Boeing 737 Hits 10,000 Planes Shipped Milestone

DooKey

DooKey

[H]F Junkie
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The venerable 737 has been flying since 1967. This week Boeing announced that the 10,000th plane has left the factory. As a matter of fact airlines still want 4,600 more 737's. Honestly, it's hard to believe how well this aircraft has stood the test of time. In many ways it reminds me of the 747 and how well that aircraft has withstood changes in technology. The 737 has gone from analog instruments to a glass cockpit and other high technology and keeps on flying. I guess that old saying "don't fix it if ain't broke" comes into play here.

Boeing’s history of the type says the company wanted to get the 737 to market fast and therefore used “the same upper lobe fuselage as the 707 and 727 so that the same upper deck cargo pallets could be used for all three jets.” But other elements were new in important ways: placing the engines beneath the wings made for a wider fuselage and six-abreast seating, which beat other small jets of the time.
 
I get a kick out of things that last well beyond their expectation, but nothing has dominated its field quite as long as the M2 Browning. When my friend was in Afghanistan they were issued depot replacements, and one of the Ma Deuce's they received had been originally built in 1943. (And yes, the M1911 is older, but the 1911 is out of service, and it just isn't as scary as a .50 cal.)
 
Not bad for a "small" twin engine ..third design is the charm. Used to fly them in FS, nice, though I'm still waiting for one that has amphibious capabilities ;). The Wright brothers sure started something. In real life I want one of my own so I can skip the security lines and keep my shoes on.
 
seanreisk said:
I get a kick out of things that last well beyond their expectation, but nothing has dominated its field quite as long as the M2 Browning. When my friend was in Afghanistan they were issued depot replacements, and one of the Ma Deuce's they received had been originally built in 1943. (And yes, the M1911 is older, but the 1911 is out of service, and it just isn't as scary as a .50 cal.)
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If it ain't broke, right? Same reason the B-52's are still flying and expected to fly another 30+ years, and Cessna is still making the 172...
 
It's heaps, but the A319 et Al have got up to 8400 in 20 less years.

Type equivalence and the benefits to ground crew (baggage loading) were a big benefit to them over the Boeings.

We trend a bit right round these parts so let's grumble about state sponsored enterprise, and government bailouts of course if it ain't Boeing I ain't going.

Seriously though, just goes to show how far a good bit of engineering can take you. It's amazing how it's been refactored to remain competitive over that length of time, and it can't even drop bombs
 
It doesn't seem that much until you factor in the cost of each one of them...
 
DejaWiz said:
That's 200 commercial jetliners per year out of a single factory.
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I remember the days when we did 18 per month here. These days there a more than 2 per workday going out the door. Of course the world has greatly changed since I started here.
 
pcgeekesq said:
Amazing. This won't be topped until SpaceX builds it's 10,000th BFR. :)
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I wouldn't expect the first passenger carrying vehicle to be the definitive one. I hope technological advances make them obsolete within a few years of producing the first. Hell the current 737 has as much in common with the one from the sixties as a 2018 mustang with a '65 mustang.
 
Iratus said:
It's heaps, but the A319 et Al have got up to 8400 in 20 less years.

Type equivalence and the benefits to ground crew (baggage loading) were a big benefit to them over the Boeings.

We trend a bit right round these parts so let's grumble about state sponsored enterprise, and government bailouts of course if it ain't Boeing I ain't going.

Seriously though, just goes to show how far a good bit of engineering can take you. It's amazing how it's been refactored to remain competitive over that length of time, and it can't even drop bombs
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mnewxcv said:
For some reason 10k over 50 years doesn't seem like all that much.
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You need to look at production each year to understand why the numbers look the way they do.
 
M76 said:
I wouldn't expect the first passenger carrying vehicle to be the definitive one. I hope technological advances make them obsolete within a few years of producing the first. Hell the current 737 has as much in common with the one from the sixties as a 2018 mustang with a '65 mustang.
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There's a lot more common stuff than you think. There's quite a bit of 707 tech in the bird, especially in the flight controls
 
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