MD-80 life extension

[chilokie1]

I thought the required ngs mod (SFAR 88) was due March of next year. To my knowledge the Super 80s are not and will not be modified.

 
Part of the rumor was the AD has been changed so I went to the FAA web sight, the change is MD80 specific.
If you go to the AD section and pull up the MD80 file there is a change to the AD for the MD80 only. If I read it right
the FAA used Boeing's opinion to omit the wing tanks all together and allowed the a carrier to become AD compliant
for the auxiliary tank by using a different method, but my knowledge of the original AD is limited so I'am not sure if 
the different method for the aux tank is an addition too the original AD or a huge change to becoming AD compliant.
  Check it out guys, the change was written in March of this year. 

 

[Jester]

Several years ago I read about a company that was making an engine mod for the MD-80's that would cut down noise and increase fuel efficiency. I never read anymore about any airline going for this upgrade. I really liked the 3-2 seating on the MD-80's.  

 
You are still dealing with a 40-year old wing design and an APU ill-equipped to handle the PHX desert heat.  This idea reminds me of an AA plan decades ago to remove the #2 engine and intake from the B727 and replace the other two with larger and more efficient engines.... still dealing with a decades old design and airframe, and the concept went nowhere.

 

[Kev3188]

We can barely keep 'em tolerable up here... And it's 35-40 degrees cooler. I don't know how you guys manage to do it in PHX!

 

[chilokie1]

Several years ago I read about a company that was making an engine mod for the MD-80's that would cut down noise and increase fuel efficiency. I never read anymore about any airline going for this upgrade. I really liked the 3-2 seating on the MD-80's.  

 
This is true, the problem was AA and Pratt were having a huge pissing contest & the MD90 has a version of 
V2500 which was made by a company that Pratt owned a major stake in. So re-engining them with anything
other then the V2500 would have been too expensive. 

 

[eolesen]

The SUPER 80 moniker was the original designation of the Douglas DC-9-80 when first delivered in 1980.

Even that has a history -- the first stretched versions of the DC-8 were called the Super Sixties followed by the Super Seventies.

 

[eolesen]

You are still dealing with a 40-year old wing design and an APU ill-equipped to handle the PHX desert heat.

Uh, pretty much all APU's are ill-equipped for the desert... which is why PCA's were invented.

Oh, wait. Let me guess... Doug was too cheap to have PCA installed in PHX?

AA had little problem using the MD80 in LAS, PSP, TUS, and PHX before the merger, but we'd also invested pretty heavily in PCA carts & under-jetbridge units so that the APU's wouldn't have to run as much on the ground.

 

[jimntx]

Yesterday took a 1+ hour delay at DFW due to APU problem on an MD-80.  Yet, pilot told me that iinstead of accelerating the retirement of the remaining MD-80s, he heard that they are recalling some from the grave in the desert.  Anyone else heard anything similar.  Could they be delaying delivery of 73s and A320/21s to reduce debt?

 

[DFWFSC]

Heard it has something to do with backfilling E175 routes due to a pilot shortage.

 

[nycbusdriver]

Heard it has something to do with backfilling E175 routes due to a pilot shortage.

 
I think Kirby (or Isom, maybe?) said something to that effect at one of the Crew News sessions.  The death of the Mad Dogs will get a temporary reprieve because Republic can't find pilots to fly their airplanes and AA cannot afford to lose the lift.

 

[Jester]

Uh, pretty much all APU's are ill-equipped for the desert... which is why PCA's were invented.

Oh, wait. Let me guess... Doug was too cheap to have PCA installed in PHX?

AA had little problem using the MD80 in LAS, PSP, TUS, and PHX before the merger, but we'd also invested pretty heavily in PCA carts & under-jetbridge units so that the APU's wouldn't have to run as much on the ground.

 
We have AC hook-ups which were updated a few years ago to a large central system on top of the terminal buildings, but when all of the gates are being occupied and ACs turned on, the gates at the end seem not to get enough air, especially with the MD-80 air hose extensions.  Then those brakes seem to overheat too much during the summer and the relatively short PHX runways.
 
When the AC modernization happened a few years ago, we were running the APUs in the summer, and generally speaking, it worked pretty well, especially as we have only 3 or 4 PCA carts, but there were nearly all Airbuses with a few B757s.

 

[chilokie1]

I will take a 30 year old MD-80 (AA maintained) over a much newer (South American maintained) A320 everyday. Most passengers could care less what plane they fly on
shorter hops, as long as it is clean and well maintained. And when you are flying a
full flight with one other person the 2-3 seating is the way to go. I have flown them
many times in the heat of summer out of DFW with zero cabin cooling issues, but I do
remember miserable Eagle ATR flights in the summer out of DFW.

 

[Living in Reality]

We used to get the MD-80's going to the desert to de-rate them, we no longer do that and do not know who does. A/C issues in DFW could be helped if FA's would ask passengers to put aircraft in summer mode, shades down all gaspers open! Md-80's are a much better ride compared to 319, crews are already missing MD-80's over 319's. Hate to see them leave, they are a overtime cash cow for us AMT's. Last I heard, Last one will be retired in Oct of 17. 

 

[robbedagain]

of all the aircraft ive been on and worked around in my career  the 727 tops the cake   the md80..is fun to fly on  but a b!tch to work loading and unloading    Ill take the Airbus over the md80 anyday when it comes to working it  

 

[jimntx]

Living, we do ask the passengers to lower the window shades and some of them do. But, you know how important it is for some people to look at every blade of grass beside the taxiway from the end of the landing to arrival at the gate.  And, when we are given 35-45 minutes to unload one airplane and get to the next flight in time to board on time, no we can not go through the cabin and close all the window shades.  (Recently had 30 minutes scheduled from arrival at ORD, H18 (very end of H concourse) to departure from K10.  Didn't make it "on time.")

 

[eolesen]

We have AC hook-ups which were updated a few years ago to a large central system on top of the terminal buildings, but when all of the gates are being occupied and ACs turned on, the gates at the end seem not to get enough air, especially with the MD-80 air hose extensions.

Thanks for confirming that Parker's team was too cheap to do dedicated PCA units.

There's a reason legacy AA had self-contained units hung on the bridges vs. just tying into the building's HVAC system. That paid for itself over and over again in reduced fuel usage and reduced hours on the APU.