Douglas DC-8 (piston airliner)

For the jetliner, see Douglas DC-8.
DC-8 (piston airliner)
Role Airliner
Manufacturer Douglas Aircraft
Status Project canceled
Developed from Douglas XB-42 Mixmaster

The Douglas DC-8 was a piston-engined airliner project by Douglas Aircraft. A prototype aircraft more than a decade before the Douglas DC-8 jetliner, the DC-8 piston aircraft was to have propellers in the tail, an idea first used at Douglas by Edward F. Burton on a fighter project.[1] The project was canceled after development costs made the model not commercially viable.

Design and development

Based on the cancelled XB-42,[2] the program began shortly after the end of World War II. It was intended to operate on short- and medium-range routes, carrying between 40 and 48 passengers[2] in a then-novel pressurized cabin[2] (which had been pioneered by the Boeing 307 in 1938, but was still not in standard airline use).

The DC-8 was to use the same Allison V1710s as the XB-42[3] (these rated at 1,375 hp (1,025 kW)),[2] fitted below and immediately behind the cockpit.[2] They were to power contra-rotating propellers in the tail,[4] as in the XB-42, by way of driveshafts under the cabin floor[2] (an arrangement reminiscent of the P-39.) This arrangement, also proposed for the Douglas Cloudster II general aviation aircraft, reduced drag by 30% and eliminated the problems associated with controlling the aircraft with one engine out.[5][6] Cabin access would have been by airport stair through a single portside door.[7]

Despite performance predicted to significantly surpass conventional twin airliners,[2] excessive complexity and high development costs[2] (with consequent high sales price and operating costs)[2] meant that less risky types, such as Convair's 240 and Martin's 2-0-2 were preferred,[3] and the DC-8 was dropped before a prototype was built.

Specifications (estimated)

Data from DC-8 that might have been [8]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Related development


Bibliography

Notes
  1. ↑ Francillon, René J. McDonnell Douglas aircraft since 1920 (Putnam, 1979), p. 432.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Francillon 1979, p. 714
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Francillon 1979, p. 715
  4. ↑ Francillon 1979, pp. 714–5 & diagram
  5. ↑ Francillon, p. 432.
  6. ↑ "Tail Pusher Cruises at 200mph", March 1947, Popular Mechanics article with photos of Cloudster II
  7. ↑ Francillon 1979, pp. 715 & diagram
  8. ↑ Morgan 1972, pp. 54–55.
References
  • Francillon, René J. (1979). McDonnell Douglas aircraft since 1920 (1979 ed.). Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-370-00050-1. - Total pages: 721
  • Morgan, Eric B. "DC-8 that might have been". Air Pictorial. 34 No. 2 (February 1972): pp. 54–55.

External links

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