T
The first of six -100
prototypes rolled out in
December 1966, and made
its maiden flight on April 9,
1967, piloted by Brien
Wygle and Lew Wallick. On
December 15, 1967, the
Federal Aviation Administration certified
the -100 for commercial flight, issuing Type
Certificate A16WE. The 737 was the first
aircraft to have, as part of its initial
certification, approval for Category II
approaches.
An early-production Boeing 737-100 of Lufthansa, the
type's launch customer, at Hannover Airport, 1968
Lufthansa received its first aircraft on December 28, 1967, and on February 10, 1968,
became the first non-American airline to launch a new Boeing aircraft. Lufthansa was the
only significant customer to purchase the 737-100.
Only 30 aircraft were produced.
The 737-200 had its maiden flight on August 8, 1967.
It was certified by the FAA on December 21, 1967, and the inaugural flight for United
was on April 28, 1968, from Chicago to Grand Rapids, Michigan. The lengthened -200
was widely preferred over the -100 by airlines.
Sales were low in the early 1970s and after a peak of 114 deliveries in 1969, only 22
were shipped in 1972 with 19 in backlog, but the US Air Force saved the program by
ordering T-43s. African airlines orders kept the production running until the 1978 US
Airline Deregulation Act where demand was better for a six-abreast narrow-body
aircraft, particularly re-engined with the CFM56, struggling at the time.
Boeing B737
June 2017
www.alliance-airways.net
2 ! 6