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 Boeing - The Complete Story (gnv64)(h33t)









Boeing: The Complete Story


By Alain Pelletier 


Haynes Publishing | 2010 | ISBN: 978 1844257034 | 258 Pages | PDF | 97.2 mb





Today, Boeing is the premier aircraft builder in the US and one of the biggest aerospace constructors in the world. To the public Boeing is inextricably linked with some of the greatest names in aircraft design and construction, including the Flying Fortress, the 707, the 747 jumbo jet, and the massive B-52 bomber. This handsomely illustrated history of'the plane builder from Seattle' includes details of every aircraft it has ever built, together with data charts.





CONTENTS


»Introduction	


»Foreword	





CHAPTER 1 » The first steps of a giant (1910-1932) 010


The very first Boeing	013


Difficult times ..............................................015


The Boeing Airplane Company emerges from the red	018


The first fighter planes	019


Making money from the mail	021


A new family of fighter planes	024


Towards new standards of air travel....................030


Bill Boeing thinks big 031 


Monomail: the plane that delivered it all...................033





CHAPTER 2 » The turning point (1933-1939)	040


The first modern airliner...............................041


The end of a dream.....................................046


The era of the giants	048


The birth of a legend	.050


The Stratoliner	054


The reign of the Clippers....................................057


Stearman: biplanes and tradition..............................061


The eve of battle...................................063





CHAPTER 3 » The war years (1940-1945)	064


The Stratoliners and Clippers go to war	067


From the Sea Ranger to the 'Lone Ranger'	069


Down in Wichita...............................................070


The Flying Fortress: queen of the skies.	. 071


'Grand Pappy' ................................................083


B-29: the plane of all the superlatives	.083


Sixteen planes a day! ......................................093


From bombers to cargo planes	094


The last fighter	095





CHAPTER 4 » The dawn of a new era (1946-1956)	098


A super Superfortress	.104


Stratojet: the first modern bomber...........................110


Diversifying and enlarging the range	116


The birth pangs of the B-52	118


The 707: icon of air travel	123


The flying petrol station	131





CHAPTER 5 » Changing times (1957-1969).............. 134


The search for the B-52's successor	135


The Space Shuttle's forerunner	137


The 707 family	138


Big changes


Missiles to the fore	145


TFX: the myth of the common-user aircraft	146


The gamble with the 727 ............................... 148


The race for a supersonic transport	150


CX-HLS: an HGV in the skies	152


Birth of a winner	154


The Jumbo and air travel for all..............................155


Boeing at the heart of the space programme 161 


Boeing broadens its range 165 


And diversifies........................................168





CHAPTER 6 » From the edge of the abyss to the pinnacle (1970-1996)	170


Pulling out all the stops.	173


A limited military market	173


A new generation of airliners	176


Climbing back to the top	184


Cooperation to reduce risk	191


Towards heavy commercial transport	192


Remote-controlled planes get off the ground	193


Vertol and the hardy Chinook	193


New types of missile..............................198


A major player in the conquest of space	202





CHAPTER 7 » Endless horizons (1997-200	206


An era of mergers	207


The purchase of McDonnell Douglas..............................................209


A new generation of 737s	210


A return to the defence market	212


The growth of the 700 family	214


Boeing keeps on growing	217


Boeing leaves its historic cradle	218


The amazing Sonic Cruiser	220


The repercussions of 9/11	223


A brand-new kind of plane	227


The birth of the 787 ........................................227


The rejuvenated 747	231


Endless horizons...............................................237





»Appendices	239


Bibliography, acknowledgements and photograph credits