> > Boeing Leadership in Aviation Spans Near-Entirety of First 100 Years of Powered Flight > > Company Founders' Vision Sparked by Wright Brothers' Early Successes > > > > by Leslie Nichols > > > > In just a few months the world will celebrate the 100th anniversary of powered flight, thanks > to > > the legendary Wright Brothers, and The Boeing Company is proud of its role as an aviation > > industry leader throughout most of that fascinating journey. > > Prominent Seattle timberman, landowner and yachtsman William E. "Bill" > > Boeing<http://www.boeing.com/commercial/news/feature/images/leadership_boeing.jpg> > > Prominent Seattle timberman, landowner and yachtsman William E. "Bill" Boeing -- founder of > the > > The Boeing Company -- in the early 1930s. Boeing started the company after reportedly saying, > "I > > think I can build a better airplane," following his first flight in 1915. > > > > In fact, the two men whose companies would merge in 1997 -- William Boeing and Donald Douglas > -- > > were both inspired by the duo but in different ways. Donald Douglas watched Orville Wright fly > > in 1908 and later built one of aviation's greatest companies. When William Boeing witnessed an > > air show in 1910 inspired by the brothers' feats, aviation became an instant obsession. The > show > > was a catalyst that would lead him to build his own plane and start his own airplane company, > > Pacific Aero Products, in 1916. > > > > Since then, the fledgling organization's successor -- the modern-day Boeing Company -- has led > > the aviation industry with a century of innovation and excellence. > > > > "From the Model 247 and B-17 in the 1930s to the 777 and C-17 today, Boeing has been the world > > leader in building big planes for both military and commercial use," said Michael Lombardi of > > Boeing Historical Archives. "Since its incorporation, Boeing has had a reputation for being a > > leader in introducing not just evolutionary, but revolutionary, technology to the fields of > > aviation and space flight." > > > > In the first half of the century Boeing distinguished itself with many firsts, including the > > company's first multiple-production commercial airplane, the Model 40; the world's first > modern > > airliner, the Model 247; the world's first passenger aircraft with a pressurized cabin, the > 307 > > Stratoliner; and the luxurious Flying Boat, the 314 Clipper. Military innovations in those > first > > decades included the giant B-17 Flying Fortress and the most technologically advanced aircraft > > of World War II, the B-29 Superfortress. > > > > Perhaps the most significant development prior to the mid-century mark was the discovery that > > Boeing engineers made in the company's Seattle Wind Tunnel: the concept of swept wings with > jet > > engines suspended in pods under the wings. This design remains the standard pattern for large > > transport jets today, and spawned the world's first large swept-wing jet, the B-47 Stratojet. > > > > The Dash 80 shows a fresh paint job in May 1972, just before Boeing donated it to the > > Smithsonian Institution and the plane went into storage in the Arizona > > desert.<http://www.boeing.com/commercial/news/feature/images/leadership_k21071.jpg> > > The Dash 80 shows a fresh paint job in May 1972, just before Boeing donated it to the > > Smithsonian Institution and the plane went into storage in the Arizona desert. > > > > > > The next half-century at Boeing began with the giant B-52 Stratofortress and the dawn of the > Jet > > Age. Boeing President William Allen undertook development of a jet transport prototype, given > > model number 367-80 and later known affectionately as the "Dash 80." The Dash 80 first flew on > > July 15, 1954, and the company sold the airplane's first offspring -- the KC-135 Stratotanker > -- > > to the U.S. Air Force. Some airlines soon bought the Dash 80's second offspring: the world's > > first successful commercial jet, the venerable 707. > > > > In the 1960s Boeing developed jet transports to satisfy the airlines' range and passenger > needs, > > introducing the 727 trijet in 1963 and the smaller 737 twinjet in 1967. Boeing also aimed for > > the Moon with overall integration, testing and evaluation of the Apollo-Saturn vehicle; the > > first stage of the Saturn booster, the world's largest and most powerful rocket booster; and > the > > Lunar Rover, the "Moon Buggy" that transported the Apollo 15, 16, and 17 astronauts around the > > Lunar surface. > > > > Boeing-built Lunar Roving Vehicles carried astronauts on three separate missions -- Apollo > 11, > > 12 and 13 -- to explore the surface of the > > moon.<http://www.boeing.com/commercial/news/feature/images/leadership_rover.jpg> > > Boeing-built Lunar Roving Vehicles carried astronauts on three separate missions -- Apollo 11, > > 12 and 13 -- to explore the surface of the moon. > > > > Boeing completed the decade with fanfare when in 1968 it built the world's largest passenger > > plane, the 747 Jumbo Jet, and when in 1969 the Boeing-built first-stage rocket boosted the > > Apollo 11 crew into space, enabling Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin to became the first > > human beings to walk on the Moon. > > > > The rest of the 20th century saw Boeing take the lead in providing economical, > high-technology, > > fuel-efficient airplanes with the 757 and 767; refining the 747 and 737 families; and > > introducing the world's largest twinjet and most technologically advanced airplane in the > world, > > the 777. The company also won a 10-year contract to design the living and working quarters of > > the International Space Station, an orbiting space station where eight astronauts will conduct > > research activities. > > > > As the 100th year of flight dawned in January 2003, Boeing gave the world yet another new > > glimpse of the future. Passengers aboard Lufthansa Flight 418 en route from Frankfurt, > Germany, > > to Washington, D.C., plugged in their laptops at their seats and experienced the Internet just > > as they do at the office or home, experiencing the newest frontier in connectivity. The > > revolutionary system these aviation pioneers used was developed by Connexion by BoeingSM, a > > relatively new Boeing business unit. > > > > "The passenger feedback we've received has been overwhelmingly positive, as we work with > global > > airlines on teaching the Internet to fly," said Connexion by Boeing President Scott Carson. > > > > Looking forward to the next century of flight, Boeing is responding to the overwhelming > > preference of airlines around the world by focusing its new airplane product development > efforts > > on the Boeing 7E7, a super-efficient airplane. > > > > The 7E7 will carry 200-250 passengers on routes between 7,200 and 8,000 nautical miles while > > using 15 to 20 percent less fuel for comparable flights than any other wide body airplane. > > Passengers will enjoy several improvements, from an interior environment with higher humidity > to > > increased comfort and convenience. Authority to offer the airplane is expected in late 2003 or > > early 2004, with delivery and entry into service planned for 2008. > > > > According to Mike Bair, senior vice president of the 7E7 program, "In addition to unmatched > fuel > > efficiency and lower operating costs for the airlines, another improvement in efficiency will > > come in the way the airplane is designed and built. We will apply new technologies and > processes > > with our partners to achieve unprecedented levels of performance at every phase of the > program." > > > > > > Boeing will carry its industry-leading legacy into the next 100 years as it develops and > > delivers increasingly innovative products and services. The skies are full of airplanes, > > spacecraft and satellites no one dreamed of 100 years ago, but the vision and values that > > William Boeing set forth nearly nine decades ago will continue to guide his company well into > > the next century: "...to keep everlastingly at research and experiment...to let no new > > improvement in flying and flying equipment pass us by." __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com
