes as the order backlog drops to 21. "We've not come to the end of the line, or rolled over on the MD-11. We are now engaged in an aggressive set of trade studies and we are doing windtunnel work," he adds.
The "significant" change is the redesign of the wing, which is essentially unchanged from the original DC-10 design. "We've studied eight different wing configurations, ranging from revised winglets to mid-spar plugs. The MD-11 wing is very efficient, but we can make it significantly better. We're down to two final configurations now, and we will complete schedule, cost and trade studies in the spring. We will develop two robust designs," he says. The new wing will have increased aspect ratio and area.
To compete effectively with the Airbus A340-8000 and proposed derivatives of the 777, MDC will make a "modest" stretch of its planned long-range derivative. "We need about 20 more seats in that version," he says. The medium- to long-range 747-replacement version is expected to be stretched by at least 9m, depending on the trade study results. Gross take-off weight will rise for both versions, from the 286t current maximum, to around 305t.
The new variants could be entering service by 1999 if launched soon. MDC hopes that the new buoyancy in the marketplace will be enough to sustain the existing line until the new derivatives can be marketed. Both are expected to be launched at almost the same time.
World Airways and Garuda Indonesian Airlines have become the first carriers to select the extended-range (ER) version of the MD-11. The ER, launched in February 1994, is capable of up to 13,300km (7,200nm) range.
World Airways will receive the first MD-11ER in March 1996, to boost capacity during the Hadj, when the airline traditionally carries Muslim pilgrims to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from Indonesia. The airline has leased two of the extended-range tri-jets from MDC under a 24-year agreement. The new deal takes World's MD-11 fleet to nine.
Garuda will trade in three early production models to GE Capital Services and lease the three MD-11ERs from MDC.
Source: Flight International
