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Julio Gomez flew the MD-80 throughout his 20-year career with American Airlines. But he can not bring himself to make this last trip in the desert of New Mexico.
"I just can not take this plane to his grave," said 52-year-old Gomez, speaking about retirement flights from iconic jets on Wednesday. "It's too heartbreaking." Instead, the veteran pilot made his closing flight Tuesday night.
The retreats mark the end of an era at American for the workhorse known as the Super 80, whose old design and noisy rear engines have engendered love-hate relationships over its four decades. The device was once the backbone of the American American, fueling its expansion until the end of the last century on classic routes like Chicago-New York or Dallas-Saint-Louis.
The jet "was essentially American Airlines," said Gomez. At the peak of 2002, 362 MD-80 aircraft accounted for 44% of the carrier's fleet. "If American kept the Super 80 until the age of 65, I would fly it," said Gomez.
The single aisle jet – made in Long Beach by McDonnell Douglas Corp. – could be difficult to fly. But it helped to improve the skills of pilots and to retain drivers like Gomez, who wanted to have more control over all aspects of the aircraft.
Airlines have now adopted less fuel-hungry models with additional seats and the latest technologies, including a more computerized cockpit. MD-80 dominated roads have been taken over by new versions of aircraft families such as the Boeing Co. 737 and the Airbus SE A320.
Thus, Wednesday, after 36 years, American planned to make the last commercial trip of the MD-80, the flight 80, between Dallas and Chicago.
American will carry the last 23 of its MD-80 jets to a desert car park in Roswell, New Jersey. One of them staying at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport will be used for future deicing operations. Two more will be given to flying schools.
At the Texas airport, American employees took turns to pose giant letters and numbers consisting of silver balloons arranged to spell the word MD-80. The music of the 80s sounded. And groups of airline employees wore red T-shirts with the date and image of the engines and tail of the MD-80.
The jets that are not rented will likely be used by other companies in search of parts, especially engines, said Josh Freed, spokesman for American.
Delta Air Lines Inc. continues to fly certain MD-88s and MD-90s, later model vintages.
But it's the original MD-80, nicknamed "Mad Dog" by the pilots, which threw the imagination of the industry at its introduction by McDonnell Douglas. Over the years, he has received other nicknames: "Silver bullet" for his polished aluminum fuselage; "Harley" because it was noisy and fast; and "Long Beach Sewer Pipe" in honor of its plant and its extended length.
Two engines positioned on either side of the fuselage in front of the tail were so strong that they made the aircraft easily recognizable. While first-class pilots and passengers enjoyed an exceptionally quiet flight in the bow, flight attendants complained about the noise of both engines in the bus.
"My husband said," I can say that you fly the Super 80 because you scream when you talk, "said Jennifer Brissette, 23, a flight attendant from American.
The airline, then headed by CEO Robert Crandall, leased its first 20 from McDonnell Douglas' new commercial jet in 1982, before quickly adding 13 more. The airline began operating the aircraft the following year.
In March 1984, American passed what was at the time the largest order of commercial aircraft ever made, namely 67 MD-80s with options to buy 100 more. The fleet received a boost when American acquired Trans World Airlines and its 104 MD-80s in 2001.
The planes had 12 first class seats and 130 coaches, two on the other side and three on the other side. They traveled up to 1,800 km for American and helped launch the airline's star operating system.
Neil Roghair, an American pilot who flew Mad Dogs earlier in his career, remembers how hard it was to learn to land the MD-80 well and that it was not a good high-altitude aircraft.
The American pilot Sam Mayer became captain of the MD-80 in 1999 after a decade of flying as the first officer on the Boeing Co. 727, then 767, both with a much higher level of aircraft automation. cockpit.
Boeing bought McDonnell Douglas in 1997 and ended the production of the MD-80 in 1999.
"I remember thinking that it was the most ergonomic cockpit I've ever seen, with switches and dials apparently placed at random locations all over the cockpit, not resembling any other." nothing to another plane that I've ever seen, "said Mayer. "When they talk about" seat of the flying pants ", the MD-80 will be the last of the breed."
The MD-80 did not have a central window post. The compass was mounted behind the co-pilot's seat to avoid interference from other equipment. The pilots could confirm the display headers by looking in the small lift-up mirrors located at the top of the dashboard and reading the compass setting.
"It's almost as if the plane had been built and that, in the end, he had finished saying," We forgot to put the compass in, "said Kent Wien, an American captain who once drove the MD-80. video uploaded on the plane. "It's a relatively awkward system, but it worked."
The MD-80 had other quirks. The interior of the aircraft was getting so hot in the summer, especially on the stuffy Texas, on the airport tarmac that passengers were not allowed to board until the cooling system reached a temperature of less than 90 degrees. .
Condensation from the air conditioning would sink to the rear of the aircraft and drip onto the flight attendant sitting in the tail cone of the aircraft. Many flew with an umbrella for not getting wet, said Brissette, who planned to take a final flight with the MD-80.
"You loved and hated you," she said. "I would never do this plane on purpose again. Good riddance."
Nevertheless, more than 1,100 American employees have registered to fly the Mad Dog on one of his last flights. Unable to support free travel, the carrier instead provided commemorative boarding passes to the MD-80.
Gomez was hooked for the first time when he took a night flight aboard the jet while he was young. A look in the darkened cockpit with its dazzling constellation of illuminated dials and gauges partly explained why he had become a pilot.
He remained faithful to the Super 80, even passing a promotion to the rank of captain on another plane to continue to fly. There is no more plane that gives pilots the same sense of control that they enter data manually instead of ordering on-board computers, he said.
"On the Super 80, you have your head in mind, you plan downhill, when to start, when to start reducing speed," said Gomez. "Your mind is always moving. With the MD-80, you fly. "
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