How the 727 Boeing Rose and Fell

In 1958, the Boeing 707 was introduced by Pan American, taking over the jet age that was previously dominated by the British four-engine De Havilland Comet. The Boeing 707 was credited to have shrunk the world when it was deployed on transatlantic and transpacific routes. 

Despite these, there was still a void in the aircraft industry for a jet that is made for nearer-to-home travels. When the Boeing 707 program became operational, an aircraft suitable for short and medium range flights were in the cards. The result was the “Boeing 720” which was a smaller version of the 707 and can go on shorter runways.

Boeing 720: The Bus Stop Jet

Fondly nicknamed “the bus stop jet,” the Boeing 720 was able to take on high frequencies of takeoffs and landings. This prompted the Seattle planemaker to create a bespoke solution for an upcoming market.

The Boeing 727 was then built to serve using shorter airports. Seeing the potential for huge sales, they developed a bus stop jet along with Lockheed, Douglas, Convair, de Havilland, and the British Aircraft Corporation. The objective was to create an aircraft that can take off and land on short runways of only 5,000 feet.

The First Boeing 727

Different airlines had different criteria for developing their planes. Eastern airlines wanted one with three engines specifically for use in the Caribbean. In December 1860, Boeing announced its plans to build the three-engine Boeing 727. 

The first Boeing 727 made its maiden flight on February 9, 1963 before getting into service with joint customer Eastern Airlines on February 1, 1964. It had a few unique features as it was designed to fly from smaller airports with limited facilities. One of which was its rear retractable stairway under its rear fuselage. Aside from this, it also had nose wheel brakes that help it stop faster when landing on small runways.

Having Its Own APU

The Boeing 727 had the distinction of having its own auxiliary power unit (APU). This means that the aircraft can operate the air conditioning. It can also start its engines without the need for a ground-based power supply. This, along with its many other unique features gave the 727 its huge selling points, especially for airlines that operate in less developed countries.

Apprehension about Several Crashes

As with any other new aircraft, the Boeing 727 had its ups and downs. Its innovative features were met with multiple crashes shortly after it was launched. In 1965 alone, a total of three Boeing 727-100s crashed while preparing to land, killing 131 passengers. 

Because of these, not a few travel agents warned people not to fly on the Boeing 727s. There were also companies that prevented their employees from flying on the aircraft. All these apprehension ensued even if the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) found no fault in the plane. They determined that the three crashes were caused by pilot error.

Boeing 727’s Unique Flap System

The engineers at Boeing gave the 727 a unique wing flap system that increased its wing size by 25%. This was done to provide lift at lower speeds that lets the plane avoid buildings and other obstacles near the runway. Many pilots have used the 40 flap setting when landing it. This resulted in an increase in drag while having a faster sink rate.

Once moving, the pilots found it difficult to recover, causing majority of the crashes. To fix this, the airlines had their pilots retrained on how to land the 727s. They also restricted the flap setting to a maximum of 30. 

The Boeing 727 was Noisy

Aside from the abovementioned issue, the Boeing 727 was a very loud aircraft. While this hadn’t been a dealbreaker, it prompted the manufacturer to give it an anti-noise kit. There were a total of 1,832 Boeing 727s that were built, a hike on the initial 250 planes that were in the plans. 

The final Boeing 727 that rolled out of the factory was in September of 1984, after enjoying a production run of 22 years. It had a shaky start, but the Boeing 727 is still one of the best-selling airplanes in history.

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