McDonnell Douglas MD-12 - Definition and Overview

The McDonnell Douglas MD-12 was a design study undertaken by the McDonnell Douglas company in the 1990s. Initially it was to be a stretched, higher capacity version of the trijet MD-11. The design then grew into a much larger aircraft with 4 engines and two passenger decks extending the length of the fuselage was announced in April 1992. This was similar in concept to the future Airbus A380 and Boeing NLA, and would have been larger than the Boeing 747. Despite aggressive marketing, especially in the aviation press, no orders were placed for the aircraft, and it was quietly forgotten after the merger between McDonnell Douglas and Boeing.

Specifications (MD-12 HC, as designed)

General Characteristics

• Crew: two pilots
• Capacity: 430 Passengers in 3 class arrangement. Up to 511 passengers in high capacity layout.
• Length: 208 ft 0 in (63.40 m)
• Wingspan: 213 ft 0 in (64.92 m)
• Height: 74 ft 0 in (22.55 m)
• Wing area: 5,846 ft² (543 m²)
• Empty: 413,700 lb (187,663 kg)
• Loaded: lb ( kg)
• Maximum takeoff: 949,000 lb (430,463 kg)
• Powerplant: 4x General Electric CF6-80C2 turbofans, 61,500 lb (273.6 kN) thrust each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 656 mph (1,050 km/h) (Mach .85)
• Range: 9,200 miles (14,825 km)
• Service ceiling: ft ( m)
• Rate of climb: ft/min ( m/min)
• Wing loading: 162.3 lb/ft² (792.7 kg/m²)
• Thrust-to-Weight: