Boeing prepares 10,000th 737 aircraft

KarelXWB · Thu Feb 15, 2018 12:09 pm

VirginFlyer wrote:
What will be interesting is can each type surpass the DC-3's total run of 16,079 to become the most produced transport aircraft of all time, and can either surpass the 20,000 barrier. I think the former is doable for both the 737 and A320, while the latter may be a bit of a stretch.

Boeing has 4,000+ 737s in backlog, so they are already close to the DC-3 total run. It's safe to say that the 737 will sell for another 10 years or so, should be easy to beat the DC-3.

qf789 · Mon Feb 19, 2018 6:46 pm

The 10,000th 737 frame has arrived at RNT

https://twitter.com/BoeingAirplanes/sta ... 9051193344

gatibosgru · Mon Feb 19, 2018 7:01 pm

Amazing achievement!

Faro · Mon Feb 19, 2018 8:25 pm

Congrats to Boeing!!...10’000 is no joke...

Out of curiosity, how many civil aircraft have surpassed this milestone to date?...

Faro

AvObserver · Mon Feb 19, 2018 8:33 pm

gatibosgru wrote:
Amazing achievement!

Indeed! Even though the A320 family is now selling faster and will overtake and pass the 737 in numbers in a few years, it's no less remarkable that the 737 has hung in this many years and evolved in order to stay relevant and competitive. While its replacement will surely be on the horizon in a few years, the 737 continues to deliver solid value and dispatch reliability to its numerous airline buyers and a pleasant flying experience for their customers. That it has evolved from a smallish short-haul 'airport hopper' to a much bigger medium-haul transport capable of flying nearly 200 souls across the U.S. is also amazing. Surely we'll see MAX production into the early 2030s and military variants may be built long after that. We may well see some 737 variant still in service when the type reaches its 100th birthday in the 2060s! Congratulations, B737!

VirginFlyer · Mon Feb 19, 2018 9:56 pm

Faro wrote:
Congrats to Boeing!!...10’000 is no joke...

Out of curiosity, how many civil aircraft have surpassed this milestone to date?...

Faro

In the transport category? Just the DC-3 at 16,079, although that needs a bit of a pro viso since the bulk of production was for the C-47 (10,048), which was a military version (although many later went into civilian life after the war). In fact only 607 civil DC-3s were built. The remaining 5,424? 4,937 were built in the Soviet Union as the Lisunov Li-2, and 487 in Japan (!) as the Showa and Nakajima L2D.

Widening out to other civil types (* = still in production):

Cessna 172* - >44,000
Piper PA-28* - >32,700
Cessna 150/152 - >31,500
Cessna 182* - >23,200
Piper J-3 Cub - 20,038
Polikarpov Po-2 - 20,000-30,000 (production figures unclear, and a mix of civil and military use)
Antonov An-2* - >18,000
Mil Mi-8* - >17,000 (mix of civil and military use)
Beech Bonanza* - >17,000
Douglas DC-3 (and derivatives) - 16,079
Chotia Weedhopper (ultralight) - >13,000
Piper PA-20 Pacer/PA-22 Tri-Pacer - >10,600
Aeronca 7 Champion - >10,000
Schneider DFS 108-14 SG-38 Schulgleiter (glider) - >10,000

Data sourced from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_m ... d_aircraft

I think it is reasonable to assume that at the end of their respective production runs (perhaps 20 years from now), the 737 and A320 will surpass most of these types, likely sitting only behind the Cessna 172, 150/152 and 182, and the Piper PA-28.

V/F

BlueberryWheats · Mon Feb 19, 2018 10:14 pm

Is it valid to compare the DC-3/C-47 to the 737?

Not that much changed during the production run for the DC-3/C-47, although I appreciate they were built rapidly due to the war effort. Whereas the 737 MAX of today is so different to the 737-100 that Lufthansa received, practically a different aircraft.

Disclaimer: In no way am I throwing shade on the 737, Boeing have done an amazing job constantly updating and evolving it from what was essentially a 1960's regional jet to the TATL capable aircraft it is today.

parapente · Mon Feb 19, 2018 10:15 pm

To think that a decade ago the solid benchmark for a successful aircraft was 1,000 copies.

Kilopond · Mon Feb 19, 2018 11:07 pm

Samrnpage wrote:
Its a heck of a milestone that, no one can deny how important the 737 is in aviation history.

And one should always bear in mind that the launch of the 737 had initially been a total failure!

PPVLC · Mon Feb 19, 2018 11:19 pm

Congratulations. I still don't like the 737 ...

lightsaber · Mon Feb 19, 2018 11:56 pm

parapente wrote:
To think that a decade ago the solid benchmark for a successful aircraft was 1,000 copies.

That is still a successful aircraft!

A decade ago only 400 aircraft were needed for good maintenance be economics of scale. Now a widebody is ok at that level. Narrowbody aircraft need 800+! :faint:

Lightsaber

citationjet · Tue Feb 20, 2018 1:19 am

BWIAirport wrote:
I don't think this is the 10,000th 737, rather, the 10,000th airframe to come from the production line of Spirit Aerostructures in Wichita.

I believe that a few of the first 737s were not produced in Wichita, but rather in Renton. I have tried to determine how many of the 737s never made the trip from Wichita, but have never been able to determine it. I am guessing that a few dozen of the 10,000 were not built in Wichita by Boeing/Spirit.

kanban · Tue Feb 20, 2018 1:40 am

citationjet wrote:
I believe that a few of the first 737s were not produced in Wichita, but rather in Renton. I have tried to determine how many of the 737s never made the trip from Wichita, but have never been able to determine it. I am guessing that a few dozen of the 10,000 were not built in Wichita by Boeing/Spirit.

The first 737s came out of the old Plant II, then production moved to the Thompson site (where the P-8 is stuffed now) until the new 4-81/82 buildings were built in Renton. That happened at line 271. I recall the rail cars coming to the Thompson site, but do not recall them at Plant II. A portion of the 41 section containing the windows and crown panel was produced in Renton on tooling that also made the KC135, 707 and 727.. the units were shipped to Wichita on returning rail cars to be incorporated into the 41 sections until about 1985 (roughly)

scbriml · Tue Feb 20, 2018 3:10 am

Congrats to Boeing on a remarkable milestone. :champagne:

strfyr51 · Tue Feb 20, 2018 4:04 am

travelhound wrote:
ikolkyo wrote:
BWIAirport wrote:
I don't think this is the 10,000th 737, rather, the 10,000th airframe to come from the production line of Spirit Aerostructures in Wichita.

Which would be the 10,000 737.....

https://twitter.com/boeingairplanes/sta ... 4359154688

I suppose this is a philosophical question revolving around when does a 737 fuselage become a 737 aircraft?

Only when it's a flyable certified and registered aircraft, Not just an airframe.

MountainFlyer · Tue Feb 20, 2018 6:04 am

strfyr51 wrote:
travelhound wrote:
ikolkyo wrote:

Which would be the 10,000 737.....

https://twitter.com/boeingairplanes/sta ... 4359154688

I suppose this is a philosophical question revolving around when does a 737 fuselage become a 737 aircraft?

Only when it's a flyable certified and registered aircraft, Not just an airframe.

So a baby born with no birth certificate is not a human? Simply because it's not legal to fly doesn't mean it's not an aircraft. No regulatory body for aircraft even existed before 1926, so this logic would suppose that the Wright Flyer and all WWI aircraft were not aircraft.

Congrats to the 737 on this success!

AirlineCritic · Tue Feb 20, 2018 6:09 am

Amazing! Congratulations!

qf789 · Tue Feb 20, 2018 7:35 am

The 10,000th 737 will be loaded for final assembly tonight

https://twitter.com/AeroimagesChris/sta ... 7469155328

neutrino · Tue Feb 20, 2018 12:04 pm

strfyr51 wrote:
travelhound wrote:
ikolkyo wrote:

Which would be the 10,000 737.....

https://twitter.com/boeingairplanes/sta ... 4359154688

I suppose this is a philosophical question revolving around when does a 737 fuselage become a 737 aircraft?

Only when it's a flyable certified and registered aircraft, Not just an airframe.

Why not take it to its logical conclusion that since its a commercial jetliner, it becomes so only after carrying its first fare-paying passenger or its first freight-paying parcel? :duck:

WIederling · Tue Feb 20, 2018 12:29 pm

777PHX wrote:
Blerg wrote:
I don't know why this topic reminded me of Air Serbia which still operates YU-AND, a B733, which was the first aircraft of that kind to be delivered to a scheduled carrier in Europe back in 1985. It's scheduled for retirement by the end of the year. Flew on it some months ago while connecting at BEG. What a fantastic aircraft.

You mean the first -300?

Lufthansa had several of the very first 737-100s off the line in 1968.

active : Zero 737-100 and 8 737-200 from the first 400 frames manufactured:
19594 102 737-210C Lignes Aeriennes Congolaises 27/11/1968 9Q-CGQ Active
19424 147 737-248 Peruvian Air Force 15/03/1969 FAP 353 Active
20221 227 737-248 Peruvian Air Force 07/01/1970 FAP 354 Active
20483 273 737-2A8 Indian Air Force 23/12/1970 K3187 Active
20484 275 737-2A8 Indian Air Force 28/01/1971 K3186 Active
20591 309 737-2H7C Interair South African 21/09/1972 ZS-IJJ Active
20836 354 737-2K2C Nolinor Aviation 09/05/1974 C-GNLK Active
20915 401 737-229C Vision Air International 25/02/1975 AP-BKE Active

Revelation · Tue Feb 20, 2018 2:04 pm

AvWeek shows the 737 some luv, with focus on the Wichita to Renton journey:

http://aviationweek.com/commercial-avia ... urney-west

citationjet wrote:
BWIAirport wrote:
I don't think this is the 10,000th 737, rather, the 10,000th airframe to come from the production line of Spirit Aerostructures in Wichita.

I believe that a few of the first 737s were not produced in Wichita, but rather in Renton. I have tried to determine how many of the 737s never made the trip from Wichita, but have never been able to determine it. I am guessing that a few dozen of the 10,000 were not built in Wichita by Boeing/Spirit.

AvWeek has done your homework for you!

Although seven of the first 10 737 fuselages (1 through 5, 7 and 9) were built on mobile jigs at Boeing Field, the rest of them, starting with fuselage numbers 6, 8 and 10, were made in Wichita.

No more need to guess! :biggrin:

kanban wrote:
citationjet wrote:
I believe that a few of the first 737s were not produced in Wichita, but rather in Renton. I have tried to determine how many of the 737s never made the trip from Wichita, but have never been able to determine it. I am guessing that a few dozen of the 10,000 were not built in Wichita by Boeing/Spirit.

The first 737s came out of the old Plant II, then production moved to the Thompson site (where the P-8 is stuffed now) until the new 4-81/82 buildings were built in Renton. That happened at line 271. I recall the rail cars coming to the Thompson site, but do not recall them at Plant II. A portion of the 41 section containing the windows and crown panel was produced in Renton on tooling that also made the KC135, 707 and 727.. the units were shipped to Wichita on returning rail cars to be incorporated into the 41 sections until about 1985 (roughly)

I'm sure your info is correct. The AvWeek article gave us:

At that time, well before the mighty Everett site was completed for the 747 program, Boeing’s main commercial facility was at Renton in Washington where business was booming with production of the 707-320 and 727-200 going flat out. On top of that, work was underway on the preliminary design of the 2707 supersonic transport as well as on the assembly of wings for the 737, Boeing’s ‘baby’ jetliner.

So your mention of Plant II / Thompson Site aligns with their mention of Boeing Field, but you give us more detail.

rj777 · Tue Feb 20, 2018 4:19 pm

I wonder if WN is going to have some sort of special sticker or paintjob planned for it.

kanban · Tue Feb 20, 2018 5:17 pm

Of those first units, two were test units (functional and stress test) and never say the runway... There was also a mock-up out there since back then a mock-up was the only way to ensure the different engineering groups drawings interfaced correctly. Although some engineering was reverse engineered rom the mock-up..

UAL747422 · Wed Feb 21, 2018 9:48 pm

Long live the 737, with many more frames to come!

VirginFlyer · Thu Feb 22, 2018 6:58 am

UAL747422 wrote:
Long live the 737, with many more frames to come!

Indeed it is astounding to think that if they deliver their current order backlog, they will be 45% of the way to the next 10,000! As someone who became interested in aviation when the 727 was the benchmark for the highest selling airliner, it is amazing to think some three decades later that its little brother could go on to outsell it by a factor of ten to one! Or that the A320 would go on to likely equal its run, if not one day surpass it!

V/F

UAL747422 · Thu Feb 22, 2018 10:31 pm

rj777 wrote:
I wonder if WN is going to have some sort of special sticker or paintjob planned for it.

I sure hope so. If they don't I know some people who will be a bit disappointed. I mean, how could they not? Boeing might even require it.

UAL747422 · Thu Feb 22, 2018 10:33 pm

PPVLC wrote:
Congratulations. I still don't like the 737 ...

How come? It's very successful. Yes, it is a 60's design and yes some pilots prefer the A320. But other than that it's a very nice aircraft.

PPVLC · Fri Feb 23, 2018 1:34 am

UAL747422 wrote:
PPVLC wrote:
Congratulations. I still don't like the 737 ...

How come? It's very successful. Yes, it is a 60's design and yes some pilots prefer the A320. But other than that it's a very nice aircraft.

Not to work in, poxy little thing.

zone6 · Fri Feb 23, 2018 3:26 am

The first 737's that United received had an internal set of stairs that extended out from the fuselage below 1L. They weighed a lot, and were phenomenally complex. They were to allow the 737 to operate into airports like ELY and EKO with no ground support equipment.

American 767 · Fri Feb 23, 2018 3:47 am

UAL747422 wrote:
Long live the 737, with many more frames to come!

I would expect so. Because when Delta took delivery of the 1000th 727 built in the 1970s there was a special sticker applied to the airplane upon delivery.

Back in 2002, American took delivery of the 1000th 757 built. This was right at the time when there was the 727 final flight. So they celebrated both events at the same time.

I believe that it was Lufthansa who took delivery of the 1500th 747 built, a year or two ago. Not that long ago. I could be wrong about that one, so don't hesitate to correct me.

ericm2031 · Fri Feb 23, 2018 4:17 am

Southwest has decals for the 500th 737 and 2,000th NG

I'd hope they'd do something pretty big for the 10,000th 737. WN and Boeing are very close and I'm sure will come up with something.

impromark · Fri Feb 23, 2018 5:10 pm

This counts all the BBJs, right? They're completed here and then outfitted elsewhere?

Mark

VirginFlyer · Fri Feb 23, 2018 5:36 pm

impromark wrote:
This counts all the BBJs, right? They're completed here and then outfitted elsewhere?

Mark

That's correct, the 737 BBJs are counted as part of the 737 line numbers.

V/F

neutrino · Fri Feb 23, 2018 5:44 pm

VirginFlyer wrote:
impromark wrote:
This counts all the BBJs, right? They're completed here and then outfitted elsewhere?

Mark

That's correct, the 737 BBJs are counted as part of the 737 line numbers.

V/F

And the P-8s as well, I presume?

flyingclrs727 · Fri Feb 23, 2018 7:05 pm

zone6 wrote:
The first 737's that United received had an internal set of stairs that extended out from the fuselage below 1L. They weighed a lot, and were phenomenally complex. They were to allow the 737 to operate into airports like ELY and EKO with no ground support equipment.

I'm pretty sure they were a similar design to the built in 1L stairs on the 727.

KarelXWB · Fri Feb 23, 2018 9:36 pm

Final assembly is now well underway:

https://twitter.com/SeattleVolFan/statu ... 6522671105

vatveng · Fri Feb 23, 2018 10:41 pm

zone6 wrote:
The first 737's that United received had an internal set of stairs that extended out from the fuselage below 1L. They weighed a lot, and were phenomenally complex. They were to allow the 737 to operate into airports like ELY and EKO with no ground support equipment.

737-200 airstairs in action:

https://youtu.be/tcLsWtFj9Hw

a36001 · Sat Feb 24, 2018 12:38 am

A great achievement! Congratulations to Boeing and the magnificent men and women who are part of the 737 program!

Byron1976 · Sat Feb 24, 2018 1:17 am

Kudos to Boeing for this archivement!

XAM2175 · Sat Feb 24, 2018 2:05 am

zone6 wrote:
The first 737's that United received had an internal set of stairs that extended out from the fuselage below 1L.

Integrated air-stairs are standard equipment on the "Jurassic" (-100 and -200) and Classic (-300, -400, and -500) 737s, and are optional on the NGs (-600, -700, -800, and -900).

Most airlines have deactivated them on their Classics and had their NGs delivered without them, but a number of airlines - most notably Ryanair - do still take delivery of NGs with them installed.

I'm not sure what the story is with the 737 MAX.

qf789 · Thu Mar 08, 2018 12:53 am

The 10,000th 737 has rolled out of final assembly

https://twitter.com/SeattleVolFan/statu ... 0948830208

https://twitter.com/BoeingAirplanes/sta ... 1614850048

airzona11 · Thu Mar 08, 2018 1:03 am

What an accomplishment. Still looking forward to first flight on a MAX

gatechae · Wed Mar 14, 2018 10:04 pm

Spirit AeroSystems time Lapse of Fuselage, Flap, Slat, Nacelle and TR Production for 10,000 Unit
https://youtu.be/U7vojbkrFfY

Time Lapse of 10,000 unit transport from Wichita to Renton
https://youtu.be/I8IOrkrnIck

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