douglas Aircraft
Douglas DC-7 Seven Seas
Transport Aircraft
Douglas Aircraft
The Douglas DC-7 is a transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1953 to 1958.
Douglas
DC-7 Seven Seas
The Douglas DC-7 is a transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1953 to 1958. It was the last major piston engine-powered transport made by Douglas, being developed shortly after the earliest jet airliner—the de Havilland Comet—entered service and only a few years before the jet-powered Douglas DC-8 first flew. Unlike other aircraft in Douglas’s collection of propeller-driven aircraft, no examples remain in service in the present day, as compared to the far more successful DC-3 and DC-6
Design
In 1945 Pan American World Airways requested a DC-7, a civil version of the Douglas C-74 Globemaster military transport. Pan Am soon canceled their order. That proposed DC-7 was unrelated to the later airliner.[4]
American Airlines revived the designation when they requested an aircraft that could fly the USA coast-to-coast non-stop in about eight hours. (Civil Air Regulations then limited domestic flight crews to 8 hours’ flight time in any 24-hour period.[5][6]) Douglas was reluctant to build the aircraft until American Airlines president C. R. Smith ordered 25 at a price of $40 million, thus covering Douglas’ development costs.
Douglas Transport
Douglas
| Role | Airliner and transport aircraft |
|---|---|
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Douglas Aircraft Company |
| First flight | 18 May 1953 |
| Introduction | 29 November 1953 |
| Retired | October 2020 |
| Status | Retired |
| Primary users | American Airlines (historical) United Airlines (historical) Eastern Air Lines (historical) Pan Am (historical) |
| Produced | 1953–1958 |
| Number built | 338 |
| Developed from | Douglas DC-6 |
Airlines
Airlines
DC-7s were used by Alitalia, American Airlines, BOAC, Braniff Airways, Caledonian Airways, Delta Air Lines, Eastern Air Lines, Flying Tigers, Japan Airlines, KLM, Mexicana de Aviacion, National Airlines, Northwest Orient, Panair do Brasil, Pan American World Airways, Riddle Airlines, Sabena, SAS, South African Airways, Swissair, Turkish Airlines, Transports Aériens Intercontinentaux, and United Airlines.
Seventeen DC-7s remained on the U.S. registry in 2010,[12] they were used mainly for cargo and as aerial firefighting airtankers. Due to its engine problems, the DC-7 has not had the same longevity as the DC-6, which is still used by a number of commercial operators.
Specifications (DC-7)
General characteristics
- Crew: 5 flight crew, 4 flight attendants
- Capacity: up to 105 Passengers + 18,440 lb (8,360 kg) cargo/baggage
- Length: 112 ft 3 in (34.21 m)
- Wingspan: 127 ft 6 in (38.86 m)
- Height: 31 ft 8 in (9.65 m)
- Wing area: 1,637 sq ft (152.1 m2)
- Airfoil: root: NACA 23016; tip: NACA 23012[52]
- Empty weight: 72,763 lb (33,005 kg) * Operating weight empty: 78,890 lb (35,780 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 143,000 lb (64,864 kg) * Maximum landing weight: 109,000 lb (49,000 kg)
- Fuel capacity: 7,824 US gal (6,515 imp gal; 29,620 l) in eight wing tanks ; Oil capacity 246 US gal (205 imp gal; 930 l)
- Powerplant: 4 × Wright R-3350-988TC18EA1-2 18-cylinder turbo-compound air-cooled radial piston engines, 3,400 hp (2,500 kW) each for take-off at sea level
- Propellers: 4-bladed Hamilton-Standard Hydromatic 34E60-345, 14 ft 0 in (4.27 m) diameter constant-speed fully-feathering reversible propellers
Douglas DC-7 Seven Seas
Performance
- Maximum speed: 406 mph (653 km/h, 353 kn) , rated power in high blower at 22,700 ft (6,900 m)
- Cruise speed: 346 mph (557 km/h, 301 kn) recommended at 21,600 ft (6,600 m) and 110,000 lb (50,000 kg) A.U.W.
- Stall speed: 97 mph (156 km/h, 84 kn) at landing weight
- Range: 5,635 mi (9,069 km, 4,897 nmi) , max fuel, 15,310 lb (6,940 kg) payload at 274 mph (238 kn; 441 km/h) at 15,000 ft (4,600 m) with no allowances 4,635 mi (4,028 nmi; 7,459 km), max payload with no allowances
- Service ceiling: 21,700 ft (6,600 m) at max A.U.W. 14,600 ft (4,500 m) on three engines at max A.U.W.
- Rate of climb: 240 ft/min (1.2 m/s) at 20,000 ft (6,100 m) at max A.U.W.
- Take-off field length: 6,360 ft (1,940 m) at max A.U.W.
- Landing run from 50 ft (15 m): 5,100 ft (1,600 m)
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Aircrafttoaal encyclopedia
The Douglas DC-7 is a transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1953 to 1958.