31 August 1955: At 7:42 a.m., Lockheed engineering test pilot Stanley Alexander Beltz departed Air Force Plant 42, at Palmdale, in the high desert of southern California, to perform a series of stall tests of a highly-modified NF-94B interceptor. The test program required three stalls in a “clean” configuration, and three “dirty”: with the landing gear extended and flaps lowered.
The clean stall tests went well. Then, at an altitude of 10,000 feet (3,048 meters), Beltz lowered the landing gear and flaps. Pushing the right rudder pedal put the airplane into a stall. Beltz made a radio call, “Here she goes!”
The Los Angeles Times reported:
Lockheed Test Pilot Dies in Crash of Jet
Stanley A. Beltz, 44, Lockheed engineering test pilot, was killed yesterday when his F-94B jet crashed into open desert northeast of Lancaster after the plane narrowly missed homes in the area.
Beltz was acclaimed a hero by residents who said he might have jumped, but apparently elected to stay with his disabled plane until he had safely cleared houses in the sparsely settled mile-long district between the Lancaster Fairgrounds and the scene of the crash.
The veteran flier died in the flaming wreckage of his two-place interceptor which had been modified for special Air Force test work, probably launching studies on air-to-air missiles.
Beltz took off from Palmdale at 7:42 a.m. and the jet smashed to earth just 15 minutes later. The pilot rode the ship to his death without triggering his ejection seat for an emergency parachute jump.
Cause Not Determined
“Stanley A. Beltz, 44, test pilot, died yesterday in jet crash.” (Los Angeles Times)
Cause of the crash could not be determined immediately, although it is believed the Lockheed pilot was being followed by a chase plane at the time.
There was no disclosure as to the altitude of the F-94B when the emergency occurred nor any of the radio transmissions Beltz may have made before the crash.
A Lockheed pilot since 1943, Beltz had flown almost every type of ship produced by the company since that time with the exception of the F-90, the F-104 and the vertical riser.
He was known particularly for his testing of multiengine aircraft built by Lockheed, including the double-deck Constitution, the P2V Navy patrol bomber and the C-130 military turbo-prop transport.
Former Instructor
Before he joined the Burbank company he was a wartime flight instructor at War Eagle Field, Lancaster, and instrument flight instructor with Western Air Lines and a test pilot for the Glenn L. Martin Co. at Omaha.
He leaves a sister, Mrs. Victor Sabo of North Hollywood, and a brother, Dr. Daniel Beltz, of Inglewood. His former wife, Mrs. Josephine Beltz, lives in Hollywood.
The test pilot made his home at 1603 Ave. Q6, Palmdale.
—Los Angeles Times, Vol. LXXIV, Thursday, 1 September 1955, Part 2, Page 1 at Column 5
Bomarc A
Beltz’s aircraft was a modified Lockheed F-94B interceptor, serial number 51-5502. It carried the nose cone, radar and guidance systems of the F-99 BOMARC, ¹ a nuclear-armed surface-to-air antiaircraft guided missile. The test airplane was redesignated NF-94B.
Stanley Alexander Beltz was born at LaCrosse, Kansas, 7 May 1911. He was the tenth child of Alexander Beltz, a farmer and immigrant from Russia, and Eva Katherine Simon Beltz, a German immigrant. He had blond hair and blue eyes, was 5 feet, 7 inches (170 centimeters) tall and weighed 175 pounds (79.4 kilograms). In 1935, he worked as a truck driver for Rocky Mountain Lines, Inc. He married Josephine Charlotte Whitney in Kansas, 8 June 1935. They would later divorce.
Josephine and Stanley A. Beltz (sonyachinn/ancestry.com)
In 1936, Beltz went to work at the Lockheed Aircraft Company as a sheet metal fabricator on the company’s twin engine Model 10 Electra. He then learned to fly. Early in World War II, he flew as a civilian flight flight instructor, training military pilots. He was hired as a test pilot for the Glenn L. Martin Co., flying the B-26 Marauder medium bomber. He later returned to Lockheed as a production test pilot. He flew the twin-engine P-38 Lightning.
Stanley A. Beltz with Lockheed P-38L Lightning. (Lockheed Martin)
In 1945, Beltz was promoted to engineering test pilot. He flew the four-engine Constellation airliner, the RV-2 Constitution transport, and all variants of the PV-2 Neptune patrol bomber. He had flown every Lockheed aircraft except the XF-90, the XFV-1 experimental VTOL, and the F-104 Starfighter. On 23 August 1954, he made the first flight of the turboprop-powered YC-130 Hercules transport. He said, “She’s a real flying machine. I could land it crossways on the runway if I had to.”
The first prototype Lockheed YC-130 Hercules takes of from the Lockheed Air terminal, Burbank, California, 23 August 1954. (Lockheed Martin)
Bletz was a member of The Anciente and Secret Order of Quiet Birdmen, a fraternal organization of pilots.
Funeral services for Stanley Alexander Beltz were held at Steen’s Chapel, North Hollywood, Tuesday, 6 September 1955, at 10:30 a.m. His remains are interred Glen Haven Memorial Park, Sylmar, California.
(Find a Grave)
Beltz’s girlfriend, Mrs. Phyllis Ann Fratt, a ranching heiress, committed suicide ten days after his death. She had written:
Phyllis Ann Fratt (Arizona Republic)
. . . I was never anything until I fell in love with him. He was a great man. I loved and respected him with all my being and soul. There are one million things locked in my heart that tell how wonderful he was. We had so many beautiful things together. I can’t go on without him.
. . . and. . .
There’s nothing left of me—just an empty shell. My life, love, soul and being went with Stan.
Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off from LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida, 12:41:50 UTC, 30 August 1984. (NASA)
30 August 1984: At 8:41 a.m., EDT (12:41:50 UTC), the Space Shuttle Discovery (OV-103) lifted off from Launch Complex 39A on its first flight into space. This was the fourth attempt to launch Discovery on Mission STS-41-D. The purpose of the mission was to place three communications satellites into orbit, and to deploy an experimental solar panel array. Various other experiments were also carried out.
The Mission Commander was Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr., making his second space flight. Shuttle Pilot Michael L. Coats was on his first. Three Mission Specialists, Richard M. Mullane, Steven A. Hawley, Judith A. Resnick, and Payload Specialist Charles D. Walker, were all on their first space flight.
A highlight of this mission was the onboard filming by the crew of footage for the IMAX film, “The Dream Is Alive.”
Discovery touched down at Edwards Air Force Base, California, at 6:37 a.m., PDT (13:37:54 UTC), completing its first flight into space in 6 days, 56 minutes, 4 seconds.
Discovery is the space shuttle fleet leader, having made 39 orbital flights, more than any other shuttle.
Mission Specialist Judith Arlene Resnick was a crew member of shuttle mission STS-51-L. She was killed when Challenger was destroyed shortly after launch, 28 January 1986.
Front, left to right: Richard M. Mullane, Steven A. Hawley, Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr., Michael L. Coats. Back, left to right: Charles D. Walker, Judith A. Resnick. (NASA)
Northrop F-5G (F-20A) Tigershark prototype 80-0062 during its first flight, 30 August 1982. (Northrop Grumman)
30 August 1982: Northrop test pilot Russell J. Scott made the first flight of the F-5G Tigershark prototype, N4416T, (Northrop serial number GG.1001) at Edwards Air Force Base, California. During the 40 minute flight the Tigershark, which would be re-designated F-20A two months later, reached an altitude of 40,000 feet and speed of Mach 1.04.
(Russ Scott, a former U.S. Air Force pilot, had been one of 11 pilots selected in 1961 to fly the Central Intelligence Agency’s ultrasecret Lockheed A-12 “Oxcart” Mach 3+ reconnaissance aircraft, though he left the program before the A-12 became operational.)
The F-5G was developed by Northrop at the request of the Department of State. U.S. policy at the time prevented the export of front line fighters, like the Grumman F-14 Tomcat and McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, to Allied nations outside of NATO, with the exception of Australia, Israel, Egypt and Iran. Since the Republic of China was building the F-5E under license for its air force, the State Department had asked Northrop to design an advanced fighter based on that earlier type that could be produced in Taiwan.
Northrop F-5G (F-20A) Tigershark prototype, 82-0062. (U.S. Air Force)
Changing political administrations restricted U.S. export policies and the projected sales of the F-5G, now designated F-20A, did not materialize. The fighter competed against the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon for an Air Force contract. The F-20A was considered to be as good, and in some ways, superior to the F-16. It was also less expensive. Other factors, though, resulted in the order for the General Dynamics fighter.
The Northrop F-5G (F-20A)Tigershark prototype, N4416T, lands at Edwards Air Force Base, California. after its first flight, escorted by a Northrop F-5F Tiger II, N3139Y. (U.S. Air Force)
Developed from the earlier F-5E Tiger II, the F-5G/F-20A Tigershark was a Mach 2+ single-seat, single-engine, light-weight fighter. It was 46 feet, 6 inches (14.173 meters) long, with a wingspan of 26 feet, 8 inches (8.128 meters) with launch rails, and overall height of 13 feet, 10 inches (4.216 meters). The F-20A had an empty weight of 11,220 pounds (5,089 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight of 26,544 pounds (12,040 kilograms).
The F-20A was powered by a single General Electric YF404-GE-100 engine. The F404 is a two-spool, axial-flow, low bypass turbofan with afterburner. It has a 3-stage fan section, 7-stage compressor and 2-stage (1 high- and 1 low-pressure stage) turbine. The the F404-GE-100 is rated at 17,000 pounds of thrust (75.62 kilonewtons) with afterburner. The engine has a maximum diameter of 2 feet, 10.8 inches (0.884 meters), is 13 feet, 2.8 inches (4.034 meters) long, and weighs 2,230 pounds (1,012 kilograms).
From a cold start, the prototype fighter could climb to 34,000 feet (10,363 meters) in 2½ minutes. It could accelerate from 0.3 mach to 0.9 Mach in 27 seconds. The F-20A had a maximum speed of Mach 2.1 at 36,000 feet (10,973 meters)—1,387 miles per hour (2,232 kilometers per hour). Its service ceiling was 55,000 feet (16,764 meters). The maximum range with external tanks was 1,715 miles (2,760 kilometers).
The Tigershark’s armament consisted of two Pontiac M39A2 20mm autocannon with 280 rounds of ammunition per gun, and two AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles carried on the wingtips.
Only three F-20As were built. N4416T (82-0062) crashed during a demonstration flight at Suwon Air Base, Republic of South Korea, 10 October 1984. The aircraft was destroyed and Northrop pilot Darrell E. Cornell was killed. The second F-20, N3986B, crashed at Goose Bay, Newfoundland, Canada, 14 May 1985, under similar circumstances, killing David Barnes. Investigations found that both pilots had lost consciousness due to high-G maneuvers. The third Northrop F-20A, N44671 (82-0064), is on display at the California Science Center, Exposition Park, Los Angeles, California.
Northrop F-20A Tigershark 82-0062 in flight over General William J. Fox Airfield (WJF), northwest of Lancaster, California. (U.S. Air Force)
The left wing of this Northrop F-89C-30-NO Scorpion, 51-5781, failed during a fly-by at the International Aviation Exposition, Detroit, Michigan, 30 August 1952. (Wikipedia)
30 August 1952: At 4:40 p.m., a tragic accident occurred during a fly-by of two new United States Air Force Northrop F-89C Scorpion all weather interceptors at the International Aviation Exposition at Detroit, Michigan.
Two F-89Cs of the 27th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 4711th Defense Wing, based at Griffis Air Force Base, Rome, New York, made a low-altitude, high speed pass in full view of 51,000 spectators, including General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, then serving his second term as Chief of Staff, United States Air Force. Suddenly, the left wing of the lead interceptor separated. The tail also broke away and the fighter crashed and exploded. In the resulting fire, the Scorpion’s 20 millimeter cannon shells detonated.
Photograph by B.J. Mullof from The Detroit Free Press, Sunday, 31 August 1952, Vol.122, No. 118, Page 1, Columns 1–3.
A local newspaper reported:
The crash occurred 4:40 p.m., toward the end of the day’s show.
Adams and Richter were swooping down over the field in a “fly-by,” or speed run, Adams flying to one side and slightly to the rear of Recher.
Suddenly, Adams’ plane swerved to the right. A piece was seen to break off, then an instant later the right wing tore off.
As the pilot struggled to gain altitude, the left wing and tail section ripped off, and the hurtling fuselage continued across the field. It crashed between the railroad tracks and the Willow Run Expressway.
It ripped up tracks, fences and telephone lines. Heat from the burning wreck turned the rails cherry red.
Two passenger trains, eastbound and westbound, screeched to a halt to avoid piling into the wreckage. Railroad service was delayed an hour until tracks were repaired. . .
AIR FORCE OFFICIALS theorized that the crash was probably caused by turbulent air near the ground added to the stress put on the plane by the maneuver, plus the added thrust of the afterburners, devices which give added “push” to the jet.
Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg, Air Force chief of staff, said, “This is one of the strongest airplanes that has ever been built, but there are some things you just can’t build against.”
—The Detroit Free Press, Sunday, 31 August 1952, Vol.122, No. 118, Page 4, Columns 2–3
Major Donald E. Adams, a fighter ace who had won the Silver Star in Korea just months earlier, was killed, along with Captain Edward F. Kelly, Jr., the radar intercept officer. Five people on the ground were injured by falling wreckage.
The second F-89 was flown by Major John Recher and Captain Thomas Myslicki. They landed immediately at Selfridge Air Force Base.
Northrop F-89 Scorpion. (Military Factory)
This was not the first wing failure in an F-89C, nor the last. The Air Force grounded the Scorpions and ordered Northrop to return the airplanes to the factory or to modification centers using the company’s pilots. Northrop engineers began an intensive investigation to discover the cause of these catastrophic failures.
Northrop F-89C-1-NO and F-89C-5-NO Scorpions at the Northrop Field, Hawthorne, California, circa 1952. (Jet Pilot Overseas)
When designing the airplane, engineers tried to use materials that provided the greatest strength at the lightest weight. A new aluminum alloy had been used for the wing attachment fittings. This material had properties that weren’t understood at the time, but when subjected to certain types of dynamic loads, it could fatigue and become brittle rapidly. It was also very sensitive to surface imperfections, such as scratches or machining marks, that could rapidly propagate fatigue fractures.
Northrop YF-89 Scorpion 46-679, circa 1949. (Military Factory)
A second problem was that, under certain conditions, the Scorpion’s wings could enter a sequence of rapidly increasing oscillations, actually twisting the wing. This occurred so quickly that a pilot was not likely to see it happening. The twisting motion focused on the wing attachment points, and resulted in a catastrophic failure.
Northrop redesigned the wing to reduce the oscillation, and replaced the aluminum attachment fittings with new ones made of forged steel.
The F-89 was returned to service and became a very reliable airplane.
Flight crew (pilot, radar intercept officer) of a Northrop F-89C Scorpion. Their helmets are decorated with an image of a scorpion and the Northrop corporate logo. (Jet Pilot Overseas)
Major Adams’ Scorpion, Northrop F-89C-30-NO 51-5781, was a two-place, twin-engine, all weather interceptor, designed as a replacement for the World War II-era Northrop P-61 Black Widow night fighter. It was operated by a pilot and a radar intercept operator. The F-89C was 53 feet, 5 inches (16.281 meters) long with a wingspan of 56 feet, 0 inches (17.069 meters) and overall height of 17 feet, 6 inches (5.334 meters). The wings’ leading edges were swept aft 5° 8′. There was 1° dihedral, and the angle of incidence was 1° 30′. There was no twist. The total wing area was 638.0 square feet (59.27 square meters). The F-89C had an empty weight was 24,958 pounds (11,321 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight of 37,619 pounds (17,064 kilograms).
Northrop F-89C-30-NO Scorpion 51-5785, sister ship of Major Adams’ interceptor.
The F-89C was powered by two Allison J35-A-21B or J35-A-33A afterburning turbojet engines. The J35 was a single-spool, axial-flow turbojet with an 11-stage compressor section, 8 combustion chambers, and single-stage turbine. The J35-A-33 had a maximum continuous power rating of 4,800 pounds of thrust (21.35 kilonewtons) at 7,650 rpm. Its military power rating was 5,400 pounds of thrust (24.02 kilonewtons) at 8,000 r.p.m. (30-minute limit), and it produced a maximum 6,950 pounds (30.92 kilonewtons) at 8,000 r.p.m. with afterburner (5-minute limit). The J35-A-33A was 3 feet, 1 inch (0.940 meters) in diameter, 16 feet, 3.5 inches (4.953 meters) long, and weighed 2,725 pounds (1,236 kilograms).
It had a maximum speed of 547 knots (629 miles per hour/1,013 kilometers per hour) at 10,550 feet (3,216 meters). It could climb to 40,000 feet (12,192 meters) in 8.4 minutes, and 50,000 feet (15,240) in 17.5 minutes. The service ceiling was 51,550 feet (15,712 meters) and combat radius 297 nautical miles (342 statute miles/550 kilometers). The maximum ferry range was 768 nautical miles (884 statute miles (1,422 kilometers).
An Air Force master sergeant loading 20mm cannon shells for an F-89’s six M24A-1 20 mm guns. (LIFE Magazine/Jet Pilot Overseas)
The interceptor was armed with six M24A-1 20 mm autocannon in the nose, with 200 rounds of ammunition per gun.
Northrop Corporation built 1,050 F-89 Scorpions. 164 of these were F-89Cs. Variants produced after the F-89C deleted the six cannon in the nose and used aerial rockets instead. Scorpions served the Air Force and Air National Guard in the air defense role until 1969.
Northrop F-89C-30-NO Scorpion 51-5795. (Military Factory)Major Donald E. Adams, United States Air Force. (Imperial War Museum)
Donald Earl Adams was born 23 February 1921 at Canton, New York. He was the first of two sons of Alonzo Deys Adams, a wallpaper and paint salesman, and Mae C. Hurd Adams.
Adams attended Western State Teachers College, Kalamazoo, Michigan. He was a member of the baseball, boxing and wrestling teams.
After graduating from college, Adams enlisted as a private, Enlisted Reserve Corps, at Rochester, New York, 10 October 1942. He was 6 feet, 0 inches (1.83 meters) tall and weighed 155 pounds (70 kilograms). Private Adams was appointed an Aviation Cadet, 18 November 1942.
Miss Mary Ann Lewark, 1942
On 13 February 1943, at Montgomery, Alabama, Adams married Miss Mary Ann Lewark, the 21-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Glenn W. Lewark, and a graduate of Western Michigan College at Kalamazoo. They would have three children, Donald, Nancy and Steven.
On completion of flight training, Cadet Adams was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, Army of the United States (A.U.S.), 30 August 1943.
Lieutenant Adams was assigned as a flight instructor until July 1944, when he underwent operational training as a P-51 Mustang fighter pilot.
Second Lieutenant Adams joined the 343rd Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, at RAF Wormingford (Air Force Station 131), Hertfordshire, in February 1945. He was assigned a North American Aviation P-51D-15-NA Mustang, 44-15372, with squadron markings CY R. He named his fighter Sweet Mary, after his wife. Adams is credited with destroying a Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Me 410 and damaging a second Bf 109, in strafing attacks on the afternoon of 9 April 1945, and a second Bf 109 damaged, 17 April 1945. He was promoted to First Lieutenant, A.U.S., 2 May 1945.
1st Lieutenant Donald Earl Adams, 343rd Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, 1945. (Imperial War Museum)
On 24 August 1946, Lieutenant Adams was appointed a second lieutenant, Field Artillery, with date of rank to 30 August 1943, his original commissioning date. In November 1946, Lieutenant Adams was assigned to the 307th Fighter Squadron, 31st Fighter Group, on occupation duty at Kitzigen Army Airfield in Bavaria. The 307th was one of the first units to be equipped with the Lockheed P-80A Shooting Star jet fighter. On 1 May 1947, Lieutenant Adams was transferred to the Air Corps.
Returning to the United States in June 1947, Lieutenant Adams was assigned to the 62nd Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group, at Selfridge Air Force Base, near Mount Clemens, Michigan. The squadron flew P-80s and F-86 Sabres.
In October 1951, Major Adams joined the 16th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 51st Fighter-Interceptor Group, at Suwon Air Base (K-13), Republic of South Korea, flying the North American Aviation F-86 Sabre.
Silver Star
On 3 May 1952, Adams was leading a flight of six Sabres. He and his flight attacked a group of twenty Chinese MiG 15s. During the battle, he shot down the enemy flight leader and then the deputy flight leader and damaged three more enemy fighters, completely breaking up the enemy flight. He was awarded the Silver Star.
While flying the the 16th, Major Adams was credited with destroying 6½ enemy aircraft in aerial combat, and damaging another 3½. On his twentieth mission, he had just shot down a MiG 15 when he was attacked by four more. The enemy fighters chased Adams out over the Yellow Sea before he could break away. By this time, he was 250 miles (402 kilometers) from base with fuel remaining for just 100 miles (161 kilometers). He said, “I climbed to 45,000 feet [13,716 meters], shut of the engine and glided 150 miles [241 kilometers] before starting up again.”
Adams flew 100 combat missions during the Korean War. He returned to the United States 16 June 1952, and in July, was assigned to the 27th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 4711th Defense Wing, Air Defense Command, at Griffis Air Force Base.
In addition to the Silver Star, Major Adams had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with one silver and two bronze oak leaf clusters (seven awards), the Presidential Unit Citation with one oak leaf cluster (two awards), the American Campaign Medal, European African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three service stars, World War II Victory Medal, Army of Occupation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal with three service stars (three campaigns), the Air Force Longevity Service Award with one oak leaf cluster (ten years service), the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, the United Nations Service Medal for Korea, and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.
Major Donald Earl Adams, United States Air Force, is buried at the Clinton Grove Cemetery, Mount Clemens, Michigan.
Edward F. Kelly, Jr., was born in New York, 5 May 1918. He was the first of four children of Edward F. Kelly, a pawn broker, and Agatha M. Tynan Kelly. Captain Kelly flew 69 combat missions in the Pacific during World War II. He was a resident of New York City.
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)
