MD-90-30      MD-90-50 

Dimensions:
Length               152' 7"            152' 7"     
Wing Span         107'10"           107'10"
Max Height         30' 7"             30' 7" 


Weights (lbs):
Empty               88,000             91,900
Fuel                 39,306              51,285
Payload            38,250              33,500
MTOW             156,000            172,500   Max Take-off Weight
MLW                142,000            150,000   Max Landing Weight
MZF                 130,000            135,000   Max Zero Fuel Weight

Engines:

MD-90-30

• 2*111.1kN International Aero Engines V2525-D5 Turbofans (2*25,000 lb) thrust

MD-90-50

• 2*124.44kN International Aero Engines V2528-D5 Turbofans (2*28,000 lb) thrust

Operating Performance: MD-90-30/-50

• Vno/Mno 340/0.76 Mach Normal Operating Speed
• Mmo 0.84 Mach Max. Operating Speed
• Vne/Mne 499/0.90 Mach Never Exceed Speed
• Vat 138-140 knots Landing @ Runway Threshold Speed @ MLW full flap/Gear down

Take-off speed@ MTOW:

• V1 135-140kts @ flap2/3 (V1 is the go or no-go decision speed)
• VR 140-145kts (VR is the rotation speed ie lift-off speed)
• V2 150-160kts (V2 is the safe climb-out speed)

                      MD-90-30      MD-90-50
V2                  155                 155
Vat                 140                 140
Econ Cruise     438/FL350        438/FL350
Range nm       2,085               3,022

ILS & Approach speed @ MLW:

• 180 kts Flap2 (Kyb 2) to full flap/gear down @ Vat 133 - 140 kts
• Vat = 1.30 Vso (Vso is stall speed @ full flap/gear down)

Cruise Speeds:

• Max. Cruise speed 499 KTAS @ cruise altitude 30,000 - 35,000ft depending on weight
• Long Range Cruise speed 439 KTAS Cruise Altitude 30,000 - 35,000ft depending on weight.
• Typical Cruise Speed is 0.76 - 0.82 Mach @ FL300 - FL350

When flying long routes (over 2hrs) with MTOW, climb to FL300 & hold Alt with cruise speed 0.78 - 0.80 Mach , then fly that level for 30 min. then climb to FL310 - 320 @500 fpm and so on until you reach FL350 @ 0.78 - 0.82 Mach

Try not exceed 91% N1 during cruise in order to have available thrust for emergencies & be more efficient with fuel burn. The reason I mentioned the above procedure with X-Plane is to avoid too much nose pitch up attitude which put the aircraft wing @ higher angle of attack causing speed bleed leading to a clean stall if you are not careful.

The time taken between cruise climb is important because the aircraft will burn fuel (losing weight), your speed will gradually increase @ the same N1 setting , your aircraft pitch up will decrease helping you for the next cruise climb. Rate of climb at these alts should be between 300-500 fpm in order not to lose speed rapidly. The more you climb to FL350 the more the air density is less the better the engine fuel consumption (more range)& the less is thrust.

I usually output data for N1 on the screen & switch the EICAS to fuel management to observe aircraft status on fuel burn & range.

You should carry fuel enough for the flight + 40mins for diversions & emergencies i.e. if your trip is 2hrs long, you load fuel for the required 2hrs flight plus fuel for an extra 40 min. You should know your aircraft's average fuel consumption for the type of engines fitted with in order to determine the fuel weight required for the flight. Remember that weight is drag, drag is more fuel burn which costs money (for virtual pilots flying for virtual airlines:), so do not carry fuel more than you need. You have a destination to go to & MLW limit. You do not want to arrive to your destination with total weight above MLW!.

FAR Field Lengths

           Take-off         Landing
MD-90-30   7,000 ft        5,130 ft
MD-90-50   7,700 ft        5,340 ft

Take-off Check List

• Allowable Take-off Weight (MTOW or lower) Checked
• Flaps Set
• Trim Set
• Autopilot Controls Off

Final Landing Check List

• Gear Down/Green
• Flaps/Slats Set/ 3 or 4
• Speed Brakes Armed (shift-8)
• ILS freq/Glide Slope Tuned

During Descent Check

• Check Allowable Landing Weight (MLW 210,000 lb. or lower)
• Review your ILS approach & Runway heading

ROC Rate Of Climb

Below 10,000ft

• max. 4000 fpm @ 250kts (fpm is Feet per minute)

Above 10,000ft to Cruise Flight Level FL

• 2200fpm from 10,000 - 20,000ft @ 280 - 340kts
• 1800 - 1500fpm from 20,000 - 26,000ft
• 1400 - 500fpm from 26,000 - 35,000 ft depending on weight.

ROD Rate Of Descent

• From Cruise FL to 10,000ft hold 0.79 Mach until 290 kts, reduce thrust for 2500 fpm
• Below 10,000ft rate of descent varies with ATC requirements, but is between 800 - 3000fpm
• In normal conditions 250kts idle descent , then slow & configure speed so as to not add power until on Glide Slope.
• Glide Slope descend is between 1500 - 500fpm depending on your situation
• At Runway Threshold descend between 400 - 200fpm for a smooth touchdown landing.

   MLW = Maximum Landing Weight
   MTO = Maximum Take-off Weight
   V2  = Safe Climb-out speed (The speed after Vr, Rotation speed or Lift-off speed)
   Vat = Landing speed at runway threshold Flap/Gear down (X-Plane @ 50'...25'...10')
   Vapr= Approach Speed , just add 5-10kts to Vat with flap/gear down @ MLW or less
   Vno = Normal Operating Speed
   Vmo = Maximum Operating Speed
   Vne = Never Exceed Speed
   FL350  = Flight Level 35,000'

Thanks to Mohammed Gazzawi, Designer/Test Pilot MGXP