[Note: I'd also got the livery pack with the JF/CLS DC-10 base install (please see my previous post), but never got to install the livery pack, so, I installed these repaints today, primarily motivated by looking for the CP Air livery (due to a comment by "rmeier" comment in my previous post),...the pack did contain Canadian (but no CP Air) ...anyway, I posted below few other liveries, too, that I liked...Enjoy...]

The DC-10-30 variant became popular among many global airline operators of the day, serving the respective carriers for long periods...typically 20 years or more...till it was replaced by the likes of MD-11, B747, and A340 (I was fortunate to experience the transition (DC10 -> B747 -> A340) with Lufthansa...LH was a big fan of MD-11F freighters, but, on record, never deployed any MD-11 for pax transport). Here is an anomaly about the DC-10 series...unlike the DC-8 that steadily progressed through (10/20/30/40/50/60/70) variants, the DC-10, peculiarly, has a gap with no "DC-10-20" variant built. The proposed DC-10-20 actually became the DC-10-40 (with extra wingtip fuel tanks and greater range). A (proposed) DC-10-50, for British Airways, was never built because the airline went with L-1011 Tristar instead.

So, please find below, the DC-10-30 in the classic colors of 9 airlines, a few of these are bygone in history (BCal, Sabena, Swissair (original), and Alitalia - see next) ...most significantly, "Alitalia" has recently ceased operations, just 4 months ago, on October 14th, 2021, after 75 years of service...!

Hope you enjoy these pictures...!

(BCal, Lufthansa, Canadian, Biman Bangladesh, and Finnair are shown with 1 image each, and Sabena (I really like this light blue Sabena livery), Swissair, SAS, and Alitalia are shown with 2 images each). 

[And bits of (optional) reading, below...🙂...if you wish to look, for each of these airlines...in the order of the images shown...]

1. For many years BCal had looked for a suitable wide-body aircraft to replace their ageing 707 fleet. Eventually the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 was chosen above the L-1011 and B747. Following the BA merger, the decision was made by BA to retain the BCal's DC10s and they would continue in BA service until 2001; always based out of Gatwick. BCal (and BA) looked after their DC10s well, and many of the fleet would later move on to (productive) freighter operations, eventually reaching nearly 40 years of continued service...
2. Lufthansa operated the DC10-30/DC10-30F variant for 20 years from 1974 till 1994. B747 entered service in 1989 and the A340 entered service in 1993, for their long-haul operations. This makes sense to me now...🙂...since I recall flying on LH trijets in early nineties. Because LH never operated any other (long-haul) Trijets such as MD-11/L-1011 for passenger service, here, shown below, is one member of the LH (pax) DC-10-30 fleet...on a couple of DC-10s in that fleet, I must have travelled on...
3. Canadian Airlines International Ltd. (or just simply Canadian) was a Canadian airline that operated from 1987 until 2001. The airline was Canada's second largest airline after Air Canada. The new airline was formed, when Pacific Western Airlines purchased Canadian Pacific Air Lines (which operated as CP Air for a number of years). CP Air is one of my favorites among (classic) airlines.
4. Biman Bangladesh Airlines was the last commercial carrier to operate the DC-10 in passenger service. The airline flew the DC-10 on a regular passenger flight for the last time on February 20, 2014, from Dhaka, Bangladesh to Birmingham, UK.
5. Finnair operated a fleet of 5 DC-10-30s, for 20 years, from 1975 to 1995. It was the first airline to acquire satellite telephones for its DC-10 aircraft in 1986. This enabled passengers to call from the aircraft to anywhere in the world. The same year, Finnair received its first Airbus aircraft (A340). Finnair never acquired any B747 for long-haul, and currently has an (exclusive) all Airbus fleet.
6. Sabena, the one-time national airline of Belgium (1923-2001), operated 12 DC-10-30s, 6 of which were the interesting "-30CF" type i.e., convertible (Passengers and/or freight) combi aircraft wide-body jets (something that was quite common for smaller 727/737 jets at one time e.g., for Alaska Airlines, but not so much for long-haul wide-bodies...). Finnair was the only airline to take delivery of that variant of DC-10.
7. (The original) Swissair operated 14 DC-10-30s for 20 years between 1972-1992, which were then replaced by 22 MD-11s.
8. SAS operated 12 DC-10-30s from 1974 to 1991. The DC10 was just right for their transatlantic operations, with the right capacity and right range, capable of reaching the US west coast (747 was deemed too big for their traffic load).
9. Alitalia, shown last (as a tribute to this (most-recently ceased) long-lasting (flag) carrier), operated 8 DC-10-30s between 1973-1985, before switching to MD-11s.

Thanks for viewing...!!

I flew many a time on the DC-10 , thanks for the memories with these classy shots .

Super set of shots! 🙂 

Great set of shots there.

 

Always nice to see the classics get some love. Is this the DC10 HD or the standard one? As I understand, the HD has no option for an INS, which is weird.

 

Couple of points: Finnair actually operated the MD11 as a DC10 replacement from the early 90s til the late 2000s, and the first A340 wasn't delivered until 2005. Also of note is the fact that the last MD11 passenger flight took place only around 8 months after the last DC10 pax flight. And, despite the DC10 being more suitable, both BCal and SAS also bought 747 Classics.

 

 

Let me leave you with this little gem. DC10 onboard documentary from just before the LH retirement in 1994. They also did one aboard the 744 to Kai Tak.

 

 

johnb, Alaska:  Many thanks...!!

 

Rashid:

Thank you...! Great points....yes, exactly right...some of these EU airlines did have 747 Classics but, probably did not consider the 747-400 suitable for their traffic needs...otherwise they would have surely approved of it...🙂...I recall the LH 747-400s were always full to capacity on e.g., the (Chicago <-> Frankfurt) route...and, regarding LH DC10s, after 2 (maybe max 3) times on their DC-10s (92-94), I never saw those DC10s any more...It was pretty much only the 747-400s and A340s...till the A330s and B748s appeared...

Wonderful video, above...! Yes, the flightdeck looks like that of my DC-10, here, but not MD-10...🙂...Wish it were for (Frankfurt-Chicago) ...🙂...btw, the brief sightings of the other airlines' DC10s, in the video, look good too...there is that CP Air DC-10, I was looking so hard for, yesterday...

Regarding the SIM, this is the SIM I got in the New Year...so, yes, it's what JF/CLS call "HD", the livery pack is also for the "HD" version...

You're correct, I don't see INS in these (HD) version DC-10 panels...I was going to add/try INS to the "-30" panel, since you'd shown me how to automatically (and easily) upload WPTs into the INS CDUs...🙂...I'll try one INS Unit first and then add the other two units...Do you know if (CIVA) INS works, when it's added to this (HD) DC10 panel...?

Thanks again and cheers...!!

On 2/12/2022 at 6:09 PM, johnbow72 said:

I flew many a time on the DC-10 , thanks for the memories with these classy shots .

+1

On 2/12/2022 at 11:21 PM, P_7878 said:

regarding LH DC10s, after 2 (maybe max 3) times on their DC-10s (92-94), I never saw those DC10s any more..

I have flown four or five times in the early 1990s with the LH DC10 from Frankfurt to Vancouver (sadly no first class, only business and coach).

After that it was 744 and later A340. 

 

13 minutes ago, bernd1151 said:

... (sadly, no first class, only business and coach) ...

...🙂...there is a difference, bernd, when you could not be in first class...because there was no first class available, and when first class would be available, but still stuck in the sardine class...🙂...

And exactly right...about LH progression...after the DC10s, it was the 744s and A340s... now, it's the A350s and B787s, I guess....

The DC10s surely flew us across the oceans...unfortunately, as I said in my post...I didn't know they were DC10s... Oh well...I now know...🙂...better late than never...

Thanks for the comments...!!

9 hours ago, P_7878 said:

...about LH progression...after the DC10s, it was the 744s and A340s...

 

Worth noting that LH also used the passenger 747-200s into the early 2000s, with D-ABZH being retired in 2004.

***Fantastic*** Some I've never knew about.Thank You.

Fantastic shots 👍🏽

cheers 😉

Thank you...Rashid, Patrick, pmplayer.... for the comments and notes...🙂...!!