HISTORY
In March
1910, William E. Boeing bought
Heath's shipyard in Seattle on the
Duwamish River, which later became
his first airplane factory. Boeing
was incorporated in Seattle by
William Boeing, on July 15, 1916, as
"Pacific Aero Products Co.". Boeing,
who studied at Yale University,
worked initially in the timber
industry, where he became wealthy
and acquired knowledge about wooden
structures. This knowledge would
prove invaluable in his subsequent
design and assembly of airplanes.
The company stayed in Seattle to
take advantage of the local supply
of Spruce wood.
William
Boeing founded his company a few
months after the June 15 maiden
flight of one of the two "B&W"
seaplanes built with the assistance
of George Conrad Westervelt, a U.S.
Navy engineer. Boeing and Westervelt
decided to build the B&W seaplane
after having flown in a Curtiss
aircraft. Boeing bought a Glenn
Martin "Flying Birdcage" seaplane
(so called because of all the
guy-wires holding it together) and
was taught to fly by Glenn Martin
himself. Boeing soon crashed the
Birdcage and when Martin informed
Boeing that replacement parts would
not become available for months,
Boeing realized he could build his
own plane in that amount of time. He
and his friend Cdr. G.C. Westervelt
agreed to build a better airplane
and soon produced the B&W Seaplane.
This first Boeing airplane was
assembled in a lakeside hangar
located on the northeast shore of
Seattle's Lake Union. Many of
Boeing's early planes were
seaplanes.
On May 9,
1917, the company became the "Boeing
Airplane Company". In late 1917, the
US entered World War I and Boeing
knew that the US Navy needed
seaplanes for training. So Boeing
shipped two new Model Cs to
Pensacola, Florida where the planes
were flown for the Navy. The Navy
liked the Model C so much that they
ordered fifty more. The
company moved its operations to a
larger former shipbuilding facility
known as Boeing Plant 1, located on
the lower Duwamish River.
When
World War I ended in 1918, a large
surplus of cheap, used military
planes flooded the commercial
airplane market, and this prevented
aircraft companies like Boeing from
selling any new airplanes. Because
of this, many airplane companies
went out of business, but other
companies, including Boeing, started
selling other products. Boeing built
dressers, counters, and furniture,
along with flat-bottom boats called
Sea Sleds.
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Boeing
Milestones |
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In 1923, Boeing
began a
competition
against Curtiss
for a contract
to develop a
pursuit fighter
for the U.S.
Army Air
Service.
Although Curtiss
finished its
design first and
was awarded the
contract, Boeing
continued to
develop its PW-9
fighter. That
plane, along
with the Boeing
P-12/ F4B
fighter, made
Boeing a leading
manufacturer of
fighters over
the course of
the next decade
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In
1925, Boeing built its Model 40
mail plane for the US government
to use on airmail routes. In
1927, an improved version of
this plane was built, the Model
40A. The 40A won the U.S. Post
Office's contract to deliver
mail between San Francisco and
Chicago. The 40A also had a
passenger cabin that
accommodated two passengers.
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On July 27, 1929, the
12-passenger Boeing 80 biplane
made its first flight. With
three engines, it was Boeing's
first plane built with the sole
intention of being a passenger
transport. An upgraded version,
the 80A, carrying eighteen
passengers, made its first
flight in September 1929.
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- In
1930, the Monomail, a low-wing
monoplane that carried mail, was
built. Built entirely out of
metal, it was very fast and
aerodynamic, and it also had
retractable landing gear. In
fact, its design was so
revolutionary that the engines
and propellers of the time could
not handle the plane. By the
time controllable pitch
propellers were developed,
Boeing was building its Model
247 airliner. Two Monomails were
built. The second one, the Model
221, had a 6-passenger cabin.
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- In 1933
the revolutionary Boeing 247 was
introduced, the first truly
modern airliner. The 247 was an
all-metal low-wing monoplane
that was much faster, safer, and
easier to fly than other
passenger aircraft. For example,
it was the first twin engine
passenger aircraft that could
fly on one engine. In an era of
unreliable engines, this vastly
improved flight safety. Boeing
built the first sixty aircraft
exclusively for its own United
Airlines subsidiary's
operations. This badly hurt
competing airlines, and was
typical of the anti-competitive
corporate behavior that the US
government sought to prohibit at
the time.
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In 1938, Boeing completed work
on its Model 307
Stratoliner.
This was the world’s first
pressurized-cabin transport
aircraft, and it was capable of
cruising at an altitude of
20,000 feet (6,100 m) – above
most weather disturbances. It
was based on the B-17, using the
same wings, tail and engines.
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- During
World War II, Boeing built a
large number of B-17 and B-29
bombers. Many of the workers
were women whose husbands had
gone to war. In the beginning of
March 1944, production had been
scaled up in such a manner that
over 350 planes were built each
month. To prevent an attack from
the air, the manufacturing
plants had been covered with
greenery and farmland items.
During these years of war the
leading aircraft companies of
the US cooperated. The
Boeing-designed B-17 bomber was
assembled also by Lockheed
Aircraft Corp. and Douglas
Aircraft Co., while the B-29 was
assembled also by Bell Aircraft
Co. and by Glenn L. Martin
Company.
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- Boeing
developed military jets such as
the B-47 Stratojet and B-52
Stratofortress bombers in the
late-1940s and into the 1950s.
During the early 1950s, Boeing
used company funds to develop
the 367–80 jet airliner
demonstrator that led to the
KC-135 Stratotanker and Boeing
707 jetliner.
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- In
1958, Boeing began delivery of
its 707, the United States'
first commercial jet airliner,
in response to the British De
Havilland Comet, French Sud
Aviation Caravelle and Soviet
Tupolev Tu-104, which were the
world’s first generation of
commercial jet aircraft. With
the 707, a four-engine,
156-passenger airliner, the US
became a leader in commercial
jet manufacture. A few years
later, Boeing added a second
version of this aircraft, the
720, which was slightly faster
and had a shorter range.
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- Vertol
Aircraft Corporation was
acquired by Boeing in 1960, and
was reorganized as Boeing's
Vertol division. The twin-rotor
CH-47 Chinook, produced by
Vertol, took its first flight in
1961. This heavy-lift helicopter
remains a work-horse vehicle up
to the present day. In 1964,
Vertol also began production of
the CH-46 Sea Knight.
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- In
December 1960, Boeing announced
the model 727 jetliner, which
went into commercial service
about three years later.
Different passenger, freight and
convertible freighter variants
were developed for the 727. The
727 was the first commercial
jetliner to reach 1000 sales,
and a few years later the 1500
mark was reached.
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- In
1967, Boeing introduced another
short- and medium-range
airliner, the twin-engine 737.
It has become since then the
best-selling commercial jet
aircraft in aviation history.
The 737 is still being produced,
and continuous improvements are
made. Several versions have been
developed, mainly to increase
seating capacity and range.
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- In
January 1970, the first 747, a
four-engine long-range airliner,
flew its first commercial
flight. This famous aircraft
completely changed the way of
flying, with its 450-passenger
seating capacity and its upper
deck. Boeing has delivered
nearly 1,400 747s. The 747 has
undergone continuous
improvements to keep it
technologically up-to-date.
Larger versions have also been
developed by stretching the
upper deck. As of 2012, the 747
is still being produced, with
its newest version being the
747-8.
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- In
April 1994, Boeing introduced
the most modern commercial jet
aircraft at the time, the
twin-engine 777, with a seating
capacity of approximately 300 to
370 passengers in a typical
three-class layout, in between
the 767 and the 747. The longest
range twin-engined aircraft in
the world, the 777 was the first
Boeing airliner to feature a
"fly-by-wire" system and was
conceived partly in response to
the inroads being made by the
European Airbus into Boeing’s
traditional market. This
aircraft reached an important
milestone by being the first
airliner to be designed entirely
by using computer-aided design
(CAD) techniques. The 777
was also the first airplane to
be certified for 180 minute
ETOPS at entry into service by
the FAA.
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In August 1997, Boeing merged
with McDonnell Douglas in a
US$13 billion stock swap under
the name The
Boeing Company.
However this name had actually
been Boeing's official name
previously adopted on May 21,
1961. Following the
merger, the McDonnell Douglas
MD-95 was renamed the Boeing
717, and the production of the
MD-11 was limited to the
freighter version. Boeing
introduced a new corporate
identity with completion of the
merger, incorporating the Boeing
logo type and a stylized version
of the McDonnell Douglas symbol,
which was derived from the
Douglas Aircraft logo from the
1970s.
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- In
September 2001, Boeing moved its
corporate headquarters from
Seattle to Chicago. Chicago,
Dallas and Denver – vying to
become the new home of the
world’s largest aerospace
concern – all had offered
packages of multimillion-dollar
tax breaks. Its offices
are located in the Fulton River
District, Chicago just outside
the Loop, Chicago.
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- Boeing
has achieved several consecutive
launches, beginning with the
formal launch of the 787 for
initial delivery to All Nippon
Airways. Rollout of the first
787 occurred on July 8, 2007,
with the first flight taking
place on December 15, 2009.
Source:
Wikipedia
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AIRCRAFT |
|
Commercial
Aircraft |
Model 1 |
|
|
Model 6 |
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|
Model 6D |
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|
Model 7 |
|
|
Model 8 |
|
|
Model 40
|
1925 |
Biplane built to
carry mail and
passengers. |
Model 64 |
|
|
Model 80
|
1928 |
Three-engine biplane
airliner |
Model 81 |
|
|
Model 95
|
|
|
Model
200
Monomail |
|
Converted into the
8-passenger Model
221A |
Model
203
|
|
|
Model 204 |
|
|
Model
221
Monomail
|
|
Converted into the
8-passenger Model
221A. |
Model
247 |
1933 |
Two-engine monoplane
airliner. |
Model
307
Stratoliner
|
1938 |
Four-engine,
pressurized
airliner. |
Model
314
Clipper |
1938 |
Four-engine, flying
boat airliner. |
Model
360 |
|
Advanced helicopter
demonstrater |
Model
377
Stratocruiser |
1947 |
Four-engine
airliner,
development of the
military C-97. |
Model 707 |
1957 |
Mid-size,
narrow-body
four-engine jet
airliner. |
Model
717
|
1998 |
Development of the McDonnell
Douglas MD-95 |
Model
720 |
|
Modified, short
range variant of the
707. |
Model
727
|
1963 |
Mid-size narrow-body
three-engine jet
airliner |
Model
737 |
1967 |
Twin engine,
short-to-medium
range narrow-body
airliner. |
Model
747 |
1969 |
Four
engine, partial
double deck,
widebody airliner.
|
Model
757 |
1982 |
Mid-size,
narrow-body
twin-engine jet
airliner |
Model
767 |
1981 |
Twin-engine, medium
to long-range
widebody airliner. |
Model
777 |
1994 |
Twin-engine, medium
to long-range,
widebody airliner. |
Model
787 |
2009 |
Twin-engine,
twin-asile,
long-range widebody
airliner. |
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MILITARY AIRCRAFT |
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|
A160
Hummingbird |
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UAV helicopter |
AH-6 |
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|
B-17 Flying Fortress |
|
Strategic
bomber |
B-29 Superfortress |
|
Strategic
bomber |
B-47 Stratojet |
|
Strategic
bomber |
B-50
Superfortress |
|
Strategic
bomber,
upgarde
variant of
the B-29 |
B-52 Stratofortress |
|
Strategic
bomber |
Bird of Prey |
|
Stealth
fighter UAV
demonstrator |
C-17 Globemaster III |
|
Heavy cargo
transport |
C-22 |
|
Medieum-range
transport
variant of
the Boeing
727-100. |
C-32A |
|
Extended
range
transport
variant of
the Boeing
757-200. |
C-40
Clipper |
|
Cargo and
personnel
transport
variant of
the Boeing
737-700.
Replaced the C-9. |
CH-46 Sea
Knight |
|
Vertol
Aircraft
Corp |
CH-47
Chinook |
|
Vertol
Aircraft
Corp |
Condor |
|
High Altitude Long
Endurance concept
drone |
E-3 Sentry |
|
AWACS
surveillance
aircraft |
E-4B |
|
Advanced
Airborne
Command Post |
E-6
Mercury |
|
Ground
battle
management |
E-8 Joint
STARS |
|
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E-10 MC2A |
|
With
Northrop
Grumman
(project
canceled) |
E-767 |
|
AEW&C |
EC-135 |
|
|
FB |
|
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F4B |
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|
KB-50 Superfortress |
|
|
KC-46 |
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|
KC-97
Stratofreighter |
|
|
KC-135 Stratotanker |
|
|
OC-135 Open
Skies |
|
Open Skies
observation
aircraft |
P-8 Poseidon |
|
Anti-submarine
warfare |
P-12 |
|
Biwinged
fighter |
P-26 Peashooter |
|
Biwinged
fighter |
Pelican
ULTRA |
|
|
Phantom Eye |
|
High
Altitude
Long
Endurance,
reconnaissance
drone |
Phantom Ray |
|
Unmanned
flying test
bed for
advanced air
system
technologies |
Project
Wedgetail |
|
AEW&C |
Quad
TiltRotor
|
|
With Bell
Helicopter |
RB-47 Stratojet |
|
|
RC-135
Rivet Joint |
|
|
T-43 |
|
Navigator trainer |
V-22 Osprey |
|
Tiltrotor with Bell
Helicopter |
VC-25A |
|
"Air Force
One" |
VC-137 |
|
Executive
transport |
WB-50 Superfortress |
|
Weather
reconissance
variant of
the B-50 |
WC-135 |
|
Constant
Phoenix |
XB-15 |
|
|
X-32 |
|
Joint Strike Fighter |
X-37 |
|
Advanced Technology Demonstrator |
X-40 |
|
USAF Space
Maneuver Vehicle (SMV) program |
X-45 |
|
UCAV |
X-48 |
|
Blended Wing Body demonstrator |
X-51 |
|
Wave-rider: Hypersonic vehicle |
X-53 |
|
Active Aeroelastic Wing |
YAL-1 |
|
Airborne Laser |
YC-14 |
|
|
Y1B-9 |
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