Delta Air Lines
Douglas DC-8-71 N1304L
(c/n 46048)
The DC-8 was the first of the
jet airliners to seriously embody the "stretch" principle. The
DC-8-61
was some 20 feet longer than the
series 51, giving a maximum 259 passenger capacity. Delta was
one of the few airlines to modify
their series 61s with 22,000 lb s.t. CFM56-2-C1 turbofans, thus
giving rise to the series
71. (United was another). The stretched look and profile of the
turbofan is
very
much in evidence in this image of N1304L taken by
Robert M. Campbell as the aircraft was
departing Newark International,
New Jersey in 1986.
When the airlines were done with them they
found a ready market
with the likes of the cargo carriers such as UPS
(where this one went in 1990),
who converted them to freighters.