The Boeing 700’s are airplanes that can be used for both commercial and military purposes. Since the introduction of the Boeing 707 in as early as the 1950s alongside the development of the 777 series in the 1990s, it is imperatively evident that the Boeing 700’s series have dominated the commercial world for approximately five decades (Self-Certification, 2013). Boeing 700’s have proved to be crucial air transport for people in the 20th century because it carries larger capacity compared to the ordinary jets. In addition to that, the plane has the capability to move people over long distances that are consequently more than imaginable. In that regard, Boeing has played a significant role in the transformation of air transport because it has necessitated the production of various 700’s series with extraordinary capabilities (Fuentes, 2011).
The history of the Boeing 700’s can be traced back to the 1950s. During that period, there was a pressing need to develop an aircraft that can transport many people over long distances. Apparently, the age of the jet engines had not been entirely satisfying to suit the needs of carrying many people (Self-Certification, 2013). Perhaps, there was the essence of fear with the use of the jet engines to serve commercial purposes because it was not reliable even though technological development paved the way for the improvement of the engine thereby becoming a crucial military tool in various parts of the world. Despite the growth of the jet engines, there was still need for the establishment of airplanes that can cross the Atlantic Ocean without stopping for refueling (Whyte, Prideaux & Sakata, 2012).
In that regard, a piston powered plane called the Lockheed Super Connies managed to cross the Atlantic Ocean without stopping for refueling along the way only to stop at westbound leg (Fuentes, 2011). The Lockheed Super Connies provided some glimpse of hope even though the airlines still required a more advanced airplane that can fly across the Atlantic Ocean without stopping. Because of that, they concluded that the piston engine was not the right answer to their puzzle. Instead, they redirected their focus to the jet engine because it held high potentials. Furthermore, the airliners also found the development of a whole new aircraft was the right measure that could be used to address the obvious transportation needs (Whyte, Prideaux & Sakata, 2012).
Thankfully, the Boeing 707 was born and consequently introduced to the Pan American Airlines in 1958 (Self-Certification, 2013). However, the Boing 707 did not have a significant impact on the market. In fact, the company had a series of shortfalls trying to sell the airplanes before they finally embarked on the development of frameworks that could be used to improve its operational abilities. For that reason, the plane was designed with larger wing span, an improved length alongside the addition of powerful engines. Happily, the improvements that were made ensured that the Boeing 707 was a reliable aircraft that could cut across the Atlantic Ocean with ease and a high degree of safety (Whyte, Prideaux & Sakata, 2012).
The introduction of the Boeing 707 led to the doubling of the Transatlantic travels in two years because it provided a remarkable foundational platform for necessitating the transportation needs that was highly desired (Whyte, Prideaux & Sakata, 2012). With the growth in the profitability that resulted from the improvement of the Boeing 707, the Boeing Company embarked on developing frameworks that could be used to improve the travel needs of the passengers. It is in that regard that variations in the plane’s lifetime alongside some of the applications were developed. Boeing 707 was then developed in thirteen different versions with different capacity, range, and speed. The fact that there were different company’s needs, each of the thirteen planes was established to meet specific needs. For example, some of the Boeing 707 planes could carry large capacities of the passengers over shorter distances whereas others could carry a small number of passengers over longer distances. With the implementation of all these variations, Boeing becomes more dominant in the airplane travels despite facing a threat of Douglas DC-8 (Fuentes, 2011).
The modification of the Boeing 707 was the primary reason behind its success in the commercial transportation of the people. The plane was improved further with the development of the KC-135 Stratotanker which was used to address the military tasks. In fact, KC-135 Stratotanker was further used to provide an in-flight refueling work that was employed for the United States Air Force. It is in that regard that the Boeing was further utilized for the transportation of the President of the United States serving seven presidents of the country from 1962. Far from that, the Boeing 707 was also used for varied tasks before being replaced by the Boeing 747 which was its better version (Self-Certification, 2013).
Various research studies were established and redirected at improving the Boeing 707 thereby paving the way for the production of the Boeing 727 which was stable and more efficient than the Boeing 707. The aircraft served the duties of short term jetliner needs improving its sales on end. However, its proficiency was short lived. The development of the Boeing 737 became the highest selling jetliner aircraft across the world. Consequently, the Boeing 737 dominated the short travels commercial needs selling approximately 3,158 units up to date with still more units for order (Self-Certification, 2013). Other than necessitating the transportation of the passengers over short distances, Boeing 737 was more stable with powerful engines compared to any other jetliners series. It was also able to land on unimproved runways because of its versatility (Whyte, Prideaux & Sakata, 2012).
- Fuentes, J. L. (2011). Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) attempts to break the Airbus-Boeing duopoly, will it succeed?: an industry analysis framework applied (Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology).
- Self-Certification, D. S. F. (1993). at Pilkington. AIRCRAFT ENGINEERING, 15.
- Whyte, R., Prideaux, B., & Sakata, H. (2012). The evolution of Virgin Australia from a low-cost carrier to a full-service airline-implications for the tourism industry. Advances in hospitality and leisure, 8, 215-231.
