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Behind 1978 Aérospatiale/British Aircraft Corporation Concorde 102, c/n 100-014, manufacturing number 214, G-BOAG, The Museum of Flight Foundation port wing is 1967 Boeing 737-130, c/n 19437/1/PA099, N515NA, “515”, Fat Albert I, NASA Langley Research Center on outdoor static display in the Airpark, The Museum of Flight, Boeing Field/King County International Airport (BFI/KBFI), Seattle, Washington, USA on Tuesday, December 28, 2010 at 11:42 PST.
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- NASA insignia below flight deck windows; titled small Langley Research Center on upper forward fuselage and marked two-tiered NASA / 515 on vertical stabilizer; in NASA colour scheme (? late 1980s)
- powered by two 14,000-lbs static thrust Pratt & Whitney JT8D-7A low-bypass turbofan engines with target-type thrust reversers
- crew of two (pilot and co-pilot), up to 30 researchers and observers, experimental short-range mid-size narrow-body jet airliner
- 25.02° at quarter-chord swept low-wing cantilever monoplane, swept horizontal tailplane, swept vertical stabilizer; three outboard leading-edge slats, two inboard leading-edge Krueger flaps, three spoilers forward of outboard flap and one spoiler forward of inboard flap with outboard ground spoiler used as speed brake only during landing and for lift dumping on the ground, two outboard flight spoilers used for roll control in conjunction with aileron and as speed brakes in the air, also used for lift dumping on the ground, inboard ground spoiler used as speed brake only during landing and for lift dumping on the ground, outboard aileron, outboard triple-slotted trailing-edge flap, and inboard triple-slotted trailing-edge flap on each wing
- two eyebrow windows above pilot and co-pilot positions each, forward passenger door and integral retractable stairs on port side, forward service door on starboard side, emergency exit over wing on each side, aft downward-swinging passenger door with retractable stairs on port side, aft service door on starboard side, forward underfloor cargo hold with cargo door on starboard side, aft underfloor cargo hold with cargo door on starboard side, pressurized cabin
- equipped with systems interface, operational research flight deck, displays, navigation, flight controls, flight control interface, video recorders, experiment control, data acquisition, experimental systems, and transponder data system on main deck
- retractable landing gear of steerable twin-wheel nose gear and two twin-wheel main gear with no doors
History:
- built by The Boeing Company, Seattle, Washington, USA, Boeing Commercial Airplane Company, Renton, Washington at Plant 2, adjacent to Boeing Field (BFI/KBFI), Seattle, Washington
- first eight airframes (737-130 prototype, c/n 19437/1, N73700, The Boeing Company; 737-130, c/n 19013/2, N2282C/D-ABEA, “EA”, City Jet 737 Coburg, Lufthansa; third airframe, no serial number, static test airframe tested to destruction in Flight Center hangar; 737-130, c/n 19014/3, N2286C/D-ABEB, “EB”, City Jet 737 Regensburg, Lufthansa; 737-130, c/n 19015/4, N2289C/D-ABEC, “EC”, City Jet 737 Osnabrück, Lufthansa; 737-130, c/n 19016/5, D-ABED, “ED”, City Jet 737 Flensburg, Lufthansa; 737-222, c/n 19039/6, N9001U, “9101”, Lehigh Valley, United Air Lines; and 737-130, c/n 19017/7, D-ABEF, “EF”, City Jet 737 Kempten, Lufthansa) assembled at Plant 2, adjacent to Boeing Field but finished at neighbouring Thompson Site; next 268 airframes (mixed construction numbers/line number 9 to line number 271) at Thompson Site for final assembly; and starting with line number 272, all 737 production moved to Boeing Renton Factory, adjacent to Renton Municipal Airport (RNT/KRNT), Renton, Washington for final assembly, in late 1970
- six airframes involved in the flight testing and certification program (737-130 prototype, c/n 19437/1, N73700, Boeing; 737-130, c/n 19013/2, N2282C/D-ABEA, “EA”, City Jet 737 Coburg, Lufthansa; 737-130, c/n 19014/3, N2286C/D-ABEB, “EB”, City Jet 737 Regensburg, Lufthansa; 737-130, c/n 19015/4, N2289C/D-ABEC, “EC”, City Jet 737 Osnabrück, Lufthansa; 737-222, c/n 19039/6, N9001U, “9101”, Lehigh Valley, United Air Lines; and 737-222, c/n 19040/8, N9002U, “9102”, City of Akron, United Air Lines)
- starting with line number 136, hydraulically-powered target-type thrust reversers installed in place of pneumatically-powered clamshell door/deflector door thrust reversers
- 737s affectionately known as the “Baby Boeing”
- built as 737-130 (“Dash 100”), powered by two 12,600-lbs static thrust Pratt & Whitney JT8D-7 low-bypass turbofan engines with clamshell-type thrust reversers, in summer 1966
- crew of two (pilot and co-pilot), designed for three flight attendants & seating configuration Y115, prototype short-range mid-size narrow-body jet airliner with short-field capability
- used in the Boeing Certification Program
- Boeing internal manufacturing paperwork, known as PA099, assigned last number of a 99-airplane block (PA001 to PA099)
- rolled out in September 1966, both engines and vertical stabilizer installed on ramp (normally an employee parking lot) as it was too tall to be installed inside factory building
- towed across East Marginal Way, down Boeing Field, back across highway, into factory building specially built for 737 production (Thompson Site), positioned in slot No. 1 of the sixteen positions in the building
- flight controls and many systems installed in December 1966, ready for painting for her official roll out, declared “Shop Complete” at midnight on a December night, towed back across highway to purpose-built two-stall Paint Hangar at north end of Boeing Field
- titled BOEING 737 on upper forward fuselage, titled small EXPERIMENTAL on forward fuselage and on rear fuselage, and marked 737 on vertical stabilizer; logos of the seventeen “kick off” customer airlines on lower forward fuselage; in Boeing “yellow, dark green, olive drab, & natural metal” colour scheme (1966)
- officially rolled out on January 17, 1967
- stewardesses (now known as flight attendants) of each of the seventeen airlines christened N73700 by cracking champagne bottles across both her wings and on her nose radome
- towed back across highway to the Boeing flight line at northwest end of Boeing Field
- final installations made, systems tested, and fuelled
- engines started for first time on Easter Sunday, culminating in four engine runs that day
- high-speed taxi tests performed on Boeing Field’s 10,000-foot runway on April 8, 1967
- first flight on April 9, 1967 at 13:15 PST (Pacific Standard Time), test registration N73700, with Boeing test pilots, pilot Brien S. Wygle and co-pilot S.L. “Lew” Wallick Jr.
- first take-off run down Runway 13R to the southeast, after last-minute change of a troublesome hydraulic pump, sprightly, accelerated quickly, and climbed out smartly on a flight of 2 hours 30 minutes, landed at Paine Field (PAE/KPAE), Snohomish County, Washington
- after the landing, asked by a reporter what he thought of the new airplane, Boeing’s president Bill Allen replied, “I think they’ll be building this airplane when Bill Allen is in an old man’s home.”
- William McPherson “Bill” Allen (September 1, 1900 to October 28, 1985), president of Boeing from September 1, 1945 to April 29, 1968, made the famous decision in 1952 to “bet the company”, authorizing construction of the *Boeing 367-80 and launch of development of the Boeing 707, and also involved in launch of the Boeing 727, the Boeing 737, and the Boeing 747 (asked Malcolm T. Stamper to spearhead production of the new 747 jet airliner on which the company’s future was riding, a massive engineering and management undertaking and challenge that included construction of the world’s biggest factory to house the manufacture of the 747, the largest building by volume, the Boeing Everett Factory at Paine Field
- *1954 Boeing Model 367-80 (“Dash 80”), c/n 17158, N70700, prototype and basic design military and civilian
- Paine Field (PAE/KPAE) as test base until 10 hours flying time accumulated, then returned to Boeing Field
- named Lil Toot shortly after first flight
- named Crew ‘O Two after Boeing embroiled in a dispute with FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and ALPA (Air Line Pilots Association) over ALPA’s demand that 737s carry crew of three (pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer) (but 737 certified for crew of two), disagreement existed for several years with most US airlines flying crew of three and foreign airlines flying crew of two, and after a special study commission issue resolved with US airlines dropping flight engineer position
- after eight months of flying, FAA certification (Type Certificate A16WE) of the 737 received on December 15, 1967 in a ceremony in the Flight Center hangar
- certified for operations from unprepared grass and gravel runways on February 20, 1969
- after several years of Boeing flight test work, into storage for several more years
- N715NA not taken up by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
- N515NA, “515”, Fat Albert I, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, USA on July 26, 1973
- based at Building 1244 hangar, Langley AFB (Air Force Base) (LFI/KLFI), adjacent to NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia
- NASA insignia below flight deck windows and FAA insignia on forward fuselage; marked NASA and coded 515 on vertical stabilizer; in NASA colour scheme (1973)
- named Fat Albert because of its short and stubby appearance
- at Boeing Field for ten months undergoing role conversion in preparation for delivery to NASA
- powered by two 14,000-lbs static thrust Pratt & Whitney JT8D-7A low-bypass turbofan engines with target-type thrust reversers
- tt 979 hours after ferry flight from Boeing Field/King County International Airport (BFI/KBFI) to Langley AFB (LFI/KLFI) on May 17, 1974
- NASA insignia below flight deck windows; titled small Langley Research Center on upper forward fuselage and marked two-tiered NASA / 515 on vertical stabilizer; in NASA colour scheme (? late 1980s)
- tt 2,968 hours as of May 1994
- NASA’s Transport Systems Research Vehicle
- maintained and flown by Langley Research Center as part of the TAP (Terminal Area Productivity) program
- major modifications: forward flight deck provided operational support and safety backup, operational research flight deck in what was the first-class cabin section, and rows of computer consoles & data collection stations where researchers monitored real-time flight results, all on main deck
- equipped with systems interface, operational research flight deck, displays, navigation, flight controls, flight control interface, video recorders, experiment control, data acquisition, experimental systems, and transponder data system on main deck
- flown by pilot Lee H. Person and co-pilot Kenneth R. “Dick” Yenni for research in cockpit design, engine controls, & high-lift devices and to test technological innovations such as a virtual cockpit, electronic flight displays, and airborne wind shear detection systems in over twenty aerial research projects for NASA from 1974 to 1997
- participated in flight research in US states, Canada, and South America
- test bed for research into a multitude of issues affecting aircraft safety, efficiency, and capacity, going beyond a typical research facility in demonstrating new concepts in real-world situations, called an “airborne trailblazer”, this flying laboratory with its supporting facilities was responsible for the rapid adoption of new aviation technology by US industry
- advanced technologies transferred to US industry after initial flight test on N515NA include Electronic Flight Displays (1974–1975), MLS (Microwave Landing Systems) (1977–1978), Precision Flare Control (1978–1980), Profile Descent Program (1979–1980), Wing Surface Coating (1980–1981), DATAC (Digital Autonomous Terminal Access Communications) (1983–1988), Runway Friction Program (1984–1985), Precision Guidance “Airport ’85” (1985), TECS (Total Energy Control System) (1985–1992), TOPMS (Take-off Performance Monitoring System) (1985–1991), Helmet-Mounted Display (1989), Airborne Information Transfer System (1989–1990), GPS Performance Evaluation (1989–1990), Engine Monitoring and Control System (1991), Airborne Windshear Sensors (1990–1993), Advanced High-Lift Technologies (1991–present), and Optical Propulsion Management Interface System (1991–present)
- last research flight, at Langley AFB (LFI/KLFI), on June 27, 1997
- withdrawn from use on September 20, 1997 and donated to The Museum of Flight (on loan from NASA Langley Research Center) on same day
- tt 3,297 hours at retirement
- ferried from Langley AFB (LFI/KLFI) to Grant County International Airport (MWH/KMWH), Moses Lake, Washington for interim storage in a benign climate (semi-arid desert of central Washington) until a slot for permanent display ready at The Museum of Flight
- kept airworthy as stipulated by NASA as they held title to N515NA and still do
- The Museum of Flight decided on a permament location for N515NA in an area on west side of East Marginal Way, donated by Boeing for displaying large aircraft, now known as the Airpark
- with authorization from NASA, made her final flight, 33 minutes from Moses Lake to Boeing Field, with flight crew of pilot Dale Ranz, co-pilot Mark Ranz, crew chief Bob Bogash, and safety observer & pilot of first flight Brien S. Wygle
- last flight, arrived on Runway 31L from the southeast at Boeing Field/King County International Airport (BFI/KBFI), Seattle, Washington on September 21, 2003 at 15:11 PDT (Pacific Daylight Time)
- on the Boeing flight line, one last time, where she waited for her first flight those many years ago
- the next day Robert “Bob” Bogash, who as a liaison engineer (23 years old in December 1966) and later as a field service engineer, worked on the design, assembly, and flight testing of this prototype, together again in retirement, removed all fuel and decommissioned her many systems, then N515NA towed to an area adjacent to main museum building
- towed across East Marginal Way to join 1959 Boeing VC-137B-BN Stratoliner (Model 707-153), c/n 17925/33, s/n 58-6970, USAF (the first Air Force One); 1978 Boeing 727-223 Advanced, c/n 21386/1333, N874AA, “874”, American Airlines; 1969 Boeing 747-121 prototype, c/n 20235/1/RA001, N7470, City of Everett, The Boeing Company; and 1978 Aérospatiale/British Aircraft Corporation Concorde 102, c/n 100-014, G-BOAG, aircraft number 214, British Airways in the Airpark on morning of November 22, 2003
- outdoor static display in the Airpark, The Museum of Flight, Boeing Field/King County International Airport (BFI/KBFI)
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At 11:55 PST.
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[Casio Exilim EX-Z20 point-and-shoot 8.1 MP digital camera, 38-114mm f/3.1-5.9 lens, s/n 31002061A]
© Copyright words and photographs by Stephan Alexander Scharnberg, December 2010
