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convair880mfan wrote:Could be wrong, and just guessing, but I am supposing that FedEx as a for-profit transportation company would have done a cost/benefit analysis of this and the fact that the MD-11's used domestically do have winglets probably means that there isn't sufficient benefit to justify their removal.
Any ideas?
TXL4ever wrote:The -400Ds were exclusively used for short missions (the lack of winglets is only one of a few modifications from the -400). I don‘t think FedEx has a dedicated MD-11 fleet solely for the domestic network. Instead the flexibility is more important than weight savings for a few short sectors.
Horstroad wrote:The Winglet can't just be removed. While there is a removal/installation task in the AMM for the winglet assembly, it's actually the removal/installation of the whole wing tip. You would need a replacement wing tip to put in its place which would result in some (understatement) paperwork as the MD-11 was never certified to fly without winglets, unlike the 747, 757 or 767
DarkSnowyNight wrote:
Is there even a CDL for that? I know you can for 330/340, 747 and most others with wingtip devices. But my MD11 work was entirely powerplant, so I am a little curious about that.
DarkSnowyNight wrote:
Is there even a CDL for that? I know you can for 330/340, 747 and most others with wingtip devices. But my MD11 work was entirely powerplant, so I am a little curious about that.
jetblueguy22 wrote:I don’t really think it matters…wingspan wise they have a similar footprint to a 767 with winglets. Just seems like extra work to remove something that doesn’t need to be removed
Starlionblue wrote:The winglets do have mass, .
convair880mfan wrote:Would removing 900 pounds result in significant fuel savings on short stage lengths? Since the winglet is actually part of the wingtip, I would imagine that some other type of wingtip would need to replace it and that would weigh something too. Would a new wingtip need to go through the FAA approval process? I'm guessing that the whole things wouldn't be worth it. Kind of a mute point since MD-11s are going away and also because even now they are, I think [?] mostly used for long haul operations.
747classic wrote:FX isn't the type of company for after market winglets, they didn't even install the already certified winglets at their 767-300F fleet, so installation of the not certified winglets at the MD10 was never even considered.
UPS installed after market blended winglets at the 767-300F's, but from 2019 all new UPS 767-300F's are delivered again without winglets.
747classic wrote:
UPS installed after market blended winglets at the 767-300F's, but from 2019 all new UPS 767-300F's are delivered again without winglets.
fr8mech wrote:747classic wrote:
UPS installed after market blended winglets at the 767-300F's, but from 2019 all new UPS 767-300F's are delivered again without winglets.
My understanding is they’ll be installed at their first ‘C’ check or it’s equivalent.
CosmicCruiser wrote:Correct, the MD-11 still does a lot of int'l. It is being slowly edged out by the 777. As for and MD-11 without winglets for domestic...it's called an MD-10. LOL
LMP737 wrote:CosmicCruiser wrote:Correct, the MD-11 still does a lot of int'l. It is being slowly edged out by the 777. As for and MD-11 without winglets for domestic...it's called an MD-10. LOL
Very true. A FedEx MD-11 might spend s couple days flying domestic then fly MEM-CDG. I'm assuming UPS is the same way.
DeltaMD95 wrote:To add, FedEX still has a select few non-Alaskan, TPAC ops with the MD-11F, such as KIX-OAK.
DarkSnowyNight wrote:convair880mfan wrote:Could be wrong, and just guessing, but I am supposing that FedEx as a for-profit transportation company would have done a cost/benefit analysis of this and the fact that the MD-11's used domestically do have winglets probably means that there isn't sufficient benefit to justify their removal.
Any ideas?
FedEx literally flies empty planes around in circles to make sure there is always a spare nearby. Operational reliability and flexibility are far more important than whatever savings they would get from generating an STC that allows for non-CDL use of MD-11s w/o winglets.
DarkSnowyNight wrote:FedEx literally flies empty planes around in circles to make sure there is always a spare nearby. Operational reliability and flexibility are far more important than whatever savings they would get from generating an STC that allows for non-CDL use of MD-11s w/o winglets.
CosmicCruiser wrote:Don't know if the 777 has taken it but we used to do MEM-HNL and KIX-MEM
CosmicCruiser wrote:I never knew about any Md-11 restrictions regarding that. I just got in the same just jet I was used to flying and left. Not sure what you mean by PIP.
747classic wrote:CosmicCruiser wrote:I never knew about any Md-11 restrictions regarding that. I just got in the same just jet I was used to flying and left. Not sure what you mean by PIP.
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