Douglas DC-8

Excluding military variants, sales of the Boeing 707's family of large jet airliners are about double those of their nearest rival, the Douglas DC-8; yet, with nearly four hundred of all Douglas DC-8 variants ordered, the DC-8 design is far from being overshadowed from Boeing at Renton. The Douglas DC-8, which began life in the 1950s as the Douglas Model 1881, became available to the airliners about a year later than the first Boeing 707's, but from the outset Douglas regarded this time lag as an advantage rather than otherwise. In particular, it determined that safety and performance standards should be maintained without loss of flying qualities, and, unlike Boeing, was able to persue its design unhampered by consideration of military requirements. A total of 556 Douglas DC-8s were built. Some DC-8s are still in service, their airframe life is excellent, and some are re-engining with the CFM56 turbofan, giving efficient propulsion and much higher flight performance; the re-engined aircraft will be styled as 70 series. This book, which features images that have never been published before, explores the history of the DC-8 and those who made it the success it still is today.