1969 | Douglas DC-9-21

OH-DFJ
1965-1981 livery

Valtair had grown significantly as the 1960s began and went along, assembling a fleet of assorted propeller-driven passenger aircraft. However, it took the airline until 1965 to enter the jet age, with a large order for the new-to-market Douglas DC-9. Initially twenty DC-9-10s and five DC-9-30s were ordered, but by 1968 Valtair had converted its ten remaining DC-9-10 orders into the rarer DC-9-21 variant, which mated the DC-9-10's short fuselage with the wings and uprated engines of the DC-9-30. It boasted improved short-field performance and a higher MTOW, allowing flights to smaller airports around Europe (and especially the northern reaches of Scandinavia). And of course, along with the new jets also came a refreshed brand image, as it was found fairly quickly that the prior cornflower paintscheme would not work quite as well on jets compared to propliners.

Decided to do something different with this one and hop on the gear-down bandwagon. Also tossed in the airstairs just for fun. Gonna do all the DC-9 variants up like this and post the templates soon, so keep your eyes peeled!