N273UP

This airframe, registered as N273UP, is a McDonnell Douglas MD-11F built in 1994 with manufacturer serial 48574. It is recorded as owned by UNITED PARCEL SERVICE CO, a corporation based in Louisville, KY, US, and operates with a United States registration. The aircraft was produced by McDonnell Douglas and configured as a dedicated freighter; its ownership has remained with a major integrated cargo operator, reflecting a continuous commercial utility profile. Notable registry details include its corporate ownership and home base alignment with the owner’s primary U.S. hub in Louisville.

The airframe is outfitted as a main-deck palletized freighter with lower-deck LD3 capability, enabling rapid main-deck handling and supplementary lower-deck container carriage on long-haul cargo missions. With a minimal flight crew accommodation of 7 seats recorded, the configuration prioritizes payload and logistics throughput over passenger amenities. Typical mission profiles for this registration center on medium- to long-range cargo lanes consistent with a 3,950 nm range and cruise performance of 473 kts, operating from the owner’s Louisville base. Maintenance considerations for this specific aircraft focus on its three Pratt & Whitney PW4000 powerplants and the aging MD-11F airframe systems, which are key factors in scheduling heavy checks and managing operational availability for a freighter in a large corporate fleet.

The McDonnell Douglas MD-11F represents a three-engine widebody freighter niche, offering transcontinental and intercontinental range with substantial main-deck pallet volume and lower-deck container flexibility. In the used freighter market, MD-11Fs like N273UP compete with other large converted or factory freighters for cargo operators seeking payload and range rather than the latest fuel-efficiency metrics. Resale and maintenance considerations for this airframe emphasize engine-support arrangements for the PW4000 variants and lifecycle planning tied to airframe age (built 1994) and cumulative utilization.