Just been talking to a Regulator contact of mine.....seems they would be dubious about allowing the 2 MD-80s back into the air in the short term because of the fact that they have been sitting in open storage, right by the sea, for so long with less-than-ideal preservation measures taken to keep them in good nick, (note that there are not even any engine bungs in place). Further to that, the JT8s on these things are apparently un-hushed. Given all this, the future of these two airframes seems far from assured
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I know of at least one Aviation Training Organisation that would be only too happy to take one of these jets of Clive's hands.....as it would make an excellent certified 717 Cabin Training device, (MD-80 and 717 doors and exits are exactly the same from a certification perspective).
TOR