[email protected] - 1:144 MDD DC-9-16; Cape Breton & Nova Scotia Airlines, late 70s

[Dizzyfugu]

Thank you! 

[Dizzyfugu]

Not much new to show yet, even though I added the registrations (single letters...) and the wheels, so that the DC-9 now stands on its feet. The ordered decals are supposed to be delivered today, so things might move on today and maybe I can even finish the build.

[su27rules]

    

[Dizzyfugu]

The decals actually arrived yesterday and I was able to finish the DC-9 and apply a coat of semi-gloss varnish. But one of the front wheels disappeared, so that I have to find replacements. Found a pair of B-1B wheels in the donor bank, which are a bit wide, but they should work well.

[Gondor]

The decals actually arrived yesterday and I was able to finish the DC-9 and apply a coat of semi-gloss varnish. But one of the front wheels disappeared, so that I have to find replacements. Found a pair of B-1B wheels in the donor bank, which are a bit wide, but they should work well.

Just say they are wide tyres, especially for the route/area the aircraft is operating in.

[PR19_Kit]

SAS had two special versions of the DC9 built for their services in the northern half of Scandinavia, and they had larger tyres IIRC.

Boeing also built special 737-200s with larger gear and even semi-skis under the nose wheel for similar reasons, so there's good precedent for such actions.

[Dizzyfugu]

SAS had two special versions of the DC9 built for their services in the northern half of Scandinavia, and they had larger tyres IIRC.

The DC-9-21; these also had a bigger wing span. ;-)

[PR19_Kit]

The -21s used the -30 wings for the short strips, yes.

[Dizzyfugu]

So far nothing new from the CBNS DC-9 - it has been finished and waits patiently for its photo shooting, probably next weekend.
In the meantime the figure kit which "triggered" this interim build arrived yesterday, and I am evaluating if and how I can convert it to resemble a different character. The hair is the biggest challenge!

[Dizzyfugu]

The DC-9 is not dead (yet), I just do not find the right mood to edit the pics I took last weekend...    Working on thm slowly, though.

[Captain Canada]

Looks great ! The colours looks perfect on her.

[Dizzyfugu]

Thank you, glad you like the green livery. Unfortunately I will have to re-shoot some pics, the background posters came out with a lack of magenta in the print, and that looks quite goofy together with the model. More delays... 

[Dizzyfugu]

Additional shooting done, and the results look much better than the earlier one. But that means even more editing... 

[Dizzyfugu]

Finally, we're there  , together with the history of the Canadian Cape Breton & Nova Scotia Airlines from a local service provider through an international carrier on the American east coast into third-party-induced bankruptcy:


1:144 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-16; 'Sir Richard Maitland/C-CNDB' of Cape Breton & Nova Scotia Airways (CBNS), based at Halifax Stanfield International Airport (Nova Scotia/Canada), late Seventies (What-if/FLY Models kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Some background:
Cape Breton & Nova Scotia Airways (CBNS) was a privately owned company established in August 1970 at Halifax as a charter operator in Atlantic Canada. Initial flight service started in 1973 with light aircraft such as the Piper Navajo, the DHC-3 Otter and the Britten-Norman Islander. The local business flourished, and the aircraft received a uniform livery in a characteristic medium green with white and yellow trim. The flight service was soon expanded with connections to the USA, e.g. to Bangor (ME) and Boston (MA). Scheduled regional airline operations to foreign destinations began in 1976 and the demand became so steady that CBNS went to the Toronto stock market to expand its financial potential and invest in flying stock with much higher capacity and performance.

With the new money the aircraft fleet could be expanded and introduced the airline's first jet aircraft in the form of two former United Airlines Sud Aviation Caravelle VI-Rs with a capacity of 80 passengers each. These aircraft received individual names, named after famous Scottish authors, poets and writers – a tradition that would be applied to all future jet airliners of the company. The pair was deployed on daily flights to Boston and New York, expanding CBNS' service to the south.


1:144 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-16; 'Sir Richard Maitland/C-CNDB' of Cape Breton & Nova Scotia Airways (CBNS), based at Halifax Stanfield International Airport (Nova Scotia/Canada), late Seventies (What-if/FLY Models kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-16; 'Sir Richard Maitland/C-CNDB' of Cape Breton & Nova Scotia Airways (CBNS), based at Halifax Stanfield International Airport (Nova Scotia/Canada), late Seventies (What-if/FLY Models kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-16; 'Sir Richard Maitland/C-CNDB' of Cape Breton & Nova Scotia Airways (CBNS), based at Halifax Stanfield International Airport (Nova Scotia/Canada), late Seventies (What-if/FLY Models kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-16; 'Sir Richard Maitland/C-CNDB' of Cape Breton & Nova Scotia Airways (CBNS), based at Halifax Stanfield International Airport (Nova Scotia/Canada), late Seventies (What-if/FLY Models kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The second-hand Caravelles were soon followed by two brand new Douglas DC-9 Series 10s, tailored to operations on short runways and under harsh climatic conditions. The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 was an American five-abreast, single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced as the Douglas DC-9 prior to August 1967, after which point the company had merged with McDonnell Aircraft to become McDonnell Douglas. Following the introduction of its first jetliner, the high-capacity Douglas DC-8, in 1959, Douglas was interested in producing an aircraft suited to smaller routes. As early as 1958, design studies were conducted; approval for the DC-9, a smaller all-new jetliner, came on April 8, 1963. The DC-9 first flew on February 25, 1965, and gained its type certificate on November 23, to enter service with its first customer, Delta Air Lines, on December 8.

The Series 10 was the first and smallest DC-9 variant, and, as with all later versions of the DC-9, equipped with a two-crew analog flightdeck, which reduced operational costs. The aircraft was similar in size and configuration to the contemporary British BAC One-Eleven and featured a T-tail and rear-mounted engines. Power was initially provided by a pair of 12,500 lbf (56 kN) JT8D-5 or 14,000 lbf (62 kN) JT8D-7 engines. The Series 10 was unique in the DC-9 family in not having leading-edge slats. It had specifically been designed to have short takeoff and landing distances without the use of leading-edge high-lift devices, making it ideal for operations on smaller airfields. Therefore, the wing design of the Series 10 featured airfoils with extremely high maximum-lift capability to obtain the low stalling speeds necessary for short-field performance. Austere airfield operation was supported further by an AlliedSignal (Garrett) GTCP85 APU, located in the aft fuselage, making the aircraft independent from external starters or power supplies.


1:144 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-16; 'Sir Richard Maitland/C-CNDB' of Cape Breton & Nova Scotia Airways (CBNS), based at Halifax Stanfield International Airport (Nova Scotia/Canada), late Seventies (What-if/FLY Models kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-16; 'Sir Richard Maitland/C-CNDB' of Cape Breton & Nova Scotia Airways (CBNS), based at Halifax Stanfield International Airport (Nova Scotia/Canada), late Seventies (What-if/FLY Models kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-16; 'Sir Richard Maitland/C-CNDB' of Cape Breton & Nova Scotia Airways (CBNS), based at Halifax Stanfield International Airport (Nova Scotia/Canada), late Seventies (What-if/FLY Models kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-16; 'Sir Richard Maitland/C-CNDB' of Cape Breton & Nova Scotia Airways (CBNS), based at Halifax Stanfield International Airport (Nova Scotia/Canada), late Seventies (What-if/FLY Models kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


CBNS' first DC-9s were Series 15 aircraft with an MTOW of 90,700 lb (41,100 kg). Typical range with 50 passengers and baggage was 950 nautical miles [nmi] (1,760 km; 1,090 mi), increasing to 1,278 nmi (2,367 km; 1,471 mi) on long-range cruise. Range with maximum payload was 600 nmi (1,100 km; 690 mi), increasing to 1,450 nmi (2,690 km; 1,670 mi) with full fuel. The aircraft had tight seating space (31–32") and a resulting capacity for 90 passengers in just a single "all economy" class. The machines primarily operated in the Great Lakes region with connections to Toronto and Chicago, where sufficient passenger numbers were available on a regular basis. Local connections and charters in the Quebec, New Brunswick, New Foundland and Nova Scotia regions were still operated with smaller DHC-3 Otter and Islanders, joined by three new DHC-6 Twin Otter, which started to gradually replace the latter, and more of these versatile and sturdy aircraft followed.

On the international routes the Caravelles were already retired in 1982. The airframes showed their age and maintenance costs for this exotic aircraft on the American continent had become too high to be economical. They were replaced by four more DC-9s: two short Series-16 aircraft, which were basically identical with the -15 but outfitted with more powerful JT8D-11 engines with 15,000 lbf (67 kN) thrust each, for better starting performance and allowing a MTOW of 90,700 lb (44,000 kg), and two bigger Series 30 models with the same powerplants but a higher passenger capacity of 115 all-economy seats. These were intended for the southern routes, which were now expanded to Washington, D.C.


1:144 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-16; 'Sir Richard Maitland/C-CNDB' of Cape Breton & Nova Scotia Airways (CBNS), based at Halifax Stanfield International Airport (Nova Scotia/Canada), late Seventies (What-if/FLY Models kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-16; 'Sir Richard Maitland/C-CNDB' of Cape Breton & Nova Scotia Airways (CBNS), based at Halifax Stanfield International Airport (Nova Scotia/Canada), late Seventies (What-if/FLY Models kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-16; 'Sir Richard Maitland/C-CNDB' of Cape Breton & Nova Scotia Airways (CBNS), based at Halifax Stanfield International Airport (Nova Scotia/Canada), late Seventies (What-if/FLY Models kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-16; 'Sir Richard Maitland/C-CNDB' of Cape Breton & Nova Scotia Airways (CBNS), based at Halifax Stanfield International Airport (Nova Scotia/Canada), late Seventies (What-if/FLY Models kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Services kept expanding, and CBNS planned the procurement of airliners with more capacity and further extended range, esp. to offer connections to Atlanta and Chicago, for the late Eighties. But this did not come to fruition as CBNS became involved in American airline politics: At that time, attempting to gain a presence on the busy and profitable Washington–New York–Boston commuter air corridor and its regional feeder lines, Pan Am initiated an aggressive acquisition tour, focusing on regional airlines in the Atlantic region and their established networks. In short time, Pan Am invested great amounts of money and took over several companies and their assets. Among them were Ransome, a regional feeder airline founded in 1967 and headquartered at Northeast Philadelphia Airport in Pennsylvania. This was accompanied by the $100 million purchase of New York Air's shuttle service between Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C. This massive, parallel move was intended to enable Pan Am to provide a high-frequency service for high-yield business travelers in direct competition, especially with the long-established, successful Eastern Air Lines Shuttle operation. The renamed Pan Am Shuttle began operating out of LaGuardia Airport's refurbished historic Marine Air Terminal in October 1986.

In 1988, CBNS joined with the Innu Development Limited Partnership, to establish Innu Mikun Airlines, which grew to be the largest Labrador-based air carrier providing charter services throughout Labrador and scheduled airline services to coastal Labrador communities. This led to the procurement of six further DHC-6 Twin Otter. However, with this regional network CBNS ensured a seamless scheduled connection from the Labrador region to Canadian an American destinations from the airline's hub Halifax.


1:144 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-16; 'Sir Richard Maitland/C-CNDB' of Cape Breton & Nova Scotia Airways (CBNS), based at Halifax Stanfield International Airport (Nova Scotia/Canada), late Seventies (What-if/FLY Models kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-16; 'Sir Richard Maitland/C-CNDB' of Cape Breton & Nova Scotia Airways (CBNS), based at Halifax Stanfield International Airport (Nova Scotia/Canada), late Seventies (What-if/FLY Models kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-16; 'Sir Richard Maitland/C-CNDB' of Cape Breton & Nova Scotia Airways (CBNS), based at Halifax Stanfield International Airport (Nova Scotia/Canada), late Seventies (What-if/FLY Models kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-16; 'Sir Richard Maitland/C-CNDB' of Cape Breton & Nova Scotia Airways (CBNS), based at Halifax Stanfield International Airport (Nova Scotia/Canada), late Seventies (What-if/FLY Models kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


To expand the feeder network northwards beyond the Canadian border, CBNS was eventually purchased by Pan Am in mid-1989, too, just after having secured flight rights to vital American destinations and having ordered two Douglas DC-10 wide-body airliners for this strategic expansion. However, it did not address the pressing issue of Pan Am's continuing lack of a strong domestic feeder network, and the acquisition turned out to be too much for the company: Before any Pan AM/CBNS merger happened, Pan Am had to file for bankruptcy protection in January 1991, leaving CBNS in a crippled state without control over its former assets. Any flight service was stopped in March 1991, the DC-10s were cancelled and the whole CNBS fleet was grounded.

Delta Air Lines purchased the remaining profitable assets of Pan Am, including its remaining European routes (except one from Miami to Paris), and Frankfurt mini hub, the Shuttle operation, 45 jets, and the Pan Am Worldport at John F. Kennedy Airport, for $416 million. CBNS became insofar affected as its DC-9 fleet was part of the purchase, together with the flight rights to American destinations.
In late 1992 CNBS was released from Pan Am's bankruptcy protection umbrella, but the crippled company was just left with a small DHC-6 fleet, only suitable for regional flights like during the airline's beginnings. These modest remains of CBNS were eventually sold to PAL Airlines (formerly Provincial Airlines), a Canadian regional airline with headquarters at St. John's International Airport in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, which completely took over CBNS's assets and services. Cape Breton & Nova Scotia Airways Airlines was formally dissolved in August 1994 and the DHC-6s were integrated into PAL's fleet.


General characteristics:
    Cockpit crew: Two
    Length: 104 ft 4.8 in (31,82 m)
    Wingspan: 89 ft 4.8 in ( 27.25 m)
    Wing area: 1000.7sq ft (93,0 m²)
    Tail height: 27 ft 7 in (8,4 m)
    Cabin width: 3.70 m (12 ft 2 in)
    Fuselage width: 131.6 in (334,3 cm)
    Operating empty weight: 52,644 lb (23,879 kg)
    Maximum take-off weight: 90,700 lb (44,000 kg)

Capacity:
    Exit Limit: 109
    1-class max. seating: 90 @ 31-32" pitch
    Cargo capacity: 600 ft³ (17.0m³)
    Fuel capacity: 24,743 lb (11,223 kg)

Engines:
    2x JT8D-11 low-bypass turbofans with 15,000 lbf (67 kN) thrust each

Performance:
    Maximum cruising speed: 560 mph (900 km/h)
    Maximum range (full fuel load): 1,450 nmi (2,690 km)
    Typical range (standard payload): 1,000 nmi (1,900 km)
    Ceiling: 35,000 ft (11,000 m)
    Starting distance: 6,900 ft (2.100 m) @ V2 140 kts
    Landing distance: 4,900 ft (1.500 m) @ Vat 127 kts



1:144 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-16; 'Sir Richard Maitland/C-CNDB' of Cape Breton & Nova Scotia Airways (CBNS), based at Halifax Stanfield International Airport (Nova Scotia/Canada), late Seventies (What-if/FLY Models kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-16; 'Sir Richard Maitland/C-CNDB' of Cape Breton & Nova Scotia Airways (CBNS), based at Halifax Stanfield International Airport (Nova Scotia/Canada), late Seventies (What-if/FLY Models kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-16; 'Sir Richard Maitland/C-CNDB' of Cape Breton & Nova Scotia Airways (CBNS), based at Halifax Stanfield International Airport (Nova Scotia/Canada), late Seventies (What-if/FLY Models kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-16; 'Sir Richard Maitland/C-CNDB' of Cape Breton & Nova Scotia Airways (CBNS), based at Halifax Stanfield International Airport (Nova Scotia/Canada), late Seventies (What-if/FLY Models kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[Old Wombat]

Wow! 

Not really an "airliners" guy, but that looks great, Dizzy!