1/200 Japan Air System MD-90 “3rd & 4th Aircraft”

Description

This is an injection-plastic airliner model kit.

When Japan Air System decided to purchase the MD-90-30, they also decided on a new marking scheme for the planes. Based on the colors in the rainbow motif that JAS had always used, the famous movie director Akira Kurosawa designed a total of seven MD-90s for the firm. This kit provides plastic and decals to build the 3rd and 4th planes (this is a 2-in-1 kit).

The McDonnell-Douglas MD-90 is the modern version of the highly-successful DC-9 twin-engine passenger jet. During its initial design, the MD-90 was to have been powered by new-technology “propfan” engines, like the “ducted fan” design being developed by General Electric, or the propfan being worked on jointly by Pratt & Whitney and Allison. Such engines were actually tested on MD-80 aircraft, and the tests themselves were successful, but enthusiasm from potential airline customers was muted do to the limited fuel savings that such engines would have provided during that period, when oil prices were relatively low and stable. For these reasons, McDonnell-Douglas changed the design of the MD-90 to use more conventional turbofan jet engines. The V2500, jointly developed by a consortium of over 50 nations, was chosen to power to the new plane. In addition, the aircraft’s cockpit was designed as a “glass cockpit” using state-of-the-art digital display technology. The MD-90 is produced in the 114-seat -10, the 153-seat -20 and the 180-seat -30.

DATA (MD-90-30): Length: 46.5m; Wingspan: 32.9m; Height: 9.4m; Max. Takeoff Weight: 6,600kg. Engine: International Aeroengines V2525-D5 (25,000lb. thrust) x 2; Cruising Speed: 815 km/h; Range: 2,330km; Seats: 166