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McDonnell Douglas MD-11F · N281UP · UPS Airlines

McDonnell Douglas MD-11F illustration in UPS Airlines livery Illustrative image; it may differ from the actual aircraft.

McDonnell Douglas MD-11F

MD11-48538Active
RegistrationUSN281UP
Verified aircraft dataagainst the official civil aviation registerWhat does this badge mean?We checked that this aircraft’s registration, serial number and model match the official civil aviation register: FAA (United States), data as of Oct 8, 2026.That makes its identity more reliable. The verification expires after 12 months: if the register stops confirming it, the badge disappears.How we verify
OperatorUPS Airlines
1operators
0incidents
0accidents
0logbook years
0photos

McDonnell Douglas MD-11F built in 1993. Operates for UPS Airlines.

NewNearly newYoungMatureAgingOld
Old · 33 years · ≈ 105,600 flight hours (approx.)
Vuelopedia is a work in progress: it currently holds about 30% of the information we expect to have by the third quarter of 2027. Although we use only official, highly reliable sources, some aircraft data and history may still contain errors or inaccuracies. We work hard to clear every anomaly from the records using specialized verification tools.

Recent flights

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Technical data

ManufacturerMcDonnell Douglas
Engines3× P&W PW4000 SER
PropulsionJet
First flight1993
Country of registrationEstados Unidos
OwnerUnited Parcel Service Co
MSN48538
Hex / ICAO 24-bitA2D382
VerificationIdentity verified against the official register of FAA (United States) · Oct 8, 2026

The model · McDonnell Douglas MD-11

Figures for the MD-11 variant, the most representative of the family · it is 59% the length of a football pitch

Length61.6 m202 ft
Wingspan52.0 m171 ft
Height17.6 m58 ft
Range12,455 km6,725 NMWith a typical passenger load
Cruise speed881 km/h476 ktMach 0.83
Service ceiling13,170 m43,209 ftIt flies above Everest (1.5 times its height)
Maximum take-off weight285,990 kg630,499 lb
Maximum payload157,181 kg346,524 lbIts 323 passengers with baggage would weigh about 32.3 t; the rest is fuel and cargo
Typical capacity323 passengersUp to 410 in a high-density layout
Endurance14 h 08 minAt cruise speed, non-stop

With its 12,455 km range, from Louisville it could fly non-stop as far as:

DELNew Delhi12,384 kmDXBDubai11,881 kmPVGShanghai (Pudong)11,796 kmDOHDoha11,677 kmPEKBeijing11,022 km
Beyond its rangeHKGHong Kong12,984 km

The type first flew in 1990 (36 years ago) · About 200 units built · Production ended in 2000

Figures for the type, not for this particular aircraft: each variant and each configuration changes something. They are shown in both systems used in aviation.

The full story of the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 Compare this aircraft

Airports

Airports of the airlines that have operated it

2006–2026UPS Airlines airline base
Base
SDFLouisville

Flight logbook

Under research

Aircraft chronology

1993
Built
Assembled by McDonnell Douglas.
Jan 23, 2006
Delivered to UPS Airlines
Delivered to UPS Airlines as N281UP.

Operators

2006-01-23
UPS Airlines
Registration N281UP · Lessor: UPS

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This page was last updated on October 10, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 10). McDonnell Douglas MD-11F · N281UP · UPS Airlines. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/MD11-48538

MLA

“McDonnell Douglas MD-11F · N281UP · UPS Airlines.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 10 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/MD11-48538. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “McDonnell Douglas MD-11F · N281UP · UPS Airlines.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 10, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/MD11-48538.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) McDonnell Douglas MD-11F · N281UP · UPS Airlines. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/MD11-48538 (Accessed: 16 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_aircraft_md11_48538,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{McDonnell Douglas MD-11F · N281UP · UPS Airlines}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-10},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/MD11-48538},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/MD11-48538}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-16},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-16}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/MD11-48538 |title=McDonnell Douglas MD-11F · N281UP · UPS Airlines |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-10 |access-date=2026-10-16 |language=en}}