UPS sells 44 DC8-71F/-73Fs....

[Stratofreighter]

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AerSale, Inc. Acquires CFM56 Powered DC8-70 Fleet

CORAL GABLES, Fla., Feb. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- AerSale announced today the acquisition of a fleet of 44 Douglas DC8-71F/-73F series freighter aircraft powered by CFM56 engines. Included in the purchase is the company's entire inventory of CFM56-2C1 engines, DC8-70 series spare parts & tooling, and a Level D (full motion) DC8-70 series flight simulator. "One of the cornerstones of our business model is to facilitate airlines with their fleet transitions," stated Nicolas Finazzo, AerSale's Chief Executive Officer. "Dealing with a single counterparty that can efficiently realize the value of such a diverse package of difficult to finance aviation assets was a major factor in AerSale winning the contract. This transaction is only the first of several large scale multi-fleet acquisitions included in our 2010 forecast."

The Douglas DC8-70 fleet was manufactured in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and was re-engined with the CFM56-2 powerplant in the early 1980s. This engine series also powers the Boeing KC135 tanker and E-3 AWACS fleets flown by the US and numerous foreign militaries. There are approximately 2,300 CFM56-2 engines in operation worldwide. The CFM56-2 is the predecessor to the CFM56-3 and other CFM56 family engines which have broad application across the world's fleet of passenger and cargo aircraft.

"With this package we can effectively service the remaining DC8-70 fleet despite its limited future; however strategically, the real value comes from the parts value of the engines," added Robert B. Nichols, AerSale's Chief Operating Officer. "With over 180 CFM56 engines included, AerSale is already positioned to become the leading provider of aftermarket CFM56 material. This is welcome news to our MRO customers who will depend upon a reliable source of aftermarket inexpensive high quality OEM parts, as an alternative to expensive new parts. Their customers in turn benefit by lower shop visit costs, which ultimately extends the economic lives of maturing CFM56 powered fleets."

[EC]

Sounds like the end of a major DC8 operator

I hope they are paying attention at the Aviodrome

By the sound of it the buyer is mainly interested in the engines. I should be possible to fly a DC8 to Lelystad and ship the engines back to the States.
Source some original engines (and pylons) and refit windows and an interior (a job that would have to be done for the current plans aswell)
and you would have a nice display aircraft, probably with less transportation cost then shipping a hull and wings from the UK.

I would not be surprised if there were even some original KLM DC8-63's in this fleet.

Perhaps I am thinking to simple but it would be worth looking into.

rgds
EC

[van Teil]

Actually there are two ex-klm dc8's in the UPS fleet

N819UP DC-8-73AF used to be KLM PH-DEE DC-8-63
N880UP DC-8-73AF used to be KLM PH-DEF DC-8-63

But both aircraft are already stored, so god knows in what kind of condition...

[patrick@tediek.com]

N819UP DC-8-73AF used to be KLM PH-DEE DC-8-63
N880UP DC-8-73AF used to be KLM PH-DEF DC-8-63

But both aircraft are already stored, so god knows in what kind of condition...

the N819UP ferried to ROW in NOvember 2009 and N880UP was WFU in 2009 as well.. they can't be in such a bad shape....