How would you like to have this airline model collection located in the Boeing Archive? Um, yes please.
A while back I had the amazing experience of checking out Boeing’s archive located in Bellevue, WA. My first post in September gave the general overall look at the archives. Unfortunately since then, I got distracted with other things and caused a delay. This post will be going over the models (airplane not people) found in the archives and next week I will be posting my interview with Boeing Historian Michael Lombardi.
These are just some of the models located in the lobby of the Boeing Archive. They keep the real good ones locked up.
When I went for my visit in September, I was expecting the archives to be a bunch of boxes on shelves. One of the best surprises were all the amazing and unique models housed in the archives. From single aisle Boeing 747 mock ups to Boeing boats, I felt like a kid in a candy store needing a sugar rush. The archive has so many models, it has been difficult to store them all. I told Lombardi that I would be more than happy to store some at my house, but I don’t think that will work out. Although some models were spread around in the lobby and on random shelves, most were stored in two long rows of shelving. There were military and commercial airline models, but of course my main interest were the airliners.
I got so distracted by learning about the Boeing boats, I forgot to take a photos. But I did catch this HUGE Boeing 747 model.
Did you catch I said “Boeing boats” earlier? I am not talking about the Boeing 314 Flying Clipper, I am talking about real boats. Using their knowledge from aerodynamics, Boeing dove into the world of hydrofoil/jetfoil boats. They first launched in 1962 and built boats for military and commercial use until 1988 when Boeing Marine Systems closed and sold the license for the Commercial Jetfoils to Kawasaki Heavy Ind. Lombardi tells me that some Boeing Jetfoils are still “flying” to Macao and between Korea/Japan.
Two single aisle, double deck mock ups for the original Boeing 747.
When Boeing was looking at making a larger aircraft after the Boeing 707, they played with the idea of a double-decker, singled-aisle airplane like these two models depicted above. Can you spot the differences (larger version)? One has the wings in the middle of the fuselage, the other a bit higher. Also check out the differences in landing gears. These models look much more like the Airbus A380 than they do the Boeing 747. You can really see the nose of the Boeing 707/727/737 in the white model. Also, do not miss the Boeing SST model, there were quite a few of those spread out around the archive.
This is one odd-looking potential Boeing 727
This little guy (seen above) was hard to spot amongst all the models, but looked very interesting. Lombardi explained what the function of the engines being placed on the wings. “During the 1970s Boeing studied all aspects of commercial aviation and also reviewed the entire commercial family to see what could be improved. This model of the 727 shows one of those considerations it is a STOL 727 using a concept called USB or upper surface blowing. USB was successfully tested on the Boeing QSRA and the Boeing YC-14.” The Boeing 727 is one of my favorite airliners since it looks so majestic. I don’t think I would have the same love if it looked like the model above or like this other funky looking 727 model.
These show what Boeing was looking at with the Boeing 767.
There was a pretty big section of Boeing 767 prototype models in the Boeing archive. There were ones that closely resemble what became the Boeing 767 and others that looked… well, unique. Boeing was playing with the idea of making the 767 being a quad or even tri-jet aircraft. Probably the most interesting Boeing 767 prototype is the one you can see on the right on the photo above and detailed in the photo below.
Check out the sweet waistline on this possible Boeing 767 design.
This was one of my favorite models. That slick waist-line shape would have allowed the plane to travel at near sonic speeds. Lombardi explained why it wasn’t chosen. “Much like the Sonic Cruiser and it did not go forward for the same reasons that the Sonic Cruiser did not go forward – the fuel burn increases dramatically at near sonic/transonic speeds because of the increased drag.” I would imagine the seat layout on the interior would have been interesting and a bit cumbersome.
A model of the Boeing 747 Tri-Jet at the archive.
No matter how many times I have seen the mock ups, the Boeing 747 TriJet always looks odd to me. During the 1970’²s Boeing wanted to better compete with the DC-10 and L1011. The Boeing 747SP was too costly to directly compete, so for a short while, Boeing looked at creating a 747 with three jets instead of the standard four. The design has two jets on the wing and one on the tail in an ’œS’ configuration, much like the L1011. The concept was scrapped since it would take too much time, money, and a new wing design.
Ah, the Boeing 7J7. Wait a second... is that a Boeing 767 with foldable wings?
The Boeing archive wouldn’t be complete without a model of the Boeing 7J7. This aircraft was designed in the 1980’s with the idea of replacing the Boeing 727. It used Unducted Fan Engines on the rear of the plane that provided superior fuel economy. Boeing hoped the 7J7 would burn about half the fuel of the Airbus A320 and hoped to revolutionize commercial air travel. A reduction in oil prices and noise concerns ended up killing off the 7J7. Might we see another version of the UFE in the future? I am going to bet on yes.
Southwest Fan and FlyerTalk moderator for the Southwest forum Drew gets a photo with Santa at Phoenix.
Traveling during the holidays can be very stressful. Why not put a little cheer into your holiday travel experience with a fun photo with Santa?
Southwest Airlines is teaming with Microsoft to provide free photos with Santa at participating airports (Seattle is included). If you aren’t able to make it out for photos, you can still create your own holiday card online or sign up for their contest to win cool stuff including Southwest Airlines tickets.
There are only four more days to get your photo: December 17-20th before Santa needs to head north to get ready to delivery presents. I wanted to try and make it down to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to get my own photo, but my schedule wouldn’t allow it. Luckily Drew (aka @curbcrusher) who lives in Phoenix and is a moderator for the Southwest Forum on FlyerTalk.com, was happy to share his photo. High-five is right Drew and Santa! Party on.
One year ago today many waited at Paine Field for the first flight of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner ZA001. The aircraft’s first flight had already been delayed and the weather wasn’t looking so great, but hopes were still high. After the clouds cleared, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner ZA001 made her way to the south end of the runway for take off (photo). Boeing employees had lined up along the runway to watch the airplane they have worked so hard on take off for the first time (photo). The energy was amazing as the first 787 Dreamliner started to move for takeoff. I was standing on the Future of Flight’s strato deck (photo) with folks that yelled in excitement as ZA001 lifted off. It was quite amazing and a memory those of us that were there will always have. You know, one of those stories you will tell your grandkids that they won’t care about.
Yes, the Boeing 787 hasn’t been living the dream. The last year has been riddled with issues and more setbacks. Not to re-create the wheel, Jon Ostrower has an very comprehensive look at the 787’s year in review. I have had the privileged of watching the Boeing 787 take off and land multiple times since the first flight, but I have to say it never gets old. The way she looks, how her engines sound (just listen) and of course how her wings bow up during flight; she is one beautiful airplane. I still hold that now it is easy for us to look at the constant delays, but I am sure a few years after the Dreamliner is in service and successfully flying, people will start to forget all the issues and delays and enjoy the next generation of airliner. So, cheers to Boeing and all those who have worked hard on the 787 on this one year 787 Dreamliner flight anniversary.
Invited VIP Delta guests at the Seattle Art Museum. Yes, those are Ford Taurusi hanging from the ceiling.
After 9/11 airlines weren’t doing so hot. When the money was rolling in, airlines made a real effort to take care of their VIP customers. When flying demand goes down, airlines declare bankruptcy, mergers happen and the price of oil goes up, sometimes airlines can become distracted. Many airlines used to make an extra effort for their passengers, but had to cut back due to funding. Now, airlines are starting to make money again, and starting to concentrate more on the customer.
Delta Air Lines is one airline that isn’t doing too shabby right now. After the merger with Northwest Airlines they were the world’s largest airlines, until United and Continental stole that title away. But that didn’t stop Delta from making some decent money in extra fees. Through the end of the third quarter of this year, Delta has made $1.26billion (that is with a “B”) on bag and change fees. Just in the third quarter alone, Delta made $363million overall. Compare that to losing $161million last year. Now that Delta is making money and doesn’t have to concentrate on the merger anymore, they can put their focus back on the most important part of the equation: the customer.
So how does Seattle play into this? Last night Delta held an exclusive Picasso event at the Seattle Arts Museum (called SAM here) for VIP passengers, booking agents and other invited guests. Delta wants to show how important Seattle is to them and how they want to continue to grow loyal customers.
Before the Northwest merger, Delta didn’t have a huge presence. However, adding Northwest’s routes to Asia and having a vast domestic network in the US, provides many Seattle locals and folks flying through with more options. Seattle is a big international hub for Delta. After JFK and Atlanta, Seattle offers the third most international destinations [there is discussion going on right now. It might be fourth with Detroit third] than any other US city that Delta flies. The airline has a staff of 1500 employees based in Seattle and are in the process of remodeling their SkyClub at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA). Delta hopes to have their new SkyClub open to the public sometime during the first quarter of 2011.
Although the speeches by Delta at last night’s event were short, they did make sure to mention their appreciation of Alaska Airlines more than once. While Delta is building a great international presence out of Seattle, they rely heavily on their relationship with Alaska and their domestic, west coast network.
This year, Delta added flights to Osaka and Beijing from Seattle. During the summer they plan to increase non-stop flights to Amsterdam from 10 weekly to 14. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more international flights coming out of Seattle in the future. One thing that Delta knows is an issue is their outdated aircraft interiors on most of their Seattle international flights. Some are flown with Delta’s Boeing 767-300ER’s and others with Northwest Airbus A330’s. Delta assures us that all the interiors will be updated by 2012.
This event will be one of many that Delta hopes to have around the country. They are sponsoring the Picasso exhibit that is currently in Seattle, which eventually will be making other visits around the US. I hope to see more events like this around the country from other airlines as well. I think making those VIP customers feel a bit more VIP is a good way to continue to see loyal customers continue to fly one particular airline.
From the 1970's, the updated Friend Ship United livery.
The United Airlines voting booth is closed and a winning livery has been announced for United’s retro livery: the Friend Ship United Airlines livery. I am told that the retro livery will be put on an Airbus A320 and not on a Boeing 757 as previously reported. That’s too bad since my main argument against the Saul Bass livery (which I love dearly) is I have seen it on a Boeing 757, but I have never seen it on an Airbus A320. Plus, I think liveries just seem to look better on Boeing 757s than on the A320. Oh well, better than no retro livery.
It is unknown when the new livery will make its debut, but I am told it will be a part of United’s 85th birthday celebration, which would be in 2011 sometime. I would also assume United would be celebrating the union of two airlines into the new United. I hope that United will have their Airbus A320 in retro Friend Ship livery right next to Continental’s Boeing 737 in Blue Skyway livery (hint, hint United).
United asked their employees to vote on the retro livery they wanted to see and the Friend Ship livery won with about a third of the votes. I also conducted a United Airlines retro livery poll and 27% of the more than 1200 votes wanted to see the Saul Bass livery. For me, it was a win-win. I love airline liveries and especially enjoy retro liveries. Although not my first choice, I am very excited to see the new-old Friend Ship livery on an Airbus A320 soon.
