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The Boeing 247 is considered to be the first modern airliner. Its sleek, low-wing, all-metal, retractable-gear, twin-engine design marked the beginning of a new era in air transport. It was comparatively fast, safe, and economical to operate, which allowed the 247 to outperform its predecessors -- most notably, the Boeing Model 80A-1 and Ford Tri-Motor.
The 247 incorporated several other technical innovations that set it ahead of the curve in terms of passenger comfort and ease of operation. The cabin was insulated to suppress noise and regulate temperature. The pneumatic wing de-icer boots allowed for in-flight deicing. Trim tabs greatly reduced pilot workload. With these features, the 247 greatly outdistanced its competition in the burgeoning air transport market.
A total of 75 Model 247s were built, with United Air Lines (UAL) securing exclusive rights to the first 60 units. In response to UAL's cornering of the 247 market, rival TWA turned to Douglas Aircraft to request a new plane that could compete with, and possibly even outperform, the Model 247. The result of this challenge was the development of one of the most significant planes in aviation history, the Douglas DC-3.
The Museum's Boeing 247 was delivered to Pacific Air Transport, a UAL company, on July 26, 1933. It later flew with Pennsylvania Central Airlines, then with the Canadian Department of Munitions and Royal Canadian Air Force from 1940 to 1941. After serving with Maritime Central Airways in Canada and Columbia Airlines in the U.S., the aircraft was sold to Aerovias Occidentales, S.A. in Costa Rica, where a nose-over accident led to a two-year grounding. The plane eventually returned to the United States in the 1950s, flying as a crop-duster and cloud-seeding machine under several owners.
By the 1960s, it was again grounded, this time in Taft, California. Acquired by the Pacific Northwest Aviation Historical Foundation (the predecessor of The Museum of Flight), the plane was repaired and returned to its Seattle birthplace, where it flew at Northwest airshows in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Grounded once again for a variety of issues, it was thoroughly restored in the early 1990s and maintained an airworthy condition until its final flight on April 26, 2016, from Paine Field in Everett to Boeing Field.
The Boeing 247 is considered to be the first modern airliner. Its sleek, low-wing, all-metal, retractable-gear, twin-engine design marked the beginning of a new era in air transport. It was comparatively fast, safe, and economical to operate, which allowed the 247 to outperform its predecessors -- most notably, the Boeing Model 80A-1 and Ford Tri-Motor.
The 247 incorporated several other technical innovations that set it ahead of the curve in terms of passenger comfort and ease of operation. The cabin was insulated to suppress noise and regulate temperature. The pneumatic wing de-icer boots allowed for in-flight deicing. Trim tabs greatly reduced pilot workload. With these features, the 247 greatly outdistanced its competition in the burgeoning air transport market.
A total of 75 Model 247s were built, with United Air Lines (UAL) securing exclusive rights to the first 60 units. In response to UAL's cornering of the 247 market, rival TWA turned to Douglas Aircraft to request a new plane that could compete with, and possibly even outperform, the Model 247. The result of this challenge was the development of one of the most significant planes in aviation history, the Douglas DC-3.
The Museum's Boeing 247 was delivered to Pacific Air Transport, a UAL company, on July 26, 1933. It later flew with Pennsylvania Central Airlines, then with the Canadian Department of Munitions and Royal Canadian Air Force from 1940 to 1941. After serving with Maritime Central Airways in Canada and Columbia Airlines in the U.S., the aircraft was sold to Aerovias Occidentales, S.A. in Costa Rica, where a nose-over accident led to a two-year grounding. The plane eventually returned to the United States in the 1950s, flying as a crop-duster and cloud-seeding machine under several owners.
By the 1960s, it was again grounded, this time in Taft, California. Acquired by the Pacific Northwest Aviation Historical Foundation (the predecessor of The Museum of Flight), the plane was repaired and returned to its Seattle birthplace, where it flew at Northwest airshows in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Grounded once again for a variety of issues, it was thoroughly restored in the early 1990s and maintained an airworthy condition until its final flight on April 26, 2016, from Paine Field in Everett to Boeing Field.
Boeing Airplane Company (now The Boeing Company)
247D
1933
