This Date in Aviation History: April 7 - April 10

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 04/10/2018 at 12:33 • Filed to: wingspan, planelopnik history, Planelopnik

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Welcome to This Date in Aviation History , getting of you caught up on milestones, important historical events and people in aviation from April 7 through April 10.

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Boeing 737-700 of Southwest Airlines (Tim Shaffer)

April 9, 1967 – The first flight of the Boeing 737. At the start of the commercial jet era, the emphasis was on big airplanes. The four-engine !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! was the world’s first jet airliner, but when that aircraft began suffering from an alarming string of fatal crashes, Boeing was poised to step in with its own four-engine airliner, the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and the 707 went on to become one of the most successful airliners of the era and an icon of the early jet age. But a new trend began to develop in the airline industry, one that called for smaller airliners to operate on shorter routes. Boeing followed the 707 with the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! tri-jet, but airlines still wanted something smaller that would complement Boeing’s other offerings.

The prototype Boeing 737 (Boeing)

Development of the 737 began in 1964 with plans to create an airliner that would accommodate 50-60 passengers. The German carrier Lufthansa signed on as the launch customer a year later, and requested that Boeing increase the seating capacity to 100 passengers. When United Airlines signed on to the project, they wanted an airliner with still more capacity. So the 737 was lengthened again, with the Lufthansa version becoming the 737-100 and the United version becoming the 737-200. However, Boeing found themselves lagging behind competing airliners such as the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , all of which had advanced to the point of flight certification testing.

To speed the development process, Boeing based the fuselage of their new airliner largely on the 727, using 60% of the 727's fuselage shape, particularly the upper lobe. This gave the 737 the same cross section as its predecessor and allowed for the use of the same cargo pallets as the earlier airliner. Bringing in the 727 fuselage also meant the adoption of 6-across seating in coach, which gave the 737 a distinct advantage over its rival Douglas, which featured 5-across seating in their DC-9. The relatively short fuselage, when mated to its swept wings, resulted in an aircraft that was just about as long as it was wide, and the 737 was dubbed the “square airplane.” Boeing also eliminated the flight engineer position, helping to set a new industry standard for only two crew members in the cockpit. The first 737 was constructed at Boeing’s Plant 2 in Seattle, and was the last new airliner to be produced in the same building where the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! had been built. Despite the building’s size, the tail of the first 737 couldn’t be attached inside, so it was fitted outdoors using a crane before the airliner was rolled to the production facility known as the Thompson Site.

Though the 737 has since become the best selling airliner in history, its early days were less rosy. By 1970, Boeing had received orders for only 37 aircraft, and they were considering shutting down production and selling the 737 design to Japanese aircraft manufacturers. But, with the cancellation of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! supersonic transport (along with the loss of 50,000 jobs), reduction in the production of the 747, and an order for the military !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! version from the Air Force, Boeing was able to continue development of the 737 into a wider range of variants, including the convertible 737C model with accommodations for palletized freight, and the 737QC (Quick Change) variant that featured palletized seating and allowed for a rapid switch from cargo to passenger configurations.

One of the secrets of the 737s success has been the airliner’s ability to continually adapt to changing times in a volatile airliner industry. Following the production of the 737-100 and -200, the last of which was delivered in 1988, Boeing began developing the -300/-400/-500 series, which would later be known as the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , each offering improvements in range, economy and passenger capacity. Most importantly, the Classic moved the 737 into the age of modern high-bypass turbofan engines, leaving behind the cigar-shaped !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! low-bypass turbofans in favor of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

American Airlines Boeing 737 Next Generation (Tim Shaffer)

In the early 1990s, Boeing undertook further development of the 737 to compete with rival Airbus and followed the Classic with the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , which encompasses models -600/-700/-800/-900ER. While much of the 737NG is essentially new, it retains enough commonality with earlier aircraft to make it attractive to airlines with older fleets of 737s. Development of the venerable 737 airframe continued into the 21st century with the arrival of the 737 MAX beginning in 2011. The MAX series, which includes the MAX-7, MAX-8 and MAX-9, with the -9 seating a maximum of 220 passengers, a load that exceeds even the highest capacity of the 707. the MAX features still more efficient !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! engines for greater range and fuel economy. Deliveries of the MAX began in 2017, and Boeing has orders on the book for more than 4,300 aircraft.

In July 2012, the 737 earned the distinction of being the first airliner to surpass 10,000 orders, and nearly 9,000 have been delivered so far. Today, two 737s are landing or departing every five seconds somewhere in the world. As for the prototype, it never entered commercial service, though it did operate as a flying laboratory for NASA for 20 years, and is now on display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington.

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Short Takeoff

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(NASA)

April 7, 2006 – The first free flight of the Boeing X-37. Also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), the X-37 is an unmanned, reusable spacecraft that is a 120% scale derivative of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Similar to the much larger !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the X-37 is boosted into orbit by a launch vehicle, then returns to Earth to land as an unpowered aircraft. The X-37 is operated by the US Air Force and has completed five orbital missions carrying a classified payload. The fourth mission orbited the Earth for nearly 718 days, and the fifth mission was sent to the the X-37's highest orbit yet to carry out tests and deeply satellites. A sixth mission is slated for 2019.

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(NASA)

April 7, 2001 – The launch of 2001 Mars Odyssey, a robotic spacecraft launched into orbit around Mars to gather data about the Martian surface. The spacecraft mapped hydrogen distribution that led to the discovery of vast amounts of ice under the surface of the planet’s polar regions, and also took readings on the amount of radiation on the surface of the planet to help determine any risks associated with a manned landing. The orbiting spacecraft also serves as a communications relay for the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! rovers on the Martian surface, and has been responsible for 95% of all data transmitted to Earth. Imagery from Mars Odyssey will also help determine suitable landing sites for future missions.  

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April 7, 1994 – The attempted hijacking of Federal Express Flight 705. Disgruntled Federal Express pilot Auburn Calloway boarded the cargo flight as a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! pilot, carrying a guitar case filled with hammers and a spear gun. He planned to kill the pilots with the hammers (using the spear gun as a last resort), then crash the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (N306FE) so his family could collect a $2.5 million life insurance policy. He used the hammers to make the crew’s injuries appear consistent with a crash. Though the pilots were seriously injured in the attack, they managed to subdue Calloway and land safely. Calloway claimed insanity, but was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive life terms.

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April 7, 1967 – The first flight of the Aérospatiale Gazelle. Designed for light transport, scouting, and light attack duties, the Gazelle was the first helicopter to employ the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! enclosed tail rotor configuration, which reduces tip vortex loss, protects the tail rotor, and also protects ground crews from the spinning rotor. The Gazelle entered service in 1973, and currently serves the air forces of 20 nations and has seen combat in !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . More than 1,700 Gazelles were produced between 1967-1996, and it remains in service today.  

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April 7, 1922 – The first mid-air collision between two airliners. One aircraft, a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (G-EAWO), was flying mail from Croydon in England to Le Bourget in France. On board were the pilot and a young steward. The other aircraft, a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (F-GEAD), was flying in the opposite direction with a pilot, mechanic, and three passengers. With low clouds and drizzle, the pilots were flying just below the clouds and following a road, but the British pilot was keeping the road to his right, while the French pilot was keeping the road to his left, putting them on a head-on collision course. The aircraft collided 60 miles north of Paris, killing all seven occupants. As a result, rules were adopted to agree on a right-side offset when following roads, and official air lanes were adopted for heavily travelled routes.

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(US Navy)

April 8, 1944 – The first flight of the Douglas BTD Destroyer. The Destroyer was designed in response to a 1941 US Navy request for a single aircraft to replace both the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Designed by noted Douglas engineer !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the Destroyer featured a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! wing and, in a first for a carrier aircraft, a tricycle landing gear. When the Navy changed its requirements, Douglas removed the extra crew member and the defensive armament. Still, only 28 were delivered before the war ended and production was canceled.

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April 9, 1964 – The first flight of the de Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo, a cargo and transport aircraft developed from the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and designed for extremely short takeoffs, specifically from rugged or unimproved airstrips. Unlike its piston-powered predecessor, the Buffalo is powered by a pair of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! turboprop engines. It was originally pursued by the US Army as a replacement for the Caribou before all fixed-wing aircraft were transferred to the US Air Force, but the Air Force wasn’t interested in adopting it. Thus, only 122 were built, and the type certificates for all the de Havilland transports were purchased by !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in Canada who plans to restart production of a newer, more powerful version of the Buffalo as the Buffalo NG (Next Generation).  

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(NASA)

April 9, 1959 – NASA announces the Mercury Seven, the first American astronauts who took part in the manned !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! spaceflights from May 1961 to May 1963. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! was the first Mercury astronaut to travel in space in 1961, just one month after Soviet Cosmonaut !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . He was followed by !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , then !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , who was America’s first astronaut to orbit the Earth. They were followed by !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . The seventh member of the group, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , was grounded for health reasons, but served as NASA’s Director of Flight Crew Operations until 1972 and eventually went to space as part of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in 1975. The Mercury Seven formed the core of American astronauts, and members of the group played a role in all NASA space missions of the 20th century.

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(University of Arkansas Libraries; US Navy, US Air Force)

April 9, 1899 – The birth of James Smith McDonnell. Following the failure of McDonnell’s first aircraft in 1927, the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , McDonnell Aviation was founded in 1939 as a major aircraft parts producer during WWII. Though its first military aircraft, the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , was also unsuccessful, McDonnell Aircraft found great success after WWII with the development of jet fighters such as the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and the legendary !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . In 1967, McDonnell Aircraft merged with !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to form !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . The new company produced some of the most successful military and civilian aircraft in history, including the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and its derivatives, and the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , plus numerous helicopters, missiles and space vehicles. James McDonnell died in 1980, and McDonnell Douglas merged with !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in 1997.

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April 10, 1963 – The first flight of the EWR VJ 101, a supersonic vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) interceptor developed as a replacement for the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Two aircraft designated X-1 and X-2, were completed during the five-year test program. The X-1 performed the first successful hover in April 1963, then the first transition to forward flight in September 1963. In all, a total of 40 level flights, 24 hover flights and 14 full transitions were performed. On July 29, 1964, the X-1 reached Mach 1.04 without using an afterburner and, though the program showed promise, it was canceled in 1968 after its role was changed from interceptor to fighter.

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Connecting Flights

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If you enjoy these Aviation History posts, please let me know in the comments. And if you missed any of the past articles, you can find them all at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . You can also find more stories about aviation, aviators and airplane oddities at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

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If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > ttyymmnn 04/02/2018 at 20:33

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Hello from the past

For Sweden > ttyymmnn 04/10/2018 at 12:39

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April 7, 1994 – The attempted hijacking of Federal Express Flight 705

And that’s how FedEx employees lost jumpseat privileges. Before, any FedEx employee could ride any FedEx flight with an open seat.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > ttyymmnn 04/10/2018 at 12:48

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Boeing also eliminated the flight engineer position, helping to set a new industry standard for only two crew members in the cockpit.

IIRC this was one of the things that made the 737 a tough sell when it was introduced. The ALPA insisted on 3 pilots per aircraft, and there simply wasn’t room in the 737 cockpit. The DC-9 was introduced before the ALPA adopted the policy and as such they bent to allow it to continue operation—the 737 came along just too late. The ALPA was forced by the oil crisis to abandon the policy and 737 sales took off almost immediately.

Mercedes Streeter > ttyymmnn 04/10/2018 at 12:57

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TIL: The 737 is kinda like a 727 sans an engine. Neat!

You know what’s a sad story? The Dassault Mercure. It was an ambitious idea, but ultimately lost out to more flexible aircraft like the 737.

user314 > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/10/2018 at 13:05

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Witchcraft! Sorcery! Kinja glitch!

beautimouse > ttyymmnn 04/10/2018 at 13:10

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The Mercury Seven astronauts, is that an F-106 behind them? Growing up on McChord in the 70s, along with the MAC planes, I remember seeing F-106s quite often. Somewhere I have a picture of my sister and I sitting on the wing of one decked out in a bicentennial paint job from 1976.

ttyymmnn > beautimouse 04/10/2018 at 13:42

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Yes it is. The Delta Dart was very similar to the Delta Dagger (F-102), but the Dart had the air intakes father back on the fuselage, as well as the squared vertical stabilizer.

I’d love to see that photo.

ttyymmnn > Mercedes Streeter 04/10/2018 at 13:43

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It’s all about the timing. I think I wrote about the Mercure at some point.

ttyymmnn > Mercedes Streeter 04/10/2018 at 13:44

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To your first point, the 737 and 727 share a lot of the fuselage elements, just like the 797 will share much of the 787.

ttyymmnn > For Sweden 04/10/2018 at 13:46

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That’s right. I remember that from the documentary Cast Away starring Tom Hanks.

ttyymmnn > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/10/2018 at 13:54

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I got this notification 8 days ago. Are you a wizard?

beautimouse > ttyymmnn 04/10/2018 at 13:54

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I will find it this evening, scan it, and pass it along.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > ttyymmnn 04/10/2018 at 14:13

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Yes.

Also maybe there is a way to view scheduled posts and comment on them but maybe not.

ttyymmnn > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/10/2018 at 14:17

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How are you able to view my scheduled posts?

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > ttyymmnn 04/10/2018 at 14:19

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https://kinja.com/manage/oppositelock

ttyymmnn > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/10/2018 at 14:27

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I know how to manage my future posts, but how do you get to see my future posts? Do you edit the URL?

user314 > ttyymmnn 04/10/2018 at 14:34

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Mmm, dat JT8D. Hard to believe that’s a turbofan, not a turbojet.

We should have been doing stuff like the X-37 all along, instead of cancelling the X-20/DYNASOR and getting sidetracked by the Shuttle. I know we’ll probably never find out what the X-37s do while they’re up there (I’d be willing to bet though that almost none of it is operational), but it’s still a bit of a mind bender that we launched a reusable space plane with a reusable rocket.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > ttyymmnn 04/10/2018 at 14:35

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It’s not you personally I can see, any user can view all scheduled posts for any blog they have authorship on. While on the Oppo FP, go into your user drop-down and select “Manage Oppositelock”. You can view drafts, scheduled posts, a list of members, and more.

ttyymmnn > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/10/2018 at 14:37

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But you can’t edit other’s work, can you?

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > ttyymmnn 04/10/2018 at 14:43

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Can’t edit but can comment.

beautimouse > ttyymmnn 04/10/2018 at 23:22

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Just wanted to let you know, I looked for the photo, and it’s not in the album I remembered. It’s at my moms house, so I’ll ask her to get me a copy of it and get it to you.

ttyymmnn > beautimouse 04/10/2018 at 23:25

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Please don’t go to any trouble. I’m just intrigued to see the F-106 in its Bicentennial livery. I was 10 years old at the time, and I remember that year very well, for lots of reasons. Thanks.

beautimouse > ttyymmnn 04/23/2018 at 12:43

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One of the pictures has been found. I did not even know there were two different pictures. This one is just me on a drop tank painted for 1976. The picture I have not found has the whole plane in profile. No trouble, it’s been fun looking through these old photos.

ttyymmnn > beautimouse 04/23/2018 at 12:46

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That’s an awesome photo, thanks for sharing. Talk about a time capsule. You said on your OP “growing up on McChord.” I take it your dad was a pilot, or at least in the AF?

ttyymmnn > beautimouse 04/23/2018 at 12:56

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McChord’s got a nice little air park.

beautimouse > ttyymmnn 04/23/2018 at 13:38

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My step dad was a Tech Sgt. in the AF. Not too long after that photo was taken... Well let’s just say my step dad stayed put, but we were off to live with my aunt and uncle.

ttyymmnn > beautimouse 04/23/2018 at 13:39

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Understood.