McDonnell Douglas MD-80 Series Scrapbook

Photos by Scott Jankowski, Crey Beitler and Ken Kula, story by Ken Kula

McDonnell Douglas built over 1100 MD-80 series aircraft, including MD-88 and MD-90 derivatives. Essentially a stretched and enlarged DC-9 airliner, the MD-80 series carried more fuel, more seats and larger engines. The aircraft was in production between 1979 and 1999, and some of those airframes were later modified into freighters. 

There were five named models of the MD-80 family. The MD-81, MD-82, and MD-83 had minor differences between each other including variations with engine and fuel systems and weight. The MD-88 was a fourth version of the basic airframe but included an electronic cockpit that the original variants didn’t have, a 5-foot longer fuselage, and bigger Pratt and Whitney engines. The MD-90 was an MD-88 with V2500 engines which were quieter and more efficient too.

MD-81

MD-82

MD-83

MD-88

MD-90

Nicknamed the “Mad Dog” (for McDonnell Douglas), the jet was operated worldwide, including Chinese-built airframes. Here are several galleries of MD-80 family photos; the first one has photos of converted passenger to freighter airframes. The second and larger one has a mix of all MD-80 families.