P.M. BRIEFING : McDonnell Delivers 1st Tri-Jet

McDonnell Douglas today delivered its first $100-million MD-11 tri-jet, culminating a four-year program that the aerospace company hopes will bring $40 billion in new revenue during the next five years.

“We anticipate recouping our investment three years into the program,” said Robert Hood, president of the company’s Douglas Aircraft subsidiary, which built the long-distance, fuel-efficient jetliner at its Long Beach plant.

Hood, speaking at a morning ceremony turning over the jetliner to Finnair, said development costs of the plane totaled more than $700 million and that estimated total costs so far have reached $2.8 billion.

The company, he said, has 174 firm orders for the MD-11, each with a price tag of $100 million.

The MD-11 is an updated version of the wide-bodied DC-10.