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Widebody Aircraft Parade

First flight of the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 - (Photo: McDonnell Douglas / Boeing)

Chronology of widebody airliners (2)
1971-1975


1971


= February 4, 1971 =
Rolls-Royce collapses due to rising development costs on the RB.211, the sole powerplant selected for the Lockheed TriStar.

= February 23, 1971 =
Rolls-Royce is resurrected and nationalised by the British government. The future of the RB.211 engine depends on Lockheed accepting substantial price increases and delays in the delivery of the turbofans. Lockheed agrees because changing to another powerplant will require major design modifications, more delays and higher costs.

= March 19, 1971 =
Delta Air Lines orders five DC-10-10 aircraft to be sure of widebody trijets, because of delays in the delivery of Lockheed TriStars. It was known as the 'Insurance Order'. The order made Delta the first and only airline that ordered all three original widebody airliners.

= March 25, 1971 =
Ilyushin flies the Il-76 widebody cargo aircraft for the first time.

= June 1971=
The first Boeing 747-200 enters commercial service with The Netherlands' KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.

= August 5, 1971=
The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 enters service with American Airlines.

= September 14, 1971 =
Banks, Rolls-Royce, airlines and the Emergency Loan Guarantee Board provide a 650 million dollar financing package to save Lockheed from bankruptcy. The package includes the earlierl 400 million dollar credit. The DC-10 is now well ahead of the TriStar.

= November 23, 1971 =
The first 747-200 Freighter rolls out of the factory.

= November 30, 1971 =
First flight of the first 747-200 Freighter.

= December 22, 1971 =
Certification of the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar by the FAA.


1972


= February 28, 1972 =
The first McDonnell Douglas DC-10-20 (later DC-10-40) makes its first flight. It is in the air for 4 hours and 10 min.

= Early 1972 =
Mc Donnell Douglas presents the DC-10 Twin, a twin-engined version of the DC-10, to compete with the Airbus A300B.

DC-10 Twin

McDonnell Douglas DC-10 Twin - (Photo: McDonnell Douglas / Boeing)

= March 25, 1972 =
The first Sovjet Union widebody jet, although not a passenger aircraft, was the Il-76. This is primarily a military freighter, but it will find wide use with civil operators.

= April 5, 1972 =
Lockheed delivers the first L-1011 TriStar to Eastern Airlines.

= April 19, 1972 =
Boeing 747-200 Freighter enters commercial service with Lufthansa German Airlines.

= April 26, 1972 =
Eastern Airlines commences commercial service with the Lockheed TriStar.

= June 11, 1972 =
The cargo door of an American Airlines DC-10 blows open over Windsor, Ontario on a flight from Detroit to Buffalo. The aircraft returns safely to Detroit. This so-called 'Windsor Incident' indicates that something is structurally wrong with the DC-10's cargo door design.

= September 26, 1972 =
BEA - British European Airways orders six Lockheed TriStars and takes options on twelve more.

= October 27, 1972 =
The McDonnell Douglas DC-10-40 gets FAA type certification.

= October 28, 1972 =
The Airbus A300, of the initial A300B1 version, makes its maiden flight from Toulouse. The flight takes 1 hour and 23 minutes.

Airbus A300B

The Airbus A300B started flying in October 1972. (Photo: Airbus)

= November 10, 1972 =
McDonnell Douglas delivers the first DC-10-40 to Northwest Orient Airlines.

= November 21, 1972 =
The FAA certifies the DC-10-30 and KLM and Swissair receive their first aircraft.

= December 13, 1972 =
Northwest Orient Airlines flies its first DC-10-40 service from Minneapolis / St. Paul to Milwaukee.

= December 15, 1972 =
A Swissair DC-10-30 makes the first transatlantic DC-10 flight between Zürich and Montreal.


1973


= February 28, 1973 =
Boeing rolls out the first 747-200 Convertible. On the same day McDonnell Douglas flies the DC-10-30F (CF) for the first time. It is 4 hours and 5 minutes in the air.

= March 23, 1973 =
First flight of the first Boeing 747-200 Convertible.

= April 17, 1973 =
Trans International Airways and Overseas National Airlines receive their first McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30F(CF) airliners.

= May 1973 =
The Boeing 747-200 Convertible enters commercial service with US-airline World Airways.

= June 28, 1973 =
The first stretched Airbus A300B2 takes to the air for the first time from Toulouse.

= September 19, 1973 =
Saudia orders two Lockheed L-1011-200 aircraft and launches this new version of the TriStar.

= October 6, 1973 =
The Yom Kippur War between Israel and its neighbours begins. This results in an 'oil crisis', soaring fuel prices and financial headaches for the airlines.

= October 7, 1973 =
First Boeing 747SR (Short Range) enters commercial service with Japan Airlines with a flight from Tokyo to Naha, Okinawa.


1974


= March 3, 1974 =
A Turkish Airlines DC-10-10 crashes near Paris after a cargo door opened in flight. 346 passengers and crew members die. The aircraft has never been refitted with modifications to improve the safety of the doors.

= March 15, 1974 =
DGAC, LBA, the aviation authorities of Germany and France, certify the Airbus A300B2.

= May 23, 1974 =
The Airbus A300B2 commences commercial service with Air France on the Paris - London Heathrow route.

= September 19, 1974 =
Saudia is the first airline to order the TriStar 200.

= November 11, 1974 =
First flight of the Boeing 747-200 Combi.

= December 26, 1974 =
First flight of the Airbus A300B4.


1975


= March 7, 1975 =
The Boeing 747-200 Combi enters commercial service with Air Canada.

= March 26, 1975 =
Germany and France certify the Airbus A300B4.

= April 25, 1975 =
First flight of the Lockheed L-1011-100.

= June 30, 1975 =
The FAA certifies the Airbus A300B4.

= May 19, 1975 =
The first Boeing 747SP (Special Performance) rolls out of the factory.

= July 4, 1975 =
First flight of the Boeing 747SP. During this flight the aircraft attains a top speed of Mach 0.92.

= August 1975 =
McDonnell Douglas shelves the DC-10 Twin as too big for a Boeing 727 replacement

= August 8, 1975 =
Cathay Pacific receives the first Lockheed L-1011-100.


  1963-1970    -  -     1976-1980 


Widebody
chronology


1963-1970
1971-1975
1976-1980
1981-1985
1986-1990
1991-1995
1996-2000
2001-2005
2006-2010
2011-.....



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