Newsgroups: sci.aeronautics.airliners Path: news From: raveling@Unify.com (Paul Raveling) Subject: Re: pair (sorry, couldn't resist the pun) X-Submission-Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 20:21:32 GMT References: Message-ID: Approved: kls@ohare.Chicago.COM Organization: Unify Corporation (Sacramento) Sender: kls@ohare.Chicago.COM X-Submission-Message-Id: Date: 01 Dec 92 00:13:25 PST In article , weiss@wright.SEAS.UCLA.EDU (Michael Weiss) writes: > > In article kls@ohare.Chicago.COM (Karl Swartz) writes: > >In article weiss@mott.SEAS.UCLA.EDU (Michael Weiss) writes: > >>However, Boeing has a history of being the best aircraft in the > >>world in terms of maintenance; Airbus apparently makes planes that are almost > >>as difficult to repair and inspect as McDonnell-Douglas. > >I have not previously encountered negative comments regarding > >McDonnell-Douglas products in this context, however, and in fact have > >heard that the DC-10 is rather well-liked because it's somewhat like > >a big Chevy V-8 -- solid, and easy to fix when it breaks. (Problems > >with the design of the hydraulics notwithstanding.) My dad always said that DC-10's were much easier to maintain than the Boeings that he also worked on at Western Airlines. My impression from him was that the DC-10's greatest advantage for maintenance was better access to components or areas needing maintenance. To put it another way, the hell-hole count was much lower on the DC-10. He also cited a lot of things that were simply more durable on the DC-10. This is basically an echo of your report about being solid and easy to fix. Background: My dad worked in Western's LAX shop until he retired about the time Western merged into Delta. The Boeings in question were 707's, 720's, 727's, and 737's. Farther back (1950's) he also worked for Boeing's Renton plant when they were first manufacturing 707's and KC-135's. He still did occasional minor consulting jobs for Boeing until retirement, typically to update quick-reference maintenance manuals. He also had contacts at United's LAX shop who passed on info about 747's & 767's. ------------------ Paul Raveling Raveling@Unify.com