And much more fun to fly!!
At TWA we had 4 DC9-15's and I always looked forward to flying them. Because it was lacking slats the landing attitude was much flatter than a -30 (more like a turboprop) and speed control was essential, right on bug, no more, no less. According to the Ozark guys the best landings were made just as the stick shaker activated.
One day an old Ozark Captain asked me if I'd ever seen an "Ozark Assault Landing" demonstrated. I said no and we landed in Des Moines, Iowa with the thrust reversers deployed (in flight) over the appoach end of the runway. It was the smoothest landing I'd seen in the -15. He explained that on their FAA type rides at Ozark they were required to demonstrate that technique in case they were landing on an icy runway. (I don't think he was lying, he was a check Captain.) "Ozark Speed Brakes" was dropping the gear with the hydraulic pumps still in low, that way the nose gear wouldn't extend and disturb our cockpit conversations, ala' F27.
Our -15's had JT8D-7 engines in them and they flew like little fighter jets. I heard that someone in Mexico was flying -15's with -15 engines in them! That would've been a handful.
The -30's were the best handling DC-9's I flew, but the DC-9-15's were the most fun to fly, almost as hard to land as the -50's but much more responsive in roll. (The -15's were a bit unstable in yaw, but not as bad as a F28.)
Dave
