McDonnell Douglas DC-8-70 (N817NA)

Fantastic photo! There can't be that many 8s still working. NASA really takes great care of its fleet.

You would be amazed how many different research racks have been installed over the years. Worked side by side from late 80's to 90's at Moffet Field, loved it when they returned from Main...:)

Beautiful plane. I really appreciate the design of of the DC-8. It is a very strong aircraft. It brought me home from Vietnam through some of the roughest turbulence one would every want not to experience. We stopped first outside of Tokyo. We continued on to Fairbanks, and finally to Travis AFB, California. A day later I hopped on a Northeast Air Line flight to Miami. We stopped in New Orleans before landing in MIA. EUGENE AARON

it's coming back home! All 556 DC-8 aircraft came off a Douglas (after 1967, McDonnell-Douglas) production line that fed them right on to the runway of Daugherty Field (KLGB). DC-8 production stopped in 1972, but the factory stayed busy until C-17 production ceased in 2015. As a McDonnell-Douglas employee in the late 70s, I spent some time in that factory. It was fun to look out the (internal, third story) windows of the engineering offices, and see DC-10's taking shape on the floor below.

Any thoughts as to when it was re-powered?

I wonder if it is an ole United Bird ? I worked the DC-8's with Delta and United, UAL had convedrted some of theirs to CFM.