It has been 64 years since the Douglas DC-8 conducted its first flight on May 30th, 1958. The aircraft then entered service the following year with Delta Air Lines and United Air Lines. Along with the Boeing 707, this aircraft was one of two narrowbody quadjets that are widely considered to have catalyzed the jet age. A handful of examples remain active today, even after more than half a century in the skies.
OB-2158-P
Data from ch-aviation.com lists three examples of the DC-8 as being active today. One of these classic quadjets is a DC-8-73(CF) that bears the complex registration OB-2158P. It initially entered service with Transamerica Airlines in April 1970, making it an impressive 51.86 years old.
Interestingly, the narrowbody was initially a DC-8-63(CF), before undergoing a conversion (while still at Transamerica) in December 1984. The primary difference between the two variants was an engine swap from the original Pratt & Whitney JT3D-7 turbofan to the high-bypass CFM International CFM56-2 design.
The aircraft has flown for a variety of mainly American carriers over the years, including a decade at Astar Air Cargo (2002-12) as seen in the photograph above. It now flies for Sky Bus Cargo Charters, and was inflight just yesterday when FlightRadar24.com showed it as being airborne between San Pedro Sula and Miami.
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9S-AJG
Both of the remaining two active DC-8s listed by ch-aviation belong to Congolese operator Trans Air Cargo Service. The older of the two is a 52-year-old DC-8-62F that bears the registration 9S-AJG. It started its career as a passenger-carrying DC-8-62 with United Airlines back in September 1969 as N8974U.
The aircraft has spent the majority of its career under this registration, operating for a variety of carriers. It underwent its conversion to a freighter while wearing this registration at Rich International in May 1994. Moving into the 21st century, it eventually relinquished its American registration in July 2007.
This saw it re-registered as 3D-AJG as part of a move to African International Airways. It also bore the registration ZS-POL at this carrier, before moving to Trans Air Cargo Service in July 2008. Here, it was initially registered as 9Q-CJG, before taking on its current identity of 9S-AJG in July 2017.
9S-AJO
Meanwhile, the younger of the two active DC-8s at Trans Air Cargo Service clocks in at 'just' 50.84 years old. As of June 2014, this DC-8-73(CF) had clocked up a whopping 95,064 flight hours across 30,372 cycles, and has surely exceeded the 100,000-hour mark by now. It entered service with Airlift in June 1970.
After also serving World Airways (twice), Capitol International Airways, and Viasa under the registration N801WA, it was converted to a freighter upon joining Emery Worldwide in August 1984. After also flying for Gestair Cargo, it has been with Trans Air Cargo Service (under three different registrations) since November 2011.
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Other active examples
A recently active DC-8 was in operation with Sky Bus in the form of OB-2059-P. However, its last commercial flight was in June, and it hasn't hit the air since August 22nd.
Elsewhere online, we can see that fellow aviation database ATDB.aero lists a further two examples of the DC-8 as still being active today. N782SP is a 1969-built DC-8-72(CF) that flies for evangelical Christian humanitarian aid organization Samaritan's purse. The final active DC-8 listed by ATDB.aero flies for NASA as N817NA. Built in 1969, this DC-8-72 has recently been busy at Amilcar Cabral International Airport in Cape Verde.
Overall, despite it being over six decades since it first hit the skies, the DC-8 is still serving today. It's great to see the veteran still in action after all these years.
What are your thoughts about the Douglas DC-8? What do you make of the history of the plane? Let us know what you think of the aircraft and its operations in the comment section.