McDonnell Douglas DC9-BJ

PR19_Kit · August 30, 2013, 08:58:21 AM

You may well wonder what I'm going to do with the bits left over from the DC9-60TW. Well the answer is below, the McD DC9-BJ, standing for 'Business Jet' of course.

With the Lear Jet and the Gulfstream II well ensconced in the sector, McD figured that they could grab a bunch of the action by using existing DC9 components to build a similarly sized jet, being 8-10 seats and with trans-continental range using two turbo-fans, but offering full height in the cabin and considerably more cabin width than the competition. The resulting aircraft used the nose and tail of a standard DC9 with almost no central fuselage section, and wings derived from the tailplane structure of the DC9-30, but with new, shortened tailplanes. As the wings were mounted to the original engine hard points the new smaller engines were mounted directly to the fin structure. The new main landing gear retracted into the fuselage behind the wing, unlike the normal DC9 gear which folded sideways into the belly of the fuselage.

If you believe THAT load of old cobblers you'll believe anything.

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Obviously it's made from all the bits left over from the 'TW, the nose being glued directly to the tail section and the engine pylons cut down to suit the standard tailplanes pretending to be wings. The tailplanes are just the normal ones shortened (yes I know, it goes against my better nature....) and the engines are mounted to the fin sides, but with much of their exterior stuff removed, together with over half the pylon length to ensure they don't foul the rudder movement. The nose gear will be the standard stuff but I have NO idea what the mains will look like yet, they may end with being bits of wire and SHAR wheels, like my Backyard Hawk of a year or so ago.

So far the main components are only held together with Blu-Tack, as I need to sort out the main gear problem first.

Rheged · August 30, 2013, 09:19:22 AM

Gosh! The definitive tall tail / tall tale!

Hobbes · August 30, 2013, 10:03:59 AM

Wow, that's one ugly bizjet!

scooter · August 30, 2013, 10:46:21 AM

An SD DC-9

Gondor · August 30, 2013, 11:26:44 AM

The nose of that reminds me of Snoopy for some reason

Great use of leftovers

Gondor

Cobra · August 30, 2013, 04:18:01 PM

Very Cool

i Almost had a Different Idea What 'BJ' Stood for,But out of Respect for the Mods,Won't Say

Your Business Jet looks Almost like it Came from an Episode of 'Thunderbirds'! Great way to Recycle Model Bits

Keep up the Superb Work

Dan

Old Wombat · August 30, 2013, 06:00:04 PM

Interesting. The exact antithesis of a PR19_Kit build.

I was thinking that if you moved the engines down to the top 1/3rd of the fuselage & the wings to the back of the original engine mounts? $:-\$

Guy

PR19_Kit · August 31, 2013, 01:21:34 AM

Tried that but the pylons would need to be totally rebuilt to match the increased curve of the fuselage and there's precious little room for the engines in that corner between the fin and the fuselage.

Too late now anyway, I glued all the major parts together last night after a hefty PSR session. Still got to work out how to do the main u/c legs though.

Howard of Effingham · August 31, 2013, 02:33:56 AM

the livery for this one should be fun!

i can't help thinking of one of those 'fractional ownership' companies....

Rheged · August 31, 2013, 03:05:44 AM

Quote from: Howard of Effingham on August 31, 2013, 02:33:56 AM
the livery for this one should be fun!

i can't help thinking of one of those 'fractional ownership' companies....

It couldpossibly be one of those "shell" companies that can be traced back, with difficulty, to Air Albion and/or Prefidious Albion PLC

Caveman · August 31, 2013, 03:35:03 AM

*gasp* but those wings are short!

NARSES2 · August 31, 2013, 06:49:27 AM

I can see that attached to a pylon atop a city skyscraper for VTO use al-la Natter - how to get to that important sales meeting before the opposition

CSMO · September 01, 2013, 06:35:45 AM

It looks like a B.A.B. (Big-donkey Bird") {name modified by editor}.That was the name of my best friend's father's B-17 back in WW2. Adios, larry.

Captain Canada · September 01, 2013, 09:50:12 AM

Awesome !

PR19_Kit · September 01, 2013, 02:14:46 PM

Quote from: Howard of Effingham on August 31, 2013, 02:33:56 AM
the livery for this one should be fun!

i can't help thinking of one of those 'fractional ownership' companies....

The decal sheet has already been dawn up and it'll be for my ex-employers, MTS Systems Corporation of Eden Prairie, Minnesota. As I already have the logos and the typeface on my laptop it almost designed itself.