Narrowbody · ICAO MD83

Mcdonnell Douglas MD-83

The McDonnell Douglas MD-83 added extra fuel capacity to the MD-82, extending its range for longer routes without needing a larger, more expensive aircraft. That extra range made it popular with charter airlines and carriers flying longer domestic or short international routes. It shares the same basic fuselage, wing, and rear-mounted engines as the rest of the MD-80 family, tracing its lineage directly back to the original DC-9. Many remained in active passenger and cargo service well into the 2010s, decades after production ended.

Mcdonnell Douglas MD-83, example photo from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: aeroprints.com · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Did you know?

The MD-83 added extra fuel capacity to the MD-82, extending its range for longer routes without a larger, costlier aircraft.

Specifications

Length45.1 m (148 ft)
Wingspan32.9 m (108 ft)
Height9 m (30 ft)
Maximum passengers172
Persons on board142-172
Maximum take-off weight72.5 t
Range2,504 NM (4,637 km)
Maximum speed500 kt (926 km/h)
Service ceiling37,000 ft (11,278 m)
Optimum ceiling33,000 ft (10,058 m)
Rate of climb2,500 ft/min (12.7 m/s)
Take-off distance2,052 m (6,732 ft)
Landing distance1,585 m (5,200 ft)
Fuel capacity26,500 l
Engines2x Pratt & Whitney JT8D-219

Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.

In CatchFlights

In CatchFlights the Mcdonnell Douglas MD-83 starts as a Rare catch. The tier is an editorial judgement of how special a sighting of this type is. The more often you catch it, the closer it moves to Common for you.

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