Why the DC-7 Arrived at the Worst Possible Time

Video from the channel Flight Heritage about Douglas DC-7, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 13:26. Language: English. Video type: Documentary.

Story of the Douglas DC-7 from its commissioning to its replacement by jets, with special attention to its turbo-compound engines.

American Airlines could not compete on nonstop routes with TWA's Constellations. Its president, C. R. Smith, ordered 25 aircraft for $40 million, a figure that covered all development costs, and Douglas announced the program in December 1951. The DC-7 was derived from the DC-6B: a fuselage lengthened by 40 inches and turbo-compound Wright R-3350 engines instead of the Pratt & Whitney R-2800. The prototype flew on 18 May 1953. In November it entered service between Los Angeles and New York's Idlewild airport, with 7 h 15 min eastbound. Westbound, the crew's 8-hour duty limit left very little margin.

Each engine delivered 3,250 hp at takeoff and the aircraft reached a maximum cruise of 360 mph. The three power-recovery turbines on each engine operated at very high temperatures. In 1953 the interval between major overhauls was 800 hours, and by 1958 it had reached 2,000. United received 57 aircraft, Eastern 49, Delta 10, and National 4. The DC-7B took Pan American onto the New York-London route in 1955. The DC-7C, in service from April 1956, was the best-selling variant, with 121 units. Production ended in 1958 after 338 aircraft, and from 1959 some were converted into DC-7F freighters.