"MD-12" redirects here. For Polish aircraft, see PZL MD-12. For the state highway, see Maryland Route 12.
The McDonnell Douglas MD-12 was a large wide-body airliner concept planned by the McDonnell Douglas company in the 1990s. It was first conceived as a trijet larger than the MD-11, then stretched to a quadjet airliner. It was to be similar in size to the Boeing 747, but with greater passenger capacity through two full-length passenger decks. However, the MD-12 received no orders and was canceled. McDonnell Douglas then studied larger MD-11 derivatives named MD-XX without proceeding.
MD-12
A computer rendering of the proposed MD-12, a full double-decker configuration concept
McDonnell Douglas studied improved, stretched versions of the MD-11 trijet, named MD-12X[1] with a possible lower-front passenger deck with panoramic windows.[2][3] The MDC board of directors agreed in October 1991 to offer the MD-12X design to airlines. The MD-12X had a length of 237 ft 11 in (72.5 m) and a wingspan of 212 ft 6 in (64.8 m). In November 1991, McDonnell Douglas and Taiwan Aerospace Corporation signed a Memorandum of Understanding to form a company to produce the new design. The new company would have McDonnell Douglas as the majority shareholder (51%) with Taiwan Aerospace (40%) and other Asian companies (9%) having the remaining shares.[3]
MD-12edit
Artist's impression of the MD-12
In late 1991, McDonnell Douglas made a move to separate its civil and military divisions in a bid to raise the estimated $4 billion development costs needed to develop the MD-12X trijet. Separating the costly development of the military C-17 airlifter, which had been a drain on the company's resources, from the profit-making production of the MD-80 and MD-11 airliners would make it easier to attract foreign investors for the MD-12X.[4]
The design grew into the much larger MD-12 with four engines and two passenger decks extending the length of the fuselage. The length of the main MD-12 variants was 208 ft (63.4 m) with a wingspan of 213 ft (64.9 m). The fuselage was 24 ft 3 in (7.39 m) wide by 27 ft 11 in (8.51 m) high.[3]
McDonnell Douglas unveiled its MD-12 design in April 1992.[3] The design was similar in concept to the Airbus A3XX and Boeing New Large Airplane, and it would have been larger than the Boeing 747 with which it would have directly competed. Douglas Aircraft also studied a smaller double-decker design in the 1960s for the aircraft that would eventually become the DC-10.[5][6]
The first flight of the MD-12 was to take place in late 1995, with delivery in 1997.[3] Despite aggressive marketing and initial excitement, especially in the aviation press, no orders were placed for the aircraft. MDC lacked the resources after Taiwan Aerospace left the project.[3] Some skeptics believed that MDC launched the project to lure Boeing into paying a higher price for the company.[7][8] A new double-deck widebody has proved to be extremely expensive and complex to develop, even for the remaining aerospace giants Boeing and Airbus, although the massive Airbus A380, a similar concept to the MD-12, was later brought to fruition,[9][10] but was not a financial success.[11]
MD-XXedit
With the MD-12 program over, McDonnell Douglas focused on 300 to 400–seat MD-11 derivatives. At the 1996 Farnborough International Air Show, the company presented plans for a new trijet with high-seating and long-range named "MD-XX".[12] The MD-XX was offered in two variants; MD-XX Stretch with a longer fuselage and MD-XX LR for longer range. Both MD-XX variant designs had 213 ft (64.9 m) wingspan, the same as MD-12. The MD-XX Stretch was lengthened 32 ft (9.8 m) over the MD-11 and had seating for 375 in a typical 3-class arrangement and 515 in all-economy seating. Its range was to be 7,020 nmi (8,080 mi; 13,000 km). The MD-XX LR was the same length as the MD-11, had seating for 309 in a typical 3-class arrangement and featured a range of 8,320 nmi (9,570 mi; 15,400 km). However, the MDC board of directors decided to end the MD-XX program in October 1996, stating the financial investment for the program was too large for the company.[3]
Variantsedit
The MD-12 was offered in a few proposed variants as listed below.[3]
MD-12 HC (High Capacity)
MD-12 LR (Long Range)
MD-12 ST (Stretch)
MD-12 Twin (two-engine version)
Specifications (MD-12 High Capacity design)edit
MD-12 three views
Data from McDonnell Douglas promotional materials[1]
^ ab"MDC brochures for undeveloped versions of the MD-11 and MD-12." 2008-05-11 at the Wayback Machine md-eleven.net. Retrieved: April 14, 2008.
^"MD-11 page." Airliners.net. Retrieved: October 18, 2007.
^ abcdefghSteffen, Arthur (2002), McDonnell Douglas MD-11: A Long Beach Swansong, UK: Midland: Hinckley, pp. 92–94, ISBN1-85780-117-2
^"MD-12 divides Douglas." Flight International, November 13–19, 1991.
^Berek, D. "Proposed double deck DC-10 design in 1965." 2013-12-27 at the Wayback Machine webshots.com, April 4, 2004. Retrieved: July 15, 2011.
^Waddington, Terry. McDonnell Douglas DC-10. Miami, Florida: World Transport Press, 2000. ISBN1-892437-04-X.
^Knowlton, Brian; International Herald Tribune (16 December 1996). "Boeing to Buy McDonnell Douglas". New York Times. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
^Bean, Bransom (5 January 2016). "Failure to Launch: The Legacy of the McDonnell Douglas MD-12 Program". AV Geekery. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
^"Airbus will lose €4.8bn because of A380 delays." Times Online, October 4, 2006.
^Schwartz, Nelson D. (5 March 2007), "Big plane, big problems", CNN
^Spaeth, Andreas; Rooks, Tim (16 December 2021). "Airbus A380: End of a multibillion-dollar dream". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
^"McDonnell Douglas Unveils New MD-XX Trijet Design." 2011-11-06 at the Wayback Machine McDonnell Douglas, September 4, 1996.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to McDonnell Douglas MD-12.
"McDonnell May Build A Larger Jet", The New York Times, March 16, 1992
January 01, 1970
mcdonnell, douglas, redirects, here, polish, aircraft, state, highway, maryland, route, large, wide, body, airliner, concept, planned, mcdonnell, douglas, company, 1990s, first, conceived, trijet, larger, than, then, stretched, quadjet, airliner, similar, size. MD 12 redirects here For Polish aircraft see PZL MD 12 For the state highway see Maryland Route 12 The McDonnell Douglas MD 12 was a large wide body airliner concept planned by the McDonnell Douglas company in the 1990s It was first conceived as a trijet larger than the MD 11 then stretched to a quadjet airliner It was to be similar in size to the Boeing 747 but with greater passenger capacity through two full length passenger decks However the MD 12 received no orders and was canceled McDonnell Douglas then studied larger MD 11 derivatives named MD XX without proceeding MD 12 A computer rendering of the proposed MD 12 a full double decker configuration concept Role Double decker wide body aircraft National origin United States Manufacturer McDonnell Douglas Status Design study canceled Contents 1 Design and development 1 1 Background 1 2 MD 12 1 3 MD XX 2 Variants 3 Specifications MD 12 High Capacity design 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksDesign and development editBackground edit McDonnell Douglas studied improved stretched versions of the MD 11 trijet named MD 12X 1 with a possible lower front passenger deck with panoramic windows 2 3 The MDC board of directors agreed in October 1991 to offer the MD 12X design to airlines The MD 12X had a length of 237 ft 11 in 72 5 m and a wingspan of 212 ft 6 in 64 8 m In November 1991 McDonnell Douglas and Taiwan Aerospace Corporation signed a Memorandum of Understanding to form a company to produce the new design The new company would have McDonnell Douglas as the majority shareholder 51 with Taiwan Aerospace 40 and other Asian companies 9 having the remaining shares 3 MD 12 edit nbsp Artist s impression of the MD 12 In late 1991 McDonnell Douglas made a move to separate its civil and military divisions in a bid to raise the estimated 4 billion development costs needed to develop the MD 12X trijet Separating the costly development of the military C 17 airlifter which had been a drain on the company s resources from the profit making production of the MD 80 and MD 11 airliners would make it easier to attract foreign investors for the MD 12X 4 The design grew into the much larger MD 12 with four engines and two passenger decks extending the length of the fuselage The length of the main MD 12 variants was 208 ft 63 4 m with a wingspan of 213 ft 64 9 m The fuselage was 24 ft 3 in 7 39 m wide by 27 ft 11 in 8 51 m high 3 McDonnell Douglas unveiled its MD 12 design in April 1992 3 The design was similar in concept to the Airbus A3XX and Boeing New Large Airplane and it would have been larger than the Boeing 747 with which it would have directly competed Douglas Aircraft also studied a smaller double decker design in the 1960s for the aircraft that would eventually become the DC 10 5 6 The first flight of the MD 12 was to take place in late 1995 with delivery in 1997 3 Despite aggressive marketing and initial excitement especially in the aviation press no orders were placed for the aircraft MDC lacked the resources after Taiwan Aerospace left the project 3 Some skeptics believed that MDC launched the project to lure Boeing into paying a higher price for the company 7 8 A new double deck widebody has proved to be extremely expensive and complex to develop even for the remaining aerospace giants Boeing and Airbus although the massive Airbus A380 a similar concept to the MD 12 was later brought to fruition 9 10 but was not a financial success 11 MD XX edit With the MD 12 program over McDonnell Douglas focused on 300 to 400 seat MD 11 derivatives At the 1996 Farnborough International Air Show the company presented plans for a new trijet with high seating and long range named MD XX 12 The MD XX was offered in two variants MD XX Stretch with a longer fuselage and MD XX LR for longer range Both MD XX variant designs had 213 ft 64 9 m wingspan the same as MD 12 The MD XX Stretch was lengthened 32 ft 9 8 m over the MD 11 and had seating for 375 in a typical 3 class arrangement and 515 in all economy seating Its range was to be 7 020 nmi 8 080 mi 13 000 km The MD XX LR was the same length as the MD 11 had seating for 309 in a typical 3 class arrangement and featured a range of 8 320 nmi 9 570 mi 15 400 km However the MDC board of directors decided to end the MD XX program in October 1996 stating the financial investment for the program was too large for the company 3 Variants editThe MD 12 was offered in a few proposed variants as listed below 3 MD 12 HC High Capacity MD 12 LR Long Range MD 12 ST Stretch MD 12 Twin two engine version Specifications MD 12 High Capacity design edit nbsp MD 12 three views Data from McDonnell Douglas promotional materials 1 General characteristicsCrew 2 pilot and co pilot Capacity Long range 430 passengers 3 class High capacity 511 passengers 1 class Length 208 ft 0 in 63 40 m Wingspan 213 ft 0 in 64 92 m Height 74 ft 0 in 22 55 m Wing area 5 846 sq ft 543 1 m2 Empty weight 402 700 lb 187 650 kg Max takeoff weight 949 000 lb 430 500 kg Powerplant 4 General Electric CF6 80C2 high bypass turbofans 61 500 lbf 274 kN thrust each Performance Maximum speed 565 kn 650 mph 1 050 km h Maximum speed Mach 0 85 Range 7 170 nmi 8 251 mi 13 279 km Wing loading 162 3 lb sq ft 792 7 kg m2 See also editRelated development McDonnell Douglas MD 11 Aircraft of comparable role configuration and era Airbus A380 Boeing NLA proposed Boeing 747 8 Sukhoi KR 860 proposed References editNotes a b MDC brochures for undeveloped versions of the MD 11 and MD 12 Archived 2008 05 11 at the Wayback Machine md eleven net Retrieved April 14 2008 MD 11 page Airliners net Retrieved October 18 2007 a b c d e f g h Steffen Arthur 2002 McDonnell Douglas MD 11 A Long Beach Swansong UK Midland Hinckley pp 92 94 ISBN 1 85780 117 2 MD 12 divides Douglas Flight International November 13 19 1991 Berek D Proposed double deck DC 10 design in 1965 Archived 2013 12 27 at the Wayback Machine webshots com April 4 2004 Retrieved July 15 2011 Waddington Terry McDonnell Douglas DC 10 Miami Florida World Transport Press 2000 ISBN 1 892437 04 X Knowlton Brian International Herald Tribune 16 December 1996 Boeing to Buy McDonnell Douglas New York Times Retrieved 25 September 2020 Bean Bransom 5 January 2016 Failure to Launch The Legacy of the McDonnell Douglas MD 12 Program AV Geekery Retrieved 23 March 2017 Airbus will lose 4 8bn because of A380 delays Times Online October 4 2006 Schwartz Nelson D 5 March 2007 Big plane big problems CNN Spaeth Andreas Rooks Tim 16 December 2021 Airbus A380 End of a multibillion dollar dream Deutsche Welle Retrieved 10 October 2023 McDonnell Douglas Unveils New MD XX Trijet Design Archived 2011 11 06 at the Wayback Machine McDonnell Douglas September 4 1996 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to McDonnell Douglas MD 12 Undeveloped MD 11 MD 12 models page on MD Eleven net McDonnell May Build A Larger Jet The New York Times March 16 1992 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title McDonnell Douglas MD 12 amp oldid 1191024141, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
