N-156F From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Posted (13 years 1 week 1 day 17 hours ago) and read 1104 times:
McDonnell Douglas built plenty of MD-81/82/83/87/88 series aircraft, but what happened to the missing numbers? Were they all abandoned in the planning stages, or were they just skipped over for a reason?
Stlbham From United States of America, joined May 1999, 443 posts, RR: 0 Reply 1, posted (13 years 1 week 1 day 11 hours ago) and read 1040 times:
I do know that the two digit number in the MD series stands for the year that it was either released or developed i cant remember? But I would assume that there was no "new series" of aircraft on those years? Any one out there have any better reasoning?
Trintocan From United Kingdom, joined Apr 2000, 3191 posts, RR: 4 Reply 2, posted (13 years 1 week 1 day 11 hours ago) and read 1030 times:
Stlbham, I think that you are right. The designations of the MD80 series referred to the year on which they were released, eg MD83 first flew in 1982 and deliveries started the following year, MD87 first flew in 1986, MD88 first flew in 1987. While MD90 was conceptualized several times over, it only came to fruition in 1993.
Interestingly enough the MD83 has become the longest-produced of the MD80 series; it was the final model in production (for TWA). That was most likely due to its extended range with its auxiliary fuel tanks. It was also the one produced in the greatest numbers (or was it MD82?). The upgraded standard fuselage MD88 was mostly sold to Delta while the MD87, which combined the technical upgrades with a DC9-50 length fuselage, sold the fewest (75).
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