McDonnell Douglas MD-91X/-92X UHB Program Review
That maritime patrol model looks sick, anyone have more information on that?
My father Felix E "Phil" Blum was Project Pilot on the MD-80 UHB Program. Co-Pilot was Phil Battaglia and Kevin Brown as Flight Engineer. During his 42 years in flight test, he considered the UHB Program "his kind of program" as it was pushing technology to new ends. I was in attendance at the first flight of the UHB in Mojave, California as well as Farnborough Airshow in 1988 where he flew demonstration flights (as shown in photos posted by Senior Member Cy-27's post). I even got to fly on an afternoon marketing flight with various dignitaries of which the Canadian F-18 demonstration pilot was on-board. The UHB flight crew wore stylish black flight suits with purple trim. Dad ruled the roost as PIC with graciousness and humor. He was asked by a McDonnell Douglas executive to remove the Snoopy Flying Ace Bobble head that was glued to the top of the panel as "it was not professional". His response was that it was a "vibration control for the Un-Ducted Fan (UDF) and it stays". I still have that Snoopy to remember him by.Another photo of the UHB Demo aircraft N980DC shown in Stargazer2006 reply #3, seen flying at Farnborough on 9 September 1988 with General Electric engine on the port side and a close-up of the engine pod and blade arrangement.