It falls just short of the Douglas DC-8, whose , 63, 71, and 73 variants measured Its length necessitated a special retractable tail skid to prevent tail strikes.
The specifications show that, while operators of the larger could carry more passengers, they had to compromise on range. The aircraft was ultimately ordered by airlines that needed to strike a balance between providing a higher capacity and flying into and out of smaller airports, such as certain Caribbean destinations. The received a total of just 55 orders.
Meanwhile, Boeing produced more than s, and this variant was also fairly popular as a cargo aircraft. But what are the reasons for this striking contrast in popularity?
Right from the off, it was fairly evident that the was a relatively obsolete product within the Boeing line up. Its widebody offers a greater capacity than the , and without the need to compromise on range that comes with the As such, its only selling point over the , which Boing developed in conjunction with the , was its ability to serve smaller airports. Last Retirement:.
Reason Disposed:. The shared common systems with the Boeing , including advanced wing technology, air conditioning packs and auxiliary power unit. The two planes also had similar flight deck designs, so the FAA allowed pilots who flew the to also fly the without going through additional training.
Delta, the first carrier to fly both the and , made commercial aviation history in , when two of its pilots completed a demonstration of common-type pilot rating. Delta inaugurated service on December 1, In , Delta received the th made by Boeing.
It was previously operated by Shanghai Airlines. Song's Fleet Delta's innovative low-cost carrier Song, which operated from , flew a fleet of specially-configured Boeing s. As a successor, airlines wanted additional capacity and the efficiency of two engines rather than four or three.
The was launched to meet this desire. Boeing was already working on the larger widebody and the inherited from its design — including the two-person cockpit, parts of the interiors, and wing and aerodynamic features. Boeing originally proposed the with two different-sized variants. The smaller would offer a capacity of around , but this was dropped due to a lack of interest from airlines. The first entered service with Eastern Airlines on January 1st, The was also developed into a freighter version, launched in with UPS.
And the larger entered service in with Europen airline Condor. Stay informed: Sign up for our daily and weekly aviation news digests. The offers a much higher range than other narrowbodies of 3, NM 7, kilometers. It can easily handle US coast-to-coast flights as well as offering transatlantic narrowbody routes.
Later narrowbodies such as the MAX still fail to meet the range of the , although the long-range narrowbodies from Airbus do compete.
It is also known for its range and its performance in hot and dry and high-altitude environments. With a higher thrust-to-weight ratio, it can operate from shorter runways with a lower take-off speed and spectacular climb performance. These characteristics have made the especially popular with US airlines, with all of the major legacy airlines American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines operating it.
American Airlines was the largest operator with a fleet of aircraft but retired them in amidst pandemic-related fleet simplification. Delta Air Lines then became and remains the largest operator.
It has also been a popular choice in Europe. British Airways was one of the first airlines to take the and operated a fleet of up to 54 aircraft until retirement in Icelandair remains a major operator today.
The , however, was an exception to this, with only 55 aircraft delivered. The increased size led to a reduction in range, and it ended up as a fairly niche offering. The offered a lot more, and the s late addition to the program combined with this to restrict its popularity. Boeing History Products Commercial Transport. Historical Snapshot.
Technical Specifications. First flight Feb.
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