The Boeing 2707 was developed as the first American supersonic transport (SST). After winning a competition for a government-funded contract to build an American SST, Boeing began development at its facilities in Seattle, Washington. Rising costs, the lack of a clear market, and increasing outcry over the environmental effects of the aircraft—notably sonic boom—led to its cancellation in 1971 before two prototypes had been completed. Image File history File links Pan_Am_Boeing_2707_at_Cruise. ... The Concorde supersonic transport has a delta wing, a slender fuselage and four underslung Olympus engines. ... An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, and/or spacecraft. ... Boeing Commercial Airplanes, based in Renton, Washington, is a unit of The Boeing Company, consisting of the Seattle-based former Boeing Airplane Company (the civil airliner division), as well as the Long Beach-based Douglas Aircraft division of the former McDonnell Douglas Corporation. ... The Concorde supersonic transport has a delta wing, a slender fuselage and four underslung Olympus engines. ... The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA, TYO: 7661 ) is a major aerospace and defense corporation, originally founded by William Boeing. ... “Seattle” redirects here. ... Official language(s) English Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Area  Ranked 18th  - Total 71,342 sq mi (184,827 km²)  - Width 240 miles (385 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 6. ... The term sonic boom is commonly used to refer to the shocks caused by the supersonic flight of military aircraft or passenger transports such as Concorde (Mach 2. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1971: Events January January 6 - the US Marine Corps takes delivery of its first AV-8 Harriers January 22 - a US Navy P-3 Orion sets a distance record of 7,010 miles (11,282 km) for an aircraft in its... Prototypes or prototypical instances combine the most representative attributes of a category. ...

Early studies

Boeing had worked on a number of small-scale SST studies since 1952. In 1958, it established a permanent research committee, which grew to a $1 million effort by 1960. The committee proposed a variety of alternative designs, all under the name Model 733. Most of the designs featured a large delta wing, but in 1959 another design was offered as an offshoot of Boeing's efforts in the swing-wing TFX project (which led to the purchase of the General Dynamics F-111 instead of the Boeing offering). In 1960, an internal "competition" was run on a baseline 150-seat aircraft for trans-Atlantic routes, and the swing-wing version won.^[1] This is a list of aviation-related events from 1952: // Events January January 5 - Pan Am commences trans-atlantic freight services. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1958: Events Gulfstream Aerospace founded in Savannah, Georgia, USA. London Gatwick Airport opens after two years of extensive reconstruction. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1960: Events January January 1 - Fiji Airways is reconstituted, becoming equally owned by BOAC, QANTAS, and Tasman Empire Airways. ... The delta-wing is a wing planform in the form of a triangle. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1959: // Events Unknown The Canadian Golden Hawks aerobatic team is formed. ... A swing-wing is a wing configuration that allows it to alter its planform for various flight conditions. ... The General Dynamics F-111 is a medium-range strategic bomber, reconnaissance, and tactical strike aircraft designed in the 1960s. ...

By mid-1962, it was becoming clear that tentative talks earlier that year between the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Sud Aviation on a merger of their SST projects were more serious than originally thought. It appeared there was a very real chance the combined companies would be offering a design. In November, the two companies announced that a design called "Concorde" would be built by a consortium effort. This set off something of a wave of panic in other countries, as it was widely believed that almost all future commercial aircraft would be supersonic, and it looked like the Europeans would start off with a huge lead. Bristol Aeroplane Company logo The Bristol Aeroplane Company (formerly British and Colonial Aeroplane Company) was a major British aircraft company which, in 1959, merged with several major British aircraft companies, to become the British Aircraft Corporation and later still part of British Aerospace, now BAE Systems. ... Sud Aviation was a French state-owned aircraft manufacturer, originating from the merger of SNCASE (Société Nationale de Constructions Aéronautiques du Sud-Est) and SNCASO (Société Nationale de Constructions Aéronautiques du Sud-Ouest) on March 1, 1957. ... British Airways Concorde G-BOAB. Concorde G-BOAD on a barge beneath Verrazano Narrows Bridge in New York City in November 2003, bound for the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum. ...

National commitment

On June 5, 1963, President John F. Kennedy formed the National Supersonic Transport program, which committed the government to subsidizing 75% of the development costs of a commercial airliner to compete with Concorde. The director of the Federal Aviation Administration, Najeeb Halaby, decided the Concorde was too far ahead in development to bother building a direct competitor, and instead selected a much more advanced standard as their baseline. The American SST was intended to carry 250 passengers (more than twice as many as Concorde), fly at Mach 2.7–3.0, and have a trans-Atlantic range of 4,000 miles. The high speed demanded that the aircraft be made out of either stainless steel or titanium, because skin friction at speeds above Mach 2.2 would cause duralumin (aircraft aluminium) to go "plastic"; the materials involved significantly inflated the price. Requests for Proposals were sent out to airframe manufacturers Boeing, Lockheed, and North American for the airframes; and Curtiss-Wright, General Electric and Pratt & Whitney for engines. The FAA estimated that there would be a market for 500 SSTs by 1990. June 5 is the 156th day of the year (157th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also referred to as John F. Kennedy, Kennedy, John Kennedy, Jack Kennedy, or JFK, was the 35th President of the United States. ... British Airways Concorde G-BOAB. Concorde G-BOAD on a barge beneath Verrazano Narrows Bridge in New York City in November 2003, bound for the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum. ... “FAA” redirects here. ... Photo courtesy of AUB Najeeb Halaby (Arabic: ‎; September 19, 1915 - July 2, 2003) was a U.S. businessman, government official, and the father of Queen Noor of Jordan. ... British Airways Concorde G-BOAB. Concorde G-BOAD on a barge beneath Verrazano Narrows Bridge in New York City in November 2003, bound for the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum. ... An F/A-18 Hornet breaking the sound barrier. ... The 630 foot high, stainless-clad (type 304L) Gateway Arch defines St. ... General Name, Symbol, Number titanium, Ti, 22 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 4, 4, d Appearance silvery metallic Standard atomic weight 47. ... fuck u Duralumin (also called duraluminum, duraluminium or dural) is the name of one of the earliest types of age-hardenable aluminium alloys. ... General Name, Symbol, Number aluminium, Al, 13 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 13, 3, p Appearance silvery Standard atomic weight 26. ... The Lockheed SR-71 was remarkably advanced for its time and remains unsurpassed in many areas of performance. ... North American Aviation, Inc. ... The Curtiss-Wright Corporation was once a leading aircraft manufacturer of the United States, but has since become a component manufacturer, specializing in actuators, controls, valves, and metal treatment. ... This article is about the American company. ... Pratt & Whitney is an American aircraft engine manufacturer whose products are widely used in both civil and military aircraft. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ...

Design competition

Preliminary designs were submitted to the FAA on January 15, 1964. Boeing's entry was essentially identical to the swing-wing Model 733 studied in 1960; it was known officially as the Model 733-197, but also referred to both as the 1966 Model and the Model 2707. The latter name became the best known in public, while Boeing continued to use 733 model numbers. The design had an uncanny resemblance to the future B-1 Lancer bomber, with the exception that the engines were mounted in individual nacelles instead of the box-like system on the Lancer. January 15 is the 15th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Boeing (formerly Rockwell International) B-1B Lancer is a long-range strategic bomber in service with the United States Air Force (USAF). ...

A "downselect" of the proposed models resulted in the North American NAC-60 and Curtiss-Wright efforts being dropped from the program, with both Boeing and Lockheed asked to offer SST models meeting the more demanding FAA requirements and able to use either of the remaining engine designs. In November, another design review was held, and by this time Boeing had scaled up the original design into a 250-seat model, the Model 733-290. Due to concerns about jet blast, the four engines were moved to a position underneath an enlarged tailplane. When the wings were in their swept-back position, they merged with the tailplane to give a delta-wing platform. The delta-wing is a wing planform in the form of a triangle, named after the Greek uppercase delta (letter) which is a triangle (Δ). Its use in the so called tailless delta, i. ...

Both companies were now asked for considerably more detailed proposals, to be presented for final selection in 1966. When this occurred, Boeing's design was now the 300-seat Model 733-390. Both the Boeing and Lockheed L-2000 designs were presented in September 1966 along with full-scale mock-ups. A lengthy review followed, and on December 31, 1966, Boeing was announced as the winner. The design would be powered by the General Electric GE4/J5 engines. Lockheed's L-2000 was judged simpler to produce and less risky, but its performance was slightly lower and its noise levels slightly higher. Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ... The Lockheed L-2000 was Lockheeds entry into the contest to build the United States first supersonic transport (SST). ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Refining the design

A Boeing Co. mock-up of a single aisle narrow body Pan Am B2707 cabin.

The -390 would be an advanced aircraft even if it were only subsonic. It was one of the earliest wide-body designs, using a 2-3-2 row seating arrangement in a fuselage that was considerably wider than aircraft then in service. The SST mock-up included both overhead storage for smaller items with restraining nets, as well as large drop-in bins between sections of the aircraft. In the main 247-seat tourist-class cabin, the entertainment system consisted of retractable televisions placed between every sixth row in the overhead storage. In the 30-seat first-class area, every pair of seats included smaller televisions in a console between the seats. Windows were only 6" due to the high altitudes the aircraft flew at maximizing the pressure on them, but the internal pane was 12" to give an illusion of size. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (600x778, 151 KB)A Boeing mock-up of a Pan Am B2707 cabin. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (600x778, 151 KB)A Boeing mock-up of a Pan Am B2707 cabin. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Wide-body Virgin Atlantic Airbus A340-300 A wide-body aircraft is a large airliner with a fuselage diameter of about 5 to 6 metres and twin aisles. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ...

Boeing predicted that if the go-ahead were given, construction of the SST prototypes would begin in early 1967 and the first flight could be made in early 1970. Production aircraft could start being built in early 1969, with the flight testing in late 1972 and certification by mid-1974.

A major change in the design came when Boeing added canards behind the nose—which added weight. Boeing also faced insurmountable weight problems due to the swing-wing mechanism. In October 1968, the company was finally forced to abandon the variable geometry wing. The Boeing team fell back on a tailed delta wing—somewhat in irony given that the rejected Lockheed design had a fixed wing. The new design was also smaller, seating 234, and known as the Model 2707-300. Work began on a full-sized mock-up and two prototypes in September 1969, now two years behind schedule. This article does not cite its references or sources. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ...

A promotional film claimed that airlines would soon pay back the federal investment in the project, and it was projected that SSTs would dominate the skies with subsonic jumbo jets (such as Boeing's own 747) being only a passing intermediate fad. The Boeing 747, commonly nicknamed the Jumbo Jet, is a long-haul, widebody commercial airliner manufactured by Boeing. ...

Mounting opposition

Environmental concerns

By this point, the opposition to the project was becoming increasingly vocal. Environmentalists were the most influential group, voicing concerns about possible depletion of the ozone layer due to the high altitude flights^{[citation needed]}, and about noise at airports and from sonic booms. The latter became the most significant rallying point, and supersonic flight over land in the United States was eventually banned. Bold textHello ... The ozone layer is the part of the Earths atmosphere which contains relatively high concentrations of ozone (O3). ... The term sonic boom is commonly used to refer to the shocks caused by the supersonic flight of military aircraft or passenger transports such as Concorde (Mach 2. ...

The project suffered political opposition from the left, which disliked the government subsidizing the development of a commercial aircraft to be used by private enterprise. The anti-SST campaign was led by Democratic Senator William Proxmire (D-Wisconsin), who saw the campaign as a crusade against unnecessary spending by the federal government. The Democratic Party is one of two major political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Chief Justice Associate Justices Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Politics Portal      The United States Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral United States Congress, the... Edward William Proxmire (November 11, 1915 – December 15, 2005) was a member of the Democratic Party who served in the United States Senate for the state of Wisconsin from 1957 to 1989. ... Official language(s) None Capital Madison Largest city Milwaukee Area  Ranked 23rd  - Total 65,498 sq mi (169,790 km²)  - Width 260 miles (420 km)  - Length 310 miles (500 km)  - % water 17  - Latitude 42°30N to 47°3N  - Longitude 86°49W to 92°54W Population  Ranked...

Government funding cut

In March 1971, despite the project's strong support by the administration of President Richard M. Nixon, the U.S. Senate rejected further funding. Afterward, letters of support from aviation buffs, containing nearly $1 million worth of contributions, poured in. But the SST project was cancelled May 20, 1971. At the time, there were 115 unfilled orders by 25 airlines; at the same time, the Concorde had 74 orders from 16 customers.^[2] The two prototypes were never completed. The SST became known as "the airplane that almost ate Seattle." Boeing was a major economic force in the region, and was stretched so thin that a billboard was erected that read, "Will the last person leaving Seattle - turn out the lights?"^[3] Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. ... May 20 is the 140th day of the year (141st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Legacy

The SST mockup was disassembled and shipped to Florida, where it sat in a scrapyard for 19 years before it was purchased and partially reassembled for display at the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos, California. Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Largest metro area Miami Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,795[1] sq mi (170,304[1] km²)  - Width 361 miles (582 km)  - Length 447 miles (721 km)  - % water 17. ... The Hiller Air Museum, located in San Carlos, California at the San Carlos Airport, is an aircraft history museum. ... Downtown San Carlos San Carlos, Spanish for Saint Charles of Borromeo, is a city in San Mateo County, California, USA on the San Francisco Peninsula. ...

North American Rockwell's B-1^[4] would successfully use a similar layout as the model 733-197. The B-1B is the only swing-wing aircraft still in service with US forces. The Soviet Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack also resembles the 733 in configuration, and is not only in service, but still in production even as variable geometry wings have fallen out of favor since the late 1970s. The Tupolev Tu-160 (NATO reporting name Blackjack) is a supersonic, variable-geometry heavy bomber designed by the Soviet Union. ...

The Museum of Flight in Seattle parks its Concorde across from the building where the original mockup was housed in Seattle.^[5] While the TU-144 had a short service life,^[6] the Concorde was successful enough to fly as a small luxury fleet from 1976 into the 21st century. As the most advanced supersonic transports became some of the oldest airframes in the fleet, they also fell to the economics of new efficient subsonic jets and upgrade costs.^[7]. For the Museum of Flight in East Lothian, Scotland, see Museum of Flight (Scotland). ...

Though many designs have been studied since, it is unlikely similar aircraft will economically feasible in the foreseeable future. The Concorde's model of cooperation paved the way for Airbus, Boeing's most formidable competitor.^[8] Seattle's economy is now more diverse, and 2007 made Boeing a leader in sales again. Formed in 1968, Seattle's basketball team is still called the Seattle SuperSonics or just "Sonics", which was inspired by the newly won SST contract.^[9] Boeing's Future of Flight museum has the story and models of all of its production jetliners and the Concorde, but not the SST project. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ...

In miniature

The Boeing SST is unusual in that it was a very popular subject for toys and models well before it (never) flew. The most popular example was a 2-ship kit with models in cruise and landing configuration in the original canary yellow paint scheme, also re-issued in Pan Am colors (which was re-issued in the mid 2000s). Lindbergh also made a small swing-wing model Monogram also produced the canard configuration. There was a very small fixed wing model by Entex, and a small die-cast model, most of which show up on online auctions from time to time. A resurgence in interest by the 2000s also led to production of new wooden models which were offered online. There is a substantial market for Boeing (and Lockheed) SST items, some kept by employees at the time.

Airline commitments

• Pan American World Airways (15)
• TWA (10)
• American Airlines (6)
• Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) (2)
• Northwest Airlines (4)
• Braniff Airways (2)
• Japan Airlines (5)
• BOAC (6)
• Alitalia (6)
• El Al (2)
• Qantas (6)
• Air France (6)
• Air India (3)
• Eastern (3)
• World Airways (3)
• United Airlines (6)
• Continental Airlines (3)
• Canadian Pacific (3)
• Trans Am (2)
• Lufthansa (3)
• Aer Lingus (2)
• Delta (3)
• Iberia (3)
• KLM (3)
• Aeronaves de México (2)

Pan American World Airways, commonly known as Pan Am, was the principal international airline of the United States from the 1930s until its collapse in 1991. ... Trans World Airlines (IATA: TW, ICAO: TWA, and Callsign: TWA), commonly known as TWA, was an American airline company that was acquired by American Airlines in April 2001. ... American Airlines (AA) is the largest airline in the world in terms of total passengers-miles transported[1] and fleet size [2], and the second-largest airline in the world (behind Air France-KLM) in terms of total operating revenues[3]. A wholly owned subsidiary of the AMR Corporation, the... Pakistan International Airlines or PIA (Urdu: Ù¾ÛŒ آئی اے or پاکستان انٹرنیشنل ایرلاینز), is the national flag carrier airline of Pakistan, based in Karachi. ... Northwest Airlines (NYSE: NWA), occasionally known as NWA, is an American airline headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota near Minneapolis-St. ... {{Infobox_Airline | airline=Braniff International Airways| logo=Braniffinternationallogo1960s. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... After technical problems with the Comet, BOAC resumed jet service with imported Boeing 707s. ... Alitalia - Linee Aeree Italiane (ISE: IT0003331888) is the national airline of Italy. ... Categories: Airline stubs | Companies of Israel | Transportation in Israel | Airlines of Israel ... Qantas (pronounced ) is the name and callsign of the national airline of Australia. ... Air France (Compagnie Nationale Air France) is a subsidiary of Air France-KLM. Before its merger with KLM, it was the national airline of France, employing 71,654 people (as of March 2004). ... Air India (formerly Air-India, Hindi: ) is the national flag carrier of India with a worldwide network of passenger and cargo services. ... Eastern Air Lines was a major United States airline that existed from the late 1920s until 1991. ... World Airways is an American non-scheduled airline currently headquartered in Peachtree City, Georgia. ... United Airlines, also known as United Air Lines, Inc. ... Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) is an American certificated air carrier. ... The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR; AAR reporting marks CP, CPAA, CPI), known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a Canadian Class I railway that is operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited. ... The Trans-Am Series was created in 1966 by the SCCA as the Trans-American Sedan Championship. ... Deutsche Lufthansa AG (ISIN: DE0008232125) (pronounced ) is the largest airline in Germany, and the second-largest in Europe (behind Air France-KLM, but before British Airways). ... Aer Lingus is the national airline of Ireland. ... Delta Air Lines, Inc. ... Iberia Líneas Aéreas de España, S.A., (IBEX-35:IBLA) (Iberia Airlines of Spain in English), usually shortened to Iberia, is the largest airline of Spain, based in Madrid. ... KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (in full: Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij, literally Royal Aviation Company; usual English: Royal Dutch Airlines) is a subsidiary of Air France-KLM. Prior to its merger with Air France, KLM was the national airline of the Netherlands. ... AeroMéxico, is an airline based in Mexico City, Mexico. ...

References

For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... April 16 is the 106th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (107th in leap years). ...

External links

• 733 initial 733 proposal images on Russian site sergib.agava.ru
• NASA Innovation in Flight - NASA monograph covering projects from B-70 to Boeing and Lockheed SST designs and recent SST studies
• Boeing Supersonic Transport page
• Boeing SST from Super70s.com
• Boeing SST mockup on display at the Hiller Aviation Museum
• Boeing 2707-300 Description at emotionreports.com

Related content

Comparable aircraft

• Concorde
• Tupolev Tu-144
• Lockheed L-2000

The Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde supersonic transport (SST) was one of only two models of supersonic passenger airliners to have seen commercial service. ... The Tupolev Tu-144 (NATO reporting name: Charger) was the first supersonic transport aircraft (SST), constructed under the direction of the Soviet Tupolev design bureau headed by Alexei Tupolev (1925–2001). ... The Lockheed L-2000 was Lockheeds entry into the contest to build the United States first supersonic transport (SST). ...

See also