UNITED
AIR LINES

DC-8F-54
JET FREIGHTER

Color Scheme: Delivery
Colors

Registration: N8F00U

Composition: Douglas Factory
Polished Aluminum Model

Dimensions: Length: 35.5" (91cm), Wingspan
34" (86cm)

Condition: Near Mint

Model History:
Produced in the mid 1960s by the Douglas Aircraft Model Shop. Acquired on September
20, 1973 from a United Air Lines Sales Representative from Pendleton, Oregon.

United’s
DC-8 History: United Air Lines was
-by far- the biggest supporter and largest customer for the DC-8
– from the very beginning, with their order of the DC-8-11, to the
end, with the conversion of their fleet of DC-8-61s into DC-8-71s.
Though Pan American was the very first customer for the DC-8 with
an order for 25 ‘overwater’ versions on October 13, 1955, it was
United who made the largest initial order of the DC-8 by -any- airline
with an order of 30 ‘domestic’ versions on October 25, 1955. United’s
President & CEO Pat Patterson said that he chose the DC-8 over
the 707 because "he felt that it had more room for improvement,
the same ‘big stretch’ that enabled Douglas to beef up it’s DC-4
into the DC-6 & DC-7." Mr. Patterson was certainly right
about that – as evidenced by the DC-8 Super Sixty & Super Seventy
Series that evolved from the basic standard DC-8 (Boeing was unable
to stretch the 707 because it sat lower to the ground and any stretch
would cause the tail to drag upon takeoff). United introduced it’s
first DC-8 service on September 18, 1959 from San Francisco to New
York Idlewild (now JFK) airport. That same day Delta Air Lines beat
United in the introduction of the DC-8 by just a couple hours because
United’s first DC-8 flight left San Francisco to New York
at 8:30AM local west coast time and Delta’s first DC-8 flight left
from New York to Atlanta at 9:20AM local east coast time which gave
Delta the advantage of 2 hours & 10 minutes when you consider
the time zone difference of 3 hours. However, when it came to purchasing
& operating the DC-8 United beat all of the other customers
‘hands down.’ United went on to take Factory Deliveries of
16 Series 11s, 6 Series 12s, (all of the -11 & -12 series were
later converted into the more powerful -21s or -51 Fan-jets), 15
Series 21s, 13 Series 52 Fan-jets& 15 Series 54F Jet Traders
(Freighters). In addition to these 65 Factory Deliveries of the
Standard DC-8, United also acquired 11 additional used Series 30
DC-8s. Once the Super Sixty DC-8s were announced United was the
first to order the DC-8-61 and the DC-8-62H (H=Heavier Gross Weight).
United went on to take Factory Deliveries of 30 Super 61s &
10 Super 62H aircraft plus one used DC-8-61. Click
Here to See United’s DC-8 Fleet Information. Later, in the 1980s,
when the noise restrictions were getting more strict & fuel
prices continued to grow, this put pressure on the airline industry
to retire their first generation jets (i.e. mostly DC-8s & Boeing
707s) far earlier than their useful life. Thus, when it was proposed
to re-engine the Super Sixty DC-8s (61, 62 & 63) with quieter
& more fuel efficient engines to extend the aircraft’s life,
United was the first to order the conversion of their DC-8-61 fleet
into DC-8-71s with the higher powered & much quieter General
Electric-SNECMA CMF-56 Engines (plus some other improvements which
further modernized the DC-8). United’s order of 29 conversions was
the largest order of any airline and extended the DC-8s life with
United into the early 1990s. Most, if not all of those DC-8-71s
are still flying today (as freighters). United retired their last
DC-8-71 on January 9, 1992 – ending a total of 33 years that the
DC-8 served the company. In summary, United was the Largest Operator
of Standard DC-8, Super Sixties DC-8 & the Initial
Conversions to the Super Seventies DC-8. Today, however, nearly
all of the DC-8 Seventy aircraft have been converted into freighters
and United Parcel Service now has the largest fleet DC-8s with a
total of 49 DC-8-71s & DC-8-73s. During the DC-8’s 33 years
of service with United they operated them in 4 Different Liveries.
If you would like to see some other models of United’s Different
Liveries & DC-8 Types please click on the following links:
United DC-8-12 1/72 Scale in Early Delivery
(1959) Colors

United DC-8-61 1/50 Scale in Delivery (1960s)
Colors

United DC-8-62H 1/200 Scale in Third
Livery (Around 1976 Bicentennial) w/ Script Titles & "Stars
& Stripes" or "Friendship" Livery
United DC-8-61 1/250 Scale in the
Final DC-8 Colors (1970s-1990s)

The Livery I don’t have a model in is the Second (Early 1970s) Livery
w/ Script Titles Only – Non-"Stars & Bars or Friendship"
Livery. Someday, I hope to find a United DC-8 model with this second
livery.

Click Here to View
a Photo of the Actual Aircraft
Photo Courtesy Of & Many Thanks To Tom Hildreth.
If you would like to see more of Tom’s Photos Please Check My Links
Page.