What's a"717"?
I see references to the "B717" and I've been puzzled for a while. The Boeing website doesn't give an "history" of its aircraft.
"Way Back", we had the 707, the 727, 737, 747, and they were just bringing in the new-fangled 757 and 767. They seemed to have "left a number out"
Now we see a "twin on the tail" aircraft appearing called the 717. Is it really such an old design, from the early Boeing jet days (and if so, why did I never hear of it or see one at LHR or LGW?)
Or is it a new designation for the MD90, now that MD is owned by Boeing?
Or is it a relatively new aircraft and Boeing suddenly realised that they had missed that number, and there's only one other number left in the series now that the 787 concept has been announced (keeping 797 in reserve for their first Mach-2 aircraft maybe?)!!