The Douglas DC-8 was an American piston-engined

airliner An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ...

project by Douglas Aircraft. A concept developed more than a decade before the DC-8 jetliner, the piston-engined DC-8 was to have

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

s in the tail, an idea first used at Douglas by Edward F. Burton on a fighter project. The airliner project was canceled after development costs made it commercially unviable.

Design and development

Based on the cancelled XB-42, the program began shortly after the end of World War II. It was intended to operate on short- and medium-range routes, carrying between 40 and 48 passengers in a then-novel pressurized cabin (which had been pioneered by the Boeing 307 in 1938, but was still not in standard airline use). The DC-8 was to use the same Allison V1710s as the XB-42 (these rated at ), fitted below and immediately behind the cockpit. They were to power contra-rotating propellers in the tail, as in the XB-42, by way of driveshafts under the cabin floor (an arrangement reminiscent of the P-39). This arrangement, also proposed for the Douglas Cloudster II general aviation aircraft, reduced drag by 30% and eliminated the problems associated with controlling the aircraft with one engine out."Tail Pusher Cruises at 200mph", March 1947, Popular Mechanics
article with photos of Cloudster II Cabin access would have been by airport stair through a single portside door. Despite performance predicted to significantly surpass conventional twin airliners, excessive complexity and high development costs (with consequent high sales price and operating costs) meant that less risky types, such as Convair's

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and Martin's 2-0-2, were preferred, and the DC-8 was dropped before a prototype was built.

Specifications (estimated)

Bibliography

;Notes ;References * - Total pages: 721 *

External links

DC-8 'Skybus' concept

"Your Pin-up Douglas DC-8 Transport", February 1946, Popular Science
bottom of page 96, art work Page 97
"Tail End Propellers Will Push The New Douglas Air Transport", November 1945, ''Popular Science''
early article revealing DC-8 design to general public

a 1945 ''Flight'' article on the DC-8 and Martin 202 {{Douglas airliners Abandoned civil aircraft projects of the United States Aircraft with contra-rotating propellers DC-08 Low-wing aircraft Twin-engined pusher aircraft

Design and development

Specifications (estimated)

See also

Bibliography

External links