Fedex decided to scrap 26 of the DC-10s they had in storage, rather than
mod them to the MD-10 configuration because the conversions were not
economical in the post 9/11 environment. Any airliner that has been in
service for 20-30 years is going to have serious corrosion and
maintanence issues. The USAF is much better off starting out with new
airframes, as they will probably have to serve 50-60 years, judging from
the KC-135.


I saw them doing some of the flight testing when I was living in Fargo. It was
a white DC-10 body, but it had the MD-10 conversion and had on the side
"MD-10". I beliieve it was the sam cockpit as the MD-11, and would have
allowed for a common type rating.

However that idea is not liked by FedEx pilots, who say they two land rather
differently and that pilots could be assigned either type at will...and it will
result in pranged airplanes


Ron
Tucson AZ
C-421 air ambulance