Delta Airlines Boeing 757
As Boeing entered the late 1970s, the company began plans for replacing its first two jet designs: the 707 and 727. The 707 replacement would need to be a transcontinental design, but while the 727 replacement would not need that kind of range, it would have to operate from the same smaller airports that the 727 did. Attempts to stretch the 727 design failed: airlines were not interested. However, Boeing's 7N7 design did attract interest: this aircraft would offer the same performance as the 727, but be far more fuel efficient and lighter through the use of turbofan propulsion and composite construction. In fact, because of these factors, the 7N7 would probably be able to carry more passengers over longer range, and still retain the 727's short-field capability. Eastern Airlines and British Airways placed orders, and work on a prototype began.
Though Boeing originally intended the 7N7 to have possibly three engines and a T-tail like the 727, these were dropped: the third engine was unnecessary with the advent of high-bypass turbofans, and the T-tail had a tendency to cause stalls when the wing "blanked out" the tail at high angles of attack. Improvements in cockpit technology also meant that the flight engineer could be eliminated in favor of a two-man crew.
As the design progressed, Boeing engineers realized that the 7N7--now designated 757--was going to be less an advanced 727 as it was a narrow-body 767, the latter Boeing's design for a 707 replacement. With that realization, work began to provide commonality between the 757 and 767, to the point where a pilot qualified to fly a 757 could fly a 767 as well, and vice-versa. The combination of powerful engines and the newly designed high-lift wing gave it the same takeoff ability as the 727, as hoped, despite being bigger.
The first 757 took to the air in February 1982, and entered revenue service with Eastern less than a year later. To Boeing's pleasant surprise, the 757 actually came in below even the generous weight predicted for the aircraft, and was slightly longer-ranged. If anything, 757 crews found the airliner to be a little too hot: in some ways, the 757 was overpowered, and crews began to refer to it as the "Rocket" for its speed and climb rate. The 757's superb speed carried with it, however, a hidden danger--not for the aircraft, but for any following behind it: the 757's engines left behind wake turbulence stronger than that of a 747. After two light aircraft were sent fatally out of control after hitting the 757's wake turbulence, the FAA issued warnings for air traffic controllers to provide more space than usual behind 757s.
Though the aircraft itself was good, Boeing was dismayed that sales initially were slow. The 757 had come out a little too early, at a time when airlines were still satisfied with their 727s and the airline industry was still sorting itself out from deregulation. Once the 727s began to be retired, however, 757 sales began to pick up, though they would never reach the sales Boeing hoped for. Nonetheless, Boeing would produce a respectable 1050 aircraft, in three variants, until production ended in 2004.
With the airlines' move towards smaller and even more fuel-efficient aircraft, the 757 was left without much of a job: it was too big to compete with smaller regional aircraft, the smaller Airbuses, and even Boeing's own stretched 737s. Though it had never been intended to be used as such, the 757 proved capable of transatlantic service, but here it competed with newer and/or larger aircraft. As of 2019, most have been withdrawn from passenger service, though quite a few have found second lives as cargo aircraft. Only nine have been lost in crashes, none of which were the fault of the aircraft; two, notoriously, were used in the 9/11 attacks by al-Qaeda hijackers (American Flight 77 and United Flight 93).
Only one 757 is currently on public display, and this is it: N608DA, which flew for Delta (and Delta's low-cost subsidiary, Song) from 1985 to 2013. When Delta began assembling aircraft for its Flight Museum at Atlanta-Hartsfield International Airport, N608DA was saved from the scrapper, flown to Atlanta, and repainted in the airline's classic "Widget" livery. It is on display across the street from the Flight Museum's 747.
Though in theory on public display, getting to N608DA is a little difficult. I found the mostly perfect (except for the light poles) spot to get a shot of the entire 757: from the catwalk on the 747's right wing!
Delta Airlines Boeing 757
As Boeing entered the late 1970s, the company began plans for replacing its first two jet designs: the 707 and 727. The 707 replacement would need to be a transcontinental design, but while the 727 replacement would not need that kind of range, it would have to operate from the same smaller airports that the 727 did. Attempts to stretch the 727 design failed: airlines were not interested. However, Boeing's 7N7 design did attract interest: this aircraft would offer the same performance as the 727, but be far more fuel efficient and lighter through the use of turbofan propulsion and composite construction. In fact, because of these factors, the 7N7 would probably be able to carry more passengers over longer range, and still retain the 727's short-field capability. Eastern Airlines and British Airways placed orders, and work on a prototype began.
Though Boeing originally intended the 7N7 to have possibly three engines and a T-tail like the 727, these were dropped: the third engine was unnecessary with the advent of high-bypass turbofans, and the T-tail had a tendency to cause stalls when the wing "blanked out" the tail at high angles of attack. Improvements in cockpit technology also meant that the flight engineer could be eliminated in favor of a two-man crew.
As the design progressed, Boeing engineers realized that the 7N7--now designated 757--was going to be less an advanced 727 as it was a narrow-body 767, the latter Boeing's design for a 707 replacement. With that realization, work began to provide commonality between the 757 and 767, to the point where a pilot qualified to fly a 757 could fly a 767 as well, and vice-versa. The combination of powerful engines and the newly designed high-lift wing gave it the same takeoff ability as the 727, as hoped, despite being bigger.
The first 757 took to the air in February 1982, and entered revenue service with Eastern less than a year later. To Boeing's pleasant surprise, the 757 actually came in below even the generous weight predicted for the aircraft, and was slightly longer-ranged. If anything, 757 crews found the airliner to be a little too hot: in some ways, the 757 was overpowered, and crews began to refer to it as the "Rocket" for its speed and climb rate. The 757's superb speed carried with it, however, a hidden danger--not for the aircraft, but for any following behind it: the 757's engines left behind wake turbulence stronger than that of a 747. After two light aircraft were sent fatally out of control after hitting the 757's wake turbulence, the FAA issued warnings for air traffic controllers to provide more space than usual behind 757s.
Though the aircraft itself was good, Boeing was dismayed that sales initially were slow. The 757 had come out a little too early, at a time when airlines were still satisfied with their 727s and the airline industry was still sorting itself out from deregulation. Once the 727s began to be retired, however, 757 sales began to pick up, though they would never reach the sales Boeing hoped for. Nonetheless, Boeing would produce a respectable 1050 aircraft, in three variants, until production ended in 2004.
With the airlines' move towards smaller and even more fuel-efficient aircraft, the 757 was left without much of a job: it was too big to compete with smaller regional aircraft, the smaller Airbuses, and even Boeing's own stretched 737s. Though it had never been intended to be used as such, the 757 proved capable of transatlantic service, but here it competed with newer and/or larger aircraft. As of 2019, most have been withdrawn from passenger service, though quite a few have found second lives as cargo aircraft. Only nine have been lost in crashes, none of which were the fault of the aircraft; two, notoriously, were used in the 9/11 attacks by al-Qaeda hijackers (American Flight 77 and United Flight 93).
Only one 757 is currently on public display, and this is it: N608DA, which flew for Delta (and Delta's low-cost subsidiary, Song) from 1985 to 2013. When Delta began assembling aircraft for its Flight Museum at Atlanta-Hartsfield International Airport, N608DA was saved from the scrapper, flown to Atlanta, and repainted in the airline's classic "Widget" livery. It is on display across the street from the Flight Museum's 747.
Though in theory on public display, getting to N608DA is a little difficult. I found the mostly perfect (except for the light poles) spot to get a shot of the entire 757: from the catwalk on the 747's right wing!