Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a popular short-to-medium range commercial passenger jet aircraft continuously manufactured by the Boeing Corporation since 1967. Over 5,000 have been sold since its introduction in 1967, more than any other commercial airliner, and more than Airbus' entire product line. All models have two engines, one on each wing.
Variants
There have been three basic generations of the 737, known as the Original, Classic and Next-Generation (NG) models.
- Original: the 737-100 and -200 (Produced from 1967 - 1988)
- Classic: the 737-300, -400, and -500 (Produced from 1983 - 1997)
- Next-Generation: 737-600, -700, -800, and -900 (Produced from 1997 - )
Some versions in different generations correspond to each other in size. These are:
- 737-100 Smallest, original layout
- 737-200 Extended version of the -100 in order to accommodate the US market
- 737-500, 737-600 Shortened versions of the -300 and -700 respectively
- 737-300, 737-700 The new base models, slightly stretched over the 737-200
- 737-400, 737-800 Stretched versions mostly to accommodate charter and business airlines
- 737-900 and 900X Recent versions stretched even further to close a gap in Boeing's product line-up
Also in production is the Boeing Business Jet (BBJ), which is based on the 737-700 but is fitted with the stronger wings from the 737-800. The BBJ has increased range over the other 737 models and is currently operated by some airlines on premium flights between North America and Europe.
History
The 737 was born out of Boeing's need to field a competitor in the short-range, small capacity jetliner market which had been opened up by the BAC 1-11 and the Douglas DC-9. Boeing was badly behind however when the 737 program was initiated in 1964, as both of these rivals were already into their flight certification programmes. To speed up the development time, Boeing reused as much technology from the existing 707 and 727 as possible, most notably the fuselage. This gave the 737 a critical advantage over the opposition - six abreast seating compared to the 1-11 and DC-9's five abreast layout, and also made the 737 cheaper and quicker to design. But the decision also dated the design, and created problems for future modernisation, which still haunts the current Next-Generation series to this day.
The short and stubby appearance of the first 737-100 earned it the nickname among Boeing engineers as "FLUF", being an acronym for "Fat Little Ugly Fella", although the industry affectionately called it the "Baby Boeing".
The -100 and -200 series are identifiable by their tubular engine nacelles which are integrated into the wing and project both fore and aft of it. The engines used on the Original 737 models are Pratt and Whitney JT8D turbofans. The Originals can also be identified by the smoothly curving upsweep of the tail fin - the Classics and NG models have a noticeable "kink" at the base of the fin.
The first 737 (a 100 series) took its maiden flight April 9, 1967 and entered service in February 1968 with Lufthansa, the first foreign airline to launch a new Boeing plane. The 737-200 made its maiden flight on August 8, 1967.
Lufthansa was the only customer to purchase the 737-100 from new and only 30 aircraft were ever produced. The lengthened 737-200 was widely preferred and was produced until 1988. The launch customer of the 737-200 was United Airlines.
In the early 1980s the 737 had its first major facelift. The biggest change was to the General Electric-SNECMA CFM56 engines in place of the JT8Ds. The CFM56 was larger than the previous P&W unit, so the engine was slung underneath the wing rather than built into it. This posed a problem as the 737's limited ground clearance (a trait of the 707-derived fuselage) meant that the bottom surface of the engine nacelle had to be flattened out. At the same time, the 737 gained a partial glass cockpit from the 757 and 767. The first 737-300 entered service in 1984.
By the 1990's, the 737 had lost ground technologically to the newer Airbus A320. In 1993, Boeing initiated the 737-X or Next Generation (NG) programme.
The Next-Generation 737 encompasses the -600, -700, -800 and -900, and amounted to what was basically a complete redesign of the 30-year old airliner.
New wings, and revised engines were the biggest engineering changes, whilst internally, the 737 was given a hi-tech glass cockpit with LCD screens and digital systems heavily inspired by that used on the 777. An all new interior was designed for the Next-Generation 737, again borrowing heavily from the 777.
In 2001, the 737 was stretched one last time to create the 737-900, which is in fact longer and carries more passengers than the 707. However, with Boeing's decision to end 757 production at the end of 2004, there are now plans to create an even larger 737 to fill the vacuum left by the 757's demise. The so-called 737-900X is still at the planning stage.
Today, the 737 remains the most popular jetliner in the world. Part of its success is down to its popularity among budget airlines, such as Southwest Airlines, and Ryanair, who exclusively operate the 737.
Shorthand
The 737 model types are often abbreviated by the manufacturer and operators in order to more compactly display in timetables, manuals, etc. The abbreviation uses the first two digits of the model number (73) and the first digit of the subtype (-400 would become 4.) Thus, the 737-400 would be 734, the 737-900 would be 739, etc. The exception is the 737-700, which is abbreviated as 73G, in order to avoid confusion iwth the model number itself.
Special versions
There are several versions of the 737 with special duties.
- C-40 Clipper - The U.S. Navy's replacement for the C-9 Skytrain II.
- Project Wedgetail - This is an AEW version of the 737NG. Australia is the first customer, with Turkey and South Korea anticipated.
- Multi-Mission Aircraft - On June 14th, 2004, Boeing won over Lockheed in the contest to replace the P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft. Eventual orders will probably exceed 100 from the U.S. Navy alone, with other orders from foreign navies sure to follow.
General characteristics
- Cruise speed: 0.73 Mach, 420 knots
- Propulsion: Two Pratt & Whitney JT8D (100, 200),CFM International CFM56-3 (300, 400, 500) or ),CFM56-7 (600, 700, 800, 900, 900X) High Bypass Ratio turbofan engines, rated at between 64.4 kN and 117.3 kN each
- Wingspan: between 28.35 and 34.32 metres
- Capacity 85 to 189 passengers
- Autoflight, Displays, Navigation and Sensors by Honeywell
External link
- http://www.737online.org/
- http://www.b737.org.uk/
- Aircraft-Info.net - Boeing 737-400
- Download Boeing 737 for Flight Simulator
- Planemad.net - Boeing 737 all versions Production Lists
List of 737 images
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