Ozark DC-9 Livery History (1966-2001)

JJ Skippy

Well-known member
Hello everyone! Here’s another livery history thread, this one focused on Ozark’s DC-9s and where they went after.


1 - Delivery -10 (1966)
Ozark took delivery of their first jets from Douglas in 1966. N970Z, from what I could find, was their first DC-9, a Series 10. The livery at the time featured three swallows on the tail with a green line growing from the front on back.
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2 - Delivery -30 (1969)
The first DC-9-30 arrived into Ozark’s fleet in 1969, with N979Z delivered in February of that year:
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I have to say, I’ve not seen this scheme on a Series 30 before, mainly on the Series 10 and their F-27s.


3 - Larger Titles (ca. 1970s)
Sometime in the 1970s, Ozark gave their livery a slight update by enlarging the OZARK titles up at the front. I think it worked out well, as you can now see the airline name clearly from a far distance.
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A sort of “experimental” livery was painted onto N968E, a Series 10 coming over from Texas International. I believe this was the only Ozark Nine to have this particular paint scheme. To be honest I like this livery; I wish they would’ve kept this one.
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4 - Stripes (1979-1986)
By 1979, Ozark introduced a new livery, of which I’ve called Stripes. The Three Swallows are now incorporated into a filled rectangle with the OZARK titles on the tail.
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5 - Ozark/TWA Hybrid (1986)
TWA acquired Ozark in 1986, and with it came a new hub in St. Louis for the airline. As with most airline mergers, a unique hybrid livery came out of this merger. Funnily enough it’s almost identical to the Twin Stripes livery TWA would equip these DC-9s with later.
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6 - Twin Stripes (1986-1995)
Many people know this livery very well. The main difference between this and the Ozark/TWA hybrid is the stripes enlargement from the front on back, and also a slight shrinking of the red rectangle with TWA titles on the tail. Some DC-9s were also equipped with black stripes on the wings.
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7 - Final Livery (1995-2001)
In the midst of bankruptcy, TWA introduced a new identity in 1995. This would be the last livery the ex-Ozark DC-9s would wear. Note the black stripe towards the leading edge of the wing.
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None of the DC-9s would make it to American; they did take the four DC-9-80s, aka MD-80s, Ozark got before the TWA acquisition, along with the gargantuan fleet TWA had. Hopefully you enjoyed this read!
 
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Thank you for such an in-depth look over the Ozark DC-9s! Very relevant at the moment, especially after Aeroclassic's excellent new model. :)
 
Wow, great article. Ozark is one my favorite airlines. I do like that scheme on N968Z, that would've looked great on the whole fleet.
Again, well done.
 
Another great article! Really glad I opened up to this airline with the latest AC release now in my collection. I really like the '79 scheme, and as you noted it does have a similar graphic layout on the tail to the TWA 'Twin-Stripe' scheme of the same era. I wonder if they were designed by the same agency?
 
Another great article! Really glad I opened up to this airline with the latest AC release now in my collection. I really like the '79 scheme, and as you noted it does have a similar graphic layout on the tail to the TWA 'Twin-Stripe' scheme of the same era. I wonder if they were designed by the same agency?
I’ll have to look into this. It is very likely given the similar characteristics, like the United Saul Bass scheme next to the Continental Meatball/Contrails scheme and later Frontier Saul Bass livery, all designed by Saul Bass.
 
I’ll have to look into this. It is very likely given the similar characteristics, like the United Saul Bass scheme next to the Continental Meatball/Contrails scheme and later Frontier Saul Bass livery, all designed by Saul Bass.
I’d love to know, thanks!
 
I'm not having very much luck but it looks like it was not designed by Saul Bass. It seems more likely that it was developed internally, perhaps by Ozark's marketing department.
 
Another great article! Really glad I opened up to this airline with the latest AC release now in my collection. I really like the '79 scheme, and as you noted it does have a similar graphic layout on the tail to the TWA 'Twin-Stripe' scheme of the same era. I wonder if they were designed by the same agency?
I did find out that the TWA twin stripe scheme was designed by TWA's Director of Corporate Design, Mr. Jules Rondepierre. Debuted on November 30, 1974 on 747-131 N53111.
 
I did find out that the TWA twin stripe scheme was designed by TWA's Director of Corporate Design, Mr. Jules Rondepierre. Debuted on November 30, 1974 on 747-131 N53111.
Wow, very interesting to learn about this, thanks for finding that out 👍 Launched the same year as the Saul Bass United ‘Tulip’ scheme.
 
Wow, very interesting to learn about this, thanks for finding that out 👍 Launched the same year as the Saul Bass United ‘Tulip’ scheme.
You're welcome. Correct, they both launched the same year. United Saul Bass was introduced on June 17, 1974 on DC-8-21 N8031U.
 
Thanks Purpleplane, it’s great to know the aircraft type/reg. numbers these schemes first appeared on 👍
 
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