Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. Boeing See more classic airplane pictures. Classic Airplanes How Airplanes Work. Boeing vs. Read More. Boeing Specifications " ". Today, at least 70 airlines operate s worldwide. The bigger jets would be cheaper to run.
This meant the new jumbo-sized airliner would have to keep the same configuration as the freighter, with the cockpit above the passenger cabin, because of the realisation that their days as an airliner would be numbered. It was an insight that would also help to ensure the success of the The Boeing SST, known as the , never made it to airline service, by comparison.
Environmental concerns about the noise created by sonic booms — and the prodigious fuel costs — killed the aircraft before it ever flew. Read: The American Concordes that never flew. Even before they were able to build the , Boeing had something else on their to-do list — build a factory big enough to assemble them. The was so big — ft They had to build a completely new assembly plant, big enough for factory-fresh s to be rolled out at the end of it.
The Everett plant is still the biggest enclosed building in the world. Not only was it having to oversee the project and the building needed to assemble it and the ill-fated SST programme, but it was also building the new short-to-medium range and systems used on the Apollo Saturn space programme. And all this time, Boeing was burning through cash. To help fund the project it borrowed from no fewer than seven banks. Joe Sutter had to really fight to get engineers to work on the One problem airlines found was that the aircraft was often too big for existing hangars Credit: Getty Images.
After the rollout in September — when the world got its first glimpse of the giant airliner — the next milestone came in February The aircraft had had to be designed and built in only 28 months, as opposed to the usual 42 months for a new passenger aircraft.
One of them was British Airways. And a young maintenance engineer called Stewart John was sent out to Seattle to get to grips with the new aircraft. When that thing went over the top of you, it was amazing. But Boeing was convinced those airlines having to cross oceans — like those flying from New York to London and back again — would see the benefits of such a large aircraft.
One major factor in its favour was the fact it could carry up to passengers, nearly four times as many as the The was built to be twice as big as its ancestor, the Credit: Getty Images. Boeing only sold two s for a year and a half from September Other airlines that had bought the plane rapidly swapped them for smaller aircraft as the Oil Crisis led to higher fuel prices.
New airplanes and new engines are created at the same time. New aircraft designers might seek to consume less fuel, generate more power, and take advantage of lighter-weight designs from engine developers. The needed a huge jump in engine power and efficiency to get the massive plane in the air, and make money for the airlines.
The engine differed from earlier power plants by having a huge fan at the front. An enormous amount of air is forced into the engine, but only a small portion goes into the engine's core where it is compressed, mixed with fuel and ignited to drive the turbine. The internal turbine spins the huge fan, pushing the jet forward. With most of the air flow directed around -- rather than through -- the core of the engine, it was the first "high-bypass" turbofan of the jet age.
The design makes the engine quieter, more powerful, and with better fuel efficiency. And instead of the scream of earlier generation jets, the "buzzed" when it took off. The might have been the first, but now every passenger jet is powered by an incredibly reliable and sophisticated high-bypass turbofan engine.
The real game-changer? The went into service in the early s, at a time of major societal change. It drove exponential growth in air travel, tourism, and connections between people around the world. In its first year, a fully-loaded cut the cost of flying a passenger by half. Flying became instantly more accessible. But maybe the award for the biggest change in air travel should go to the 's older sibling, the The aircraft's final flight occurred on April 6, , when Boeing officially donated RA to the Museum after 5, flight hours.
Still configured in its flight test configuration, it was extensively restored in and Cockpit Lounge Lower Bay. Boeing Matterport 3D Tour. Complete Site Navigation. Buy Tickets. Museum Store. Private Events. Close Popup. Explore The Museum.
0コメント