Tag Archives: McDonnell Douglas Corporation

14 November 1974

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McDonnell Douglas F-15A-8-MC Eagle 73-0090 at Luke AFB. The two aircraft in this photograph are painted “air superiority blue”. (U.S. Air Force)
McDonnell Douglas F-15A-8-MC Eagle 73-0090 at Luke Air Force Base. The two aircraft in this photograph are painted “Air Superiority Blue” (F.S. 35450). (U.S. Air Force)

14 November 1974: The very first operational McDonnell Douglas F-15A Eagle air superiority fighters were delivered to the 555th Tactical Training Squadron, 58th Tactical Training Fighter Wing, at Luke Air Force Base, west of Phoenix, Arizona. The acceptance ceremony was presided over by President Gerald R. Ford.

“. . . I am here today to underscore to you and to the world that this great aircraft was constructed by the American people in the pursuit of peace. Our only aim with all of this aircraft’s new maneuverability, speed, and power is the defense of freedom.

“I would rather walk a thousand miles for peace than to have to take a single step for war.

“I am here to congratulate you: the United States Air Force, McDonnell Douglas, Pratt and Whitney, all of the many contractors and workers who participated in this very, very successful effort, as well as the pilots who have so diligently flight-tested the F-15 Eagle. All of you can underline my feeling that we are still pilgrims on this Earth, and there still is a place for pioneers in America today.”

—Gerald R. Ford, Jr., 38th President of the United States of America

1974, November 14 – Luke Air Force Base – Phoenix Arizona – Gerald R. Ford, Lieutenant Colonel Ernest "Ted" Laudise – looking in cockpit of F-15 Eagle (plane) – Trip to Arizona; Ceremony to Commemorate the Delivery of the First F-15 Eagle Fighter Aircraft - Phoenix, Arizona
Lieutenant Colonel Ernest “Ted” Laudise explains some features of the McDonnell Douglas F-15A Eagle to President Gerald R. Ford at Luke Air Force Base, 14 November 1974. (Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum)

The F-15A Eagle is a Mach 2.5+ fighter with outstanding acceleration and maneuverability. The F-15A was produced by McDonnell Douglas at St. Louis, Missouri, from 1972 to 1979. It is a single-seat, twin-engine, air superiority fighter. It is 63 feet, 9.0 inches (19.431 meters) long with a wingspan of 42 feet, 9.7 inches (13.048 meters) and overall height of 18 feet, 5.4 inches (5.624 meters). The F-15A has an empty weight of 25,870 pounds (11,734 kilograms) and its maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) is 44,497 pounds (20,184 kilograms).

McDonnell Douglas F-15A-11-MC Eagle 74-0111 at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, November 1974. (U.S. Air Force)

The F-15A is powered by two Pratt & Whitney JTF22A-25A (F100-PW-100) afterburning turbofan engines. The F100 is a two-spool, axial-flow turbine engine with a 3-stage fan section; 10-stage compressor; single chamber combustion section; and 4-stage turbine (2 low- and 2 high-pressure stages). The engine has a Maximum Continuous Power rating of 12,410 pounds of thrust (55.202 kilonewtons); 14,690 pounds (65.344 kilonewtons, 30-minute limit; and a maximum 23,840 pounds (106.046 kilonewtons), 5-minute limit. The F100-PW-100 is 191 inches (4.851 meters) long, 46.5 inches (1.181 meters) in diameter, and weighs 3,035 pounds (1,376.7 kilograms).

The cruise speed of the F-15A Eagle is 502 knots (578 miles per hour/930 kilometers per hour). It has a maximum speed of 893 knots (1,028 miles per hour/1,654 kilometers per hour) at 10,000 feet (3,048 meters), and 1,434 knots (1,650 miles per hour/2,656 kilometers per hour) at 45,000 feet (13,716 meters). The ceiling is 63,050 feet (19,218 meters) at maximum power. It can climb at an initial 67,250 feet per minute (342 meters per second) from Sea Level, and with a thrust-to-weight ratio of 1.15:1, The F-15 can climb straight up. The Eagle’s combat radius is 638 nautical miles (734 statute miles/1,182kilometers).

A McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle from the 555th Tactical Training Squadron with a load of AIM-7 Sparrow and AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. (U.S. Air Force)

The F-15A is armed with one General Electric M61A1 Vulcan 20mm rotary cannon with 938 rounds of ammunition, four AIM-7F Sparrow radar-guided missiles and four AIM-9 Sidewinder heat-seeking missiles. The fighter can also be armed with a Mk.82 500-pound or Mk. 84 2,000-pound bombs.

Two McDonnell Douglas F-15A Eagles of the Oregon Air National Guard, 5 November 2003. F-15A-7-MC 73-089 is nearest the camera. The other is F-15A-14-MC 75-068. (Oregon Air National Guard)

384 F-15A Eagles were built before production shifted to the improved F-15C version. As F-15Cs became operational, the F-15As were transferred to Air National Guard units assigned to defend U.S. continental airspace. The last F-15A was retired from service in 2009.

McDonnell Douglas F-15C-37-MC Eagle 84-014, 144th Fighter Wing, California Air National Guard. (Master Sergeant Roy Santana, U.S. Air Force)
McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle of the Florida Air National Guard. The Eagle’s thrust-to-weight ratio allows it to accelerate straight up. (U.S. Air Force)

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes

25 October 1979

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McDonnell Douglas F-4E-67-MC Phantom II, 78-0744, the last of 5,057 Phantoms built at St. Louis, 25 October 1979. (McDonnell Douglas Corporation)

25 October 1979: The 5,057th and very last Phantom II—an F-4E-67-MC, U.S. Air Force serial number 78-0744—was rolled out at the McDonnell Douglas Corporation plant, Lambert Field (STL), St. Louis, Missouri, and the production line was closed.

78-0744 was transferred to the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) under the Foreign Military Sales program Peace Pheasant II and assigned to the 17th Tactical Fighter Wing based at Cheongju International Airport (CJJ). One source says that it was “written off” but details are lacking.

McDonnell Douglas F-4E-67-MC Phantom II 78-0744 in United States Air Force markings. (U.S. Air Force)
McDonnell Douglas F-4E-67-MC Phantom II 78-0744 in United States Air Force markings. (U.S. Air Force)

© 2017, Bryan R. Swopes

5 September 1968

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McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II
McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II, U.S. Navy Bu. No. 155772.

5 September 1968: The McDonnell Douglas Corporation delivers the 3,000th F-4 Phantom II, an F-4J, Bureau of Aeronautics serial number (“Bu. No.”) 155772, to the U.S. Navy.

155772 (McDonnell Douglas serial number 3000) was initially assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 333 (VMFA-333, Flying Shamrocks) with the codex number DN 106. In 1970, it was transferred to Navy Fighter Squadron 92 (VF-92, Silver Kings) as NG 213. In 1984 it was reassigned to VMFA-235 (Death Angels) as DB 01.

155772 was upgraded to the F-4S configuration.

The 3,000th Phantom II was withdrawn from service in April 1987. It was salvaged at MCAS Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, in September 1999.

© 2024, Bryan R. Swopes

29 August 1970

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The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 prototype, N10DC, makes its first takeoff, Long Beach Airport, 29 August 1970. (Boeing)

29 August 1970: The McDonnell Douglas prototype widebody airliner, DC-10-10, N10DC, made its first flight from Long Beach Airport to Edwards Air Force Base, California, where it underwent flight testing and F.A.A. certification. The aircraft commander was the company Project Pilot, Clifford L. Stout, with Deputy Chief Engineering Pilot Harris C. Van Valkenburg as co-pilot. John D. Chamberlain was the flight engineer and the flight test engineer was Shojun Yukawa.

During the first flight the DC-10 reached 300 knots (345.2 miles per hour, 555.6 kilometers per hour) and 30,000 feet (9,144 meters). The primary purpose of this flight was to check the airliner’s basic flight characteristics, aircraft systems and the installed test equipment. The flight lasted 3 hours, 36 minutes.

The prototype McDonnell Douglas DC-10, N10DC, during flight testing at Edwards Air Force Base. (San Diego Air & Space Museum)

During the test program, N10DC made 989 test flights, accumulating 1,551 flight hours. It was put into commercial service with American Airlines 12 August 1972, re-registered as N101AA.

The DC-10 was a wide-body commercial airliner designed for medium to long range flights. It was flown by a crew of three and depending on the cabin arrangement, carried between 202 and 390 passengers. The DC-10-10 was 170 feet, 6 inches (51.968 meters) long with a wingspan of 155 feet, 4 inches (47.346 meters) and overall height of 58 feet, 1 inch (17.704 meters). The airliner had an empty weight of 240,171 pounds (108,940 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight of 430,000 pounds (195,045 kilograms). It was powered by three General Electric CF6-6D turbofan engines, producing 40,000 pounds of thrust (177.93 kilonewtons), each. These gave the DC-10 a maximum cruise speed of Mach 0.88 (610 miles per hour, 982 kilometers per hour). Its range is 3,800 miles (6,116 kilometers) and the service ceiling is 42,000 feet (12,802 meters).

McDonnell DC-10 prototype, N10DC, in flight. (San Diego Air & Space Museum)

In production from 1970 to 1988, a total of 386 DC-10s were built in passenger and freighter versions. 122 were the DC-10-10 variant. Another 60 KC-10A Extender air refueling tankers were built for the U.S. Air Force and 2 KDC-10 tankers for the Royal Netherlands Air Force.

The first McDonnell Douglas DC-10 was in service with American Airlines from 12 August 1972 to 15 November 1994 when it was placed in storage at Tulsa, Oklahoma. The 24-year-old airliner had accumulated 63,325 flight hours.

After three years in storage, the first DC-10 returned to service flying for Federal Express. In 1998 it was modernized as an MD-10 and re-registered again, this time as N530FE. It was finally retired from service and scrapped at Goodyear, Arizona in 2002.

The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 prototype, N10DC, during “minimum unstick speed” (Vmu) testing. (San Diego Air & Space Museum)

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes

3 August 1972

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McDonnell Douglas YF-15A-1-MC Eagle, 71-0280, with McDonnell Douglas RF-4C Phantom II chase plane, in flight near Edwards AFB. (U.S. Air Force)

3 August 1972: During a 45-minute test flight at Edwards Air Force Base, the McDonnell Douglas YF-15A-1-MC Eagle prototype, 71-0280, went supersonic for the first time, reaching Mach 1.5.

An air-superiority fighter, the F-15 entered service with the United States Air Force in 1975. More than 1,500 fighter, two-seat trainer, and two-seat F-15E Strike Eagle fighter-bombers have been built by McDonnell Douglas and Mitsubishi. It is operated by allied air forces around the world and is expected to remain in front line service until 2025.

McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle. (Defense Media Network)

© 2015, Bryan R. Swopes