Wondering why Boeing chose “7”? They didnt really choose it.. heres why:
Ever since Boeing started building planes back in the early 20’s, they started using a number system. The first planes were “0”s. They had two digit numbers. These were ALL biplanes. In the late 20s, Boeing started making the “2”s (the Boeing model 100 was a biplane as well, so they skipped the “1”s I believe). All of the planes with a 200 designation (i.e. 214, 234, 266) are prop planes with low wings. The “3”s are all commercial/military props (i.e. 307 Stratoliner, 314 Clipper, 345/B-29). These were being made in the 30s and 40s. The “4”s were the first Boeing jets, such as the Boeing Model 420 (B-47 Stratojet) and Model 464 (B-52 Stratofortress). The “5”s, if I remeber correctly, are Boeing model long-range rockets or missles (someone may be able to correct me). I cannot remember what the “6”s were. Then we come to the “7”s. These are the Boeing jets that are most famous- the 707, 717, 717-200, 720, 727, 737, 747, 757, 767, and 777.
So…
0 = Biplanes
2 = Monoplanes
3 = Large commercial/military props
4 = Military jets
5 = Missiles (I believe)
7 = Commercial jets
I hope this helps ya. I believe you can get MUCH MORE information in a large book titled “Boeing: …” something or other. Should be available in your local library. It also says what the 5s and 6s are.
______________________________
You want the answers, I’ll give you the answers. We all know that Sir Remington Boeing started the company in 1983 originally making hair dryers. Then, one day, he was walking out of his house when a leprechan approached him and taught him how to make an airplane. In 1984, after putting hours of time into his flying machine, Remington finally invented the first airplane. It was named the flying man-holder, and it was a marvel of technology. Then, in 1985, that same leprechan approached Remington once more, and demanded that he change the name of the creation. If the name was changed, and included the leprechan’s favorite number (which was 7), Remington would recieve twenty dollars. It was an offer that couldn’t be refused. So Remington Boeing changed the name of the flying man-holder to the Boeing 707. Then, the next night, he came up with six, or like ten other designs for commercial airplanes. One of these, which was going to be called the 787, was scrapped because the number would give away Remington’s home address. And that is the story of how man conquered the number system.
__________________________________________________________
The Boeing model series was as follows:
100s – Helicopters
200s – Prewar airliners and military aircraft
300s – World War II and postwar airliners
400s – Jet Bombers (except L-15 Scout)
500s – Turbines
600s – Missiles
700s – Jetliners (all commercial, except for the original
717 for the Stratotanker)
800s –
900s – Hydrofoils and experimental military aircraft
Interestingly, the first of the 700 series, the Model 701 was to be a mach 2 supersonic bomber. Designated by the USAF as the B-59, none were ever built.
_______________________________________
The use of a final 7 was a Boeing tradition for commercial transport planes dating back to the 1933 introduction of the Model 247, the first all-metal low-wing monoplane transport, which later spawned much technology used in the B-17. (Military designations bore no particular relationship to Boeing’s design numbers.)
The Boeing 247 was the first all-metal airliner, and the first with retractable landing gear
Boeing strayed from its marketing insistence on xx7 products, with such 1930s aviation icons as the Boeing 314 China Clipper seaplane, although it built and sold the Boeing 307 Stratoliner in 1937-38.
The Boeing 307 was based on the B-17, and was the first airliner with a full pressurized cabin.
During World War 2, Boeing conceived its Model 377 Stratocruiser, a civil version of the C-97 which was based on the wings, engines, tail and undercarriage of the B-50 bomber, a high-altitude derivative of the B-29. The first civil Boeing 377s were ordered in November, 1945, by Pan American and other airlines looking forward to the renewal of civil air transport.
In 1947, Boeing began designing large jets for the Air Force bomber role. By 1950, Boeing began offering a large jet transport under the Model 463 number, but the airlines were unconvinced about buying the new big jets. The 1952 Model 367-80 design (A number chosen to suggest that Boeing was working on a derivative of an earlier propeller-driven transport) was put into production as the Boeing 707, coming off the production line in 1954.
Air News Live
The reason behind Boeing and its “7”
