Douglas DC-8 Jet Airliner and Freighter Family
The Douglas DC-8 is a four-engine long-range jet transport that first flew in 1958 and entered airline service in 1959. Its lineage grew through progressively more capable passenger and freighter series, including stretched Series 60 aircraft and quieter, more efficient CFM56-powered Super 70 conversions. The type also supported decades of NASA airborne science and, after mainstream airline and research retirement, survives only in extremely limited cargo service.
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Identity
- Aliases
- DC-8DC-8 Series 10DC-8 Series 50DC-8 Series 60DC-8 Super 70DC-8-72DC-8-73
- Family Name
- Douglas DC-8
- Full Name
- Douglas DC-8 Jet Airliner and Freighter Family
- Roles
- airlinercargoresearch
- Status
- active
- Type
- aircraft
Details
- Aircraft Specs
- Configuration
- fixed_wing
- Operating Modes
- land
- Takeoff Landing Capabilities
- conventional
- Description
- The Douglas DC-8 is a four-engine long-range jet transport that first flew in 1958 and entered airline service in 1959. Its lineage grew through progressively more capable passenger and freighter series, including stretched Series 60 aircraft and quieter, more efficient CFM56-powered Super 70 conversions. The type also supported decades of NASA airborne science and, after mainstream airline and research retirement, survives only in extremely limited cargo service.
- First Flight Year
- 1,958
- Manufacturer
- Propulsion Configurations
- Entries
- Count
- 4
- Placement
- wing
- Propulsion System
- Role
- main
- Variant Notes
- The first DC-8 prototype flew with four Pratt & Whitney JT3C turbojets; the canonical node represents the J57/JT3C family because the exact early dash variant is not asserted here.
- Name
- Early DC-8 prototype JT3C installation
- Notes
- Prototype/early Series 10 installation; the existing family-level CFM56 Super 70 configuration is preserved separately.
- Entries
- Count
- 4
- Placement
- wing
- Propulsion System
- Role
- main
- Variant Notes
- CFM International CFM56-2C1 turbofans on DC-8-72 and DC-8-73 conversions; canonical family-level relationship preserved from the existing row.
- Name
- DC-8 Super 70 re-engined configuration
- Entries
- Count
- 4
- Propulsion System
- Role
- main
- Stage
- airframe
- Variant Notes
- Four Pratt & Whitney JT4A-9 engines on the DC-8-21/early DC-8-20 series; placement omitted because FAA sources establish installation and count but not the canonical placement value.
- Name
- DC-8-21 JT4A-9 installation
- Notes
- Early DC-8-20-series installation supported by FAA records; exact sibling subseries and any alternate JT4A models remain unmodeled.
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- Creation Time
- July 29, 2026 at 22:01:39 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 6, 2026 at 21:53:31 UTC