The
Boeing 757.
Overview
A popular aircraft designed in the early eighties by the
Boeing corporation of
Washington State. First
757-200 completed production on
January 13, 1982.
Note: kaniff was born four days later. The
FAA approved the aircraft later that year for service in the
US, and the next day
Eastern Airlines became the first official operator of the craft. Other certifications, such as the
British Civil Aviation Authority came early in
1983.
British Airways is now a major operator of the
757-200.
Boeing has since added two other
757 variants to its production lines.
A large version, dubbed the
757-300, began production in
1998. Based on the
757 design, the passenger cabin has been modified to accomodate a maximum of
289 passengers in a
single cabin configuration, in comparision to the
-200's maximum of
239. In addition, the
-300 and
-200 are capable of
239 and
192 passengers in a two class cabin configuration, respectively. The
-300 also includes a higher takeoff weight, at
273,000 lbs and various structural reinforcements, including a
retractable tail skid to prevent tail contact during
takeoff and
landing.
The other
757 variant produced by
Boeing is the
757-200F, the
F denoting a freight carrying configuration. Based on the
757-200 design, the
-200F has a maximum takeoff weight of
250,000 lbs, the same as the
-200. The
-200F has no windows, no doors, no interior facilities. This craft was produced at the behest of
UPS in late
1985, and first delivered mid
1987. Interior is a smooth
fiberglass lining and a wall seperating the
flight deck from the main deck. Cargo capacity for the
F variant is
6,600 cubic feet of container volume on the main deck and
1,830 cubic feet for
bulk cargo in the lower holds, for a total
capacity of approximately
87,700 pounds. At
full load, all
757-200F aircraft have a range of
2,900 statue miles.
Propulsion for all
757 aircraft is provided by
Rolls-Royce RB211-535 series and
Pratt & Whitney PW20XX series engines, providing from
36,600 to
43,500 lbs of maximum thrust. The
757 including
F configuration, can carry up to
11,276 gallons of fuel, the
757 up to
11,466 gallons.
Cruise speed is rated at
.80 Mach and can operate from runways as short as
5,500 feet. Final assembly of the
757 is done at the
Renton, Washington Boeing plant. Additional parts and assembly takes place at external plants in
Auburn and
Spokane, Washington,
Portland, Oregon, and
Wichita, Kansas.
Facts
The
757 fleet is operated by 61
airlines, 29 countries, and 980 aircraft.
757 aircraft have carried over
1 billion passengers.
In
18 years of operation, the
757 fleet has flown the equivalent of
22,700 roundtrips between
Earth and
the moon.
A
757 can hold over
6 million golf balls.
At
full load, a
757 weighs about the same as a diesel
locomotive.
The surface area of a
757-300 wingspan is approximately equal to a
three-bedroom house in the
United States.
626 thousand independent parts,
600 thousand bolts and rivets in addition to those parts, and
60 miles of wiring.
Currently, the
757 represents 7.5% of
Boeing's outstanding orders.