Coolest Bizjet Ever? The 1959 McDonnell 220!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010 at 10:54PM 
Only one McDonnell 220 was ever built
We think we're all cool and stuff these days, but I'm not so sure. The McDonnell 220 first flew in 1959 (that's 51 years ago!) and could haul 10 people in sweet luxury at 45,000 feet and 520mph for about 3,000 miles. Too bad no one ever expressed any interest in these capabilities back in the early 60's when McDonnell tried to find some deep pocket buyers.
The airplane actually started as the McDonnell 119, a contender against the Lockheed JetStar to fill the Air Force request for a utility aircraft. When the JetStar beat the 220 for the job, McDonnell next tried to market the aircraft as an airliner with a 26 passenger max capacity. When that didn't fly, they turned to the idea of selling it as a bizjet. There's little doubt that purchase and operating costs had to be astronomical (uhh, four J34 turbojets!), but it still seems there would have been some serious interest. There wasn't.
In the end, only one was ever built. But looking back at this machine, I think it's simply awesome. It's like a baby DC-8 with a little jet fighter mixed in. What a way to fly!
The airplane still exists today, and was actually listed for sale at the end of 2009, presumably in non-airworthy condition. I wasn't able to find info on its current status... other than it's still likely the coolest bizjet ever : )
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jaeterri e3d3fd1842 https://weblaz.com/profguarola