Shea Oakley’s Post

Delta Air Lines received the first of its long-serving "stretched" McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32's in 1967. Initial aircraft arrived from the factory in this "sideways widget" look matching the carrier's earlier delivered short-body DC-9-14's. (the "widget" was the nickname for DAL's iconic red, white, and blue triangular logo, introduced in 1959 and still used today in a single all-red color). However, starting in 1969, the triangle's orientation on all of Delta's DC-9's changed from facing forwards to pointing up, with a backwards slant. Therefore the -32's were only in the livery seen here for about two to three years. That makes this photograph of "N3333L" on the ground at Columbus, Ohio in July of 1968 a particularly rare one. Another interesting aspect of this image is the partial deployment of the integrated front airstairs. Based on the lack of heat distortion behind the airplane's engine exhausts I'm going to guess that this is a shot of the aircraft on arrival, after engine shut-down and at the beginning of the deplaning process. If I'm right those stairs are about to slide out and down to the ramp. Please feel free to repost this link. Would you be willing to contribute to help me continue creating these free daily educational airline-history posts (over 1,300 since 2017, and counting)? If so please go to: https://lnkd.in/ebnx6r7U. Any size gift is much appreciated and can be anonymous if you prefer. Interested in legendary Pan Am? Check out my new Tuesday and Friday posts for the Pan Am Historical Foundation at: https://lnkd.in/eJ_ES-RF. My latest post: Richard Nixon arriving in Thailand with a Pan Am 707 visible behind him. #aviation #aviationhistory #aircraft #airplanes #airlines #airlinehistory #airlinesandairplanes #civilaviation #mcdonnelldouglas #douglas #boeing #dc9 #deltaairlines #columbusohio #columbusohiojohnglennairport (Please note there is no trade connection between The Commercial Aviation History Consultancy and the owner of the webpage, and associated image, to which this photo-link will take you.) Photo link courtesy of AirHistory.net. Photo by Bob Gerrard.