TheFlyingDutchman Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 In 1965, Douglas delivered their very first DC-9 to its launch customer Delta Air Lines. Two years later, the -10 series were complemented by the longer -30 series. In the meantime Douglas and McDonnell merged, and the McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 did not only feature a stretched fuselage but also an upgraded wing and engines. The wings were larger and were fitted with slats: movable panels on the wings' leading edges which, together with the flaps, make for better low-speed flying characteristics. Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), the common national airline of Denmark, Sweden and Norway, wanted to buy an airliner to operate on small and remote airports throughout Scandinavia. For operating on their short runways the DC-9-30 would have been perfect, but was too large for the expected demand. However, as the DC-9-10 needed higher speeds for take-off and landing, it was not suitable either. They convinced McDonnell Douglas to develop the -20 series: the short fuselage of the original -10's, but the upgraded wings and engines of the -30. Ten of these custom built DC-9's were built, all for SAS, and when SAS sold them years later most of these were bought by US low-cost-carrier ValuJet. The last operational DC-9-20 is owned by Skydive Perris from California, with which they gave skydivers the opportunity to imitate Dan Cooper by jumping off the rear entrance from the tail! By the looks of it, it seems the aircraft has been stored for a while now, ending the career of this rare DC-9 type. For this 1:144 model, I used the plastic injection Fly Models kit, which is known to have its accuracy issues. I decided not to dive into them too deep, and only fix the problems that were bothering me. The engine pylons were one of them. They are too narrow, and some people say they are too far forward. I corrected the width but did not move them. Widening the pylons was a pretty easy job which took me about half an hour. I also improved the circular cabin outflow vent, which is typical for the DC-9. I used a leftover piece of photo etch for the valve door. On delivery, the SAS DC-9-20's did have a natural metal finish on the wings and belly. Due to corrosion issues, these areas were painted grey within several years. As I wanted to use this model as a practice project for painting natural metal, I did not chose the easy way of painting the aircraft grey. I used Inspire Chrome over various undergrounds, to give the metal surfaces some variation. Not the perfect result I hoped for, but it sure was a fun project! For the livery I used the excellent LN Decals screen printed set and the windows are by Authentic Airliners. Note the anti-gravel strip on the nose gear, another addition of mine! Greets, Jelle 69 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheyJammedKenny! Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 Beautiful! This is one of my favorites. The DC-9s were LOUD, and the -10s very peppy at takeoff. I greatly preferred the cabin environment of the 727 over the DC-9, though, as it seemed the level of pressurization was higher and more consistent on Boeing jet. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric B. Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 Hello, I absolutely like this one. I know about the Fly DC9 inaccuracies, still yours turned perfectly. Beautiful model, very sharp, beautiful details. Having seen a bunch of your airliners recently, best summary is I like your modelling style. Cheers Eric B. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vesa Jussila Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 Really nice and looks DC-9 for me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbofan Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 Hi Jelle, Oh yes this is fantastic, my favourite of your recent batch of models! Love the weathering and overall busyness of everything especially in the last pic! Cheers, Ian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelh Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 (edited) I really like it. I like the DC9 anyway. I had a model of a Scandinavian airlines DC9. It was however one of those travel agent models. I worked in a jet engine maintenance organisation in the eighties and nineties as an Engineering clerk. The Engineers travelled the world. I always asked them to buy me one of those little souvenir models you buy on board. So I had a little collection. I never flew anywhere myself. No Ryanair or Easyjet then. Well one Engineer exceeded the brief and came back from Sweden with a huge box containing an SAS DC9 as seen in travel agents. So you've brought back memories. Edited February 1 by noelh 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viking Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 Another beauty Jelle! it was well worth fixing the pylons, and the natural metal areas look very good. Cheers john 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stringbag Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 I'm a big fan of the DC-9 in all of it's guises so I'm particularly pleased to see this one Jelle. Nice little history lesson as well. Thanks for posting. Chris. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in a shed Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 Beautiful little airliner, and a lovely model of it. Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchem Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 Another excellent build and finish of a classic plane in a classic scheme. Love it 👍👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danish Kenneth Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 Fantastic! I think I might have flown on that very aircraft! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorbertBu Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 (edited) On 01/02/2024 at 21:24, Eric B. said: Hello, I absolutely like this one. I know about the Fly DC9 inaccuracies, still yours turned perfectly. Beautiful model, very sharp, beautiful details. Having seen a bunch of your airliners recently, best summary is I like your modelling style. Cheers Eric B. As I got several of those kits in my stash, I am very keen to hear or better read about those inaccuracies of them. I haven't heart about them yet. Is there a link to a build report? Or could you please list them for me? Thanks in advance, Norbert Edited February 11 by NorbertBu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFlyingDutchman Posted February 13 Author Share Posted February 13 On 2/11/2024 at 10:02 PM, NorbertBu said: As I got several of those kits in my stash, I am very keen to hear or better read about those inaccuracies of them. I haven't heart about them yet. Is there a link to a build report? Or could you please list them for me? Thanks in advance, Norbert Hi Norbert, This thread on Airlinercafe might be helpful! https://airlinercafe.com/forums/topic/dc-9-comparison-airfix-vs-fly-vs-eastern-express/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric B. Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 (edited) On 2/11/2024 at 10:02 PM, NorbertBu said: As I got several of those kits in my stash, I am very keen to hear or better read about those inaccuracies of them. I haven't heart about them yet. Is there a link to a build report? Or could you please list them for me? Thanks in advance, Norbert Hello Norbert, Sorry I did not see your query earlier. I am currently building a Fly DC9-30 myself and from what I read from Jelle report I think I more or loss followed the same route as his to fix some of the kit issues. ... and from the reply he provided to the Airlinercafe thread + link I think we may well have the exact same source of information. Regards Eric B. Edited February 19 by Eric B. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger350Pilot Posted February 17 Share Posted February 17 Hi Jelle! This little beauty gets a WOW! Very very nicely done. It is always such a pleasure to see the old classics here, and most especially when one is done as well as yours. Fine work capturing the accuracy and details of the real airplane. You’ve made this one really stand out with excellent attention, care, and quality. Love the old SAS livery; it truly brought out the dignity of the classic airliners. Well done! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig88 Posted February 17 Share Posted February 17 Spectacular!! Well done indeed. Miguel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomcat101 Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 Usually not too interested in civilian airliners but that build is fantastic. It looks great. Well done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FortyEighter Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 There may be some inaccuracies on the kit bit it looks like a DC-9 to me and the finish is superb. Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loloskymaster Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 Really nice DC-9! Rare to see a build of this plane. Lolo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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