Boeing's first commercial transport aircraft: Story of a Restoration
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Boeing's first commercial transport aircraft: Story of a Restoration
An American friend sent me some pictures of the restoration of a B40, Boeing's first purpose-built commercial aircraft.
Thought they were worth sharing.
Boeing built the first Model 40 for a 1925 US Post Office competition as a replacement for converted military de Havilland DH-4s that had carried the airmail since 1918.
The Model 40A, which first flew May 20, 1927, used an air-cooled P&W Wasp engine, much lighter than the water-cooled engines used by its competitors. It was the first Boeing to carry passengers, with room for two people in a tiny cabin, as well as cargo space for mail.
The Model 40B-4, which first flew Oct. 5, 1928, was the major production model of the mail plane series. It used the larger Hornet engine and carried four passengers and 500 pounds of mail.
The restored aircraft, a B40C Pacific Air Transport mailplane no. 5339, crashed in 1928 into treetops in southern Oregon.
The pilot, Grant Donaldson, survived: Contemporary reports of the Crash
(PDF link)
December 2004
Passenger Deck
Continued ..........
Thought they were worth sharing.
Boeing built the first Model 40 for a 1925 US Post Office competition as a replacement for converted military de Havilland DH-4s that had carried the airmail since 1918.
The Model 40A, which first flew May 20, 1927, used an air-cooled P&W Wasp engine, much lighter than the water-cooled engines used by its competitors. It was the first Boeing to carry passengers, with room for two people in a tiny cabin, as well as cargo space for mail.
The Model 40B-4, which first flew Oct. 5, 1928, was the major production model of the mail plane series. It used the larger Hornet engine and carried four passengers and 500 pounds of mail.
The restored aircraft, a B40C Pacific Air Transport mailplane no. 5339, crashed in 1928 into treetops in southern Oregon.
The pilot, Grant Donaldson, survived: Contemporary reports of the Crash
(PDF link)
Boeing 40C, Pacific Air Transport, 1928. Sister-ship to the restored Boeing 40C, 5339.
December 2004
April 2005
Passenger Deck
November 2005
Continued ..........
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September 2006
January 2007
March 2007
First installation of wings for test fit.
Roll-Out April 2007
When completed, it will the only B40 flying.
FL
.
October 2006
January 2007
March 2007
First installation of wings for test fit.
Roll-Out April 2007
When completed, it will the only B40 flying.
FL
.
Last edited by Flying Lawyer; 16th Jul 2007 at 00:02.
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The original Model 40 of 1925 had a 420 hp liquid cooled Liberty engine, and the US post office only bought one.
This was a government requirement because the most powerful air cooled engines generated only about 200hp at that time.
It was not until 1926 that P&W developed the 425hp engine which weighed 200lbs less than the Liberty, and Boeing immediately incorporated it into the Model 40A.
This was a government requirement because the most powerful air cooled engines generated only about 200hp at that time.
It was not until 1926 that P&W developed the 425hp engine which weighed 200lbs less than the Liberty, and Boeing immediately incorporated it into the Model 40A.
