One of the last multi-engine aircraft Douglas DC-8a design from the fifties of the last century, specifically the one operated by the POT, made its last flight on April 1. Be replaced by a Boeing 777-200.
The Douglas Aircraft Company (today Boeing) aircraft DC-8-72, registered as N817NA, it completed its final mission and landed at the so-called Armstrong Flight Research Center building 703, which is part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration or National Aeronautics and Space Administration (POT), in Palmdale (California).
The plane will officially retire in May of this year, ending its 37-year career in favor of the Airborne Sciences Laboratory of said North American administration. Its operational life, was number 458 on the production line of the plant of the aforementioned company in Long Beach (California), began in May 1969, when it was delivered to the currently defunct Italian airline Alitalia with the registration number I-DIWK, After a decade of service it was sold to the Braniff company before being acquired by NASA, so has flown for 55 years.
According to the images of the POTthe iconic plane and its crew were received with the traditional water arch by the Fire Department of the 42nd Plant of the Palmdale base of the United States Air Force or United States Air Force (USAF).
NASA’s now historic Douglas DC-8, in one of the Agency’s hangars at the Palmdale Air Base in California. (NASA Photo)
We are looking at one of the great airplanes designed by United States companies in the fifties of the last century to carry out transcontinental flights, as was also the case of the Boeing 707. The DC-8 of the POT It is 48 meters long and has a wingspan of 45.2, it can remain in the air for 12 hours, although its scientific missions normally lasted between 6 to 10 hours. This DC-8 operated with 45 professionals (researchers and flight crew) and transported 13,600 kilos of scientific instruments and equipment.
According to the Administration, the data collected with the plane during its flight missions using remote sensing has been used for studies in archaeology, ecology, geography, hydrology, meteorology, oceanography, volcanology, atmospheric chemistry, cryospheric science, soil science and biology.
In 2016, the DC-8-72 was deployed on the Atmospheric Tomography Mission or Atmospheric Tomography Mission (ATom-1) to study the impact of air pollution produced by man through what are known as greenhouse gases and chemically reactive gases in the atmosphere.
He DC-8 will continue his educational legacy when he retires to his new home at Idaho State University in Pocatello, where it will be used to train future aircraft technicians by providing them with real-world experience in the University’s aircraft maintenance technology program.
In 2022, NASA purchased an aircraft to replace its DC-8, specifically a Boeing 777-200ER (Extended Range) formerly operated by Japan Airlines. In its new stage, it made its first flight at the Langley Research Center (Virginia) of the POT on December 15, 2022. This Boeing is currently in the modifications and equipment phase to adapt it to aerial research laboratory missions, with a view to carrying out its first scientific mission in 2025. (Julio Maz)
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