Boeing 247

Boeing 247 Passenger aircraft, 1933 Development: The Boeing 247, was developed in 1933 and was a derivative of the Model 200 Monomail and B-9 bomber,it showed a substantial improvement over the Ford Tri-Motor, cutting eight hours from the coast-to-coast flying time. First prototype was flown on February 8, 1933. The aircraft entered service later in 1933. A total of 75 Model 247 were built.
later developments of the Douglas aircraft were to become the most widely used of the early modern airliners, it was the Boeing 247 that pioneered the whole new generation of transports. It was a good airplane, and bought by United Airlines and other U.S. carriers, but its capacity proved too small and its passengers found it awkward to step over the main spar in the aisle. Around seventy-five Model 247s were built for customers in the US and abroad, including Lufthansa of Germany a creditable total for any aircraft of the thirties.
Modifications: Model 247 - first production version Model 247D - upgraded engines, improved design, 3 converted from Model 247, introduced in 1934 Service: With United Airlines, Western Airlines.

Data for Boeing 247: Crew: 3 Wingspan: 22.6 m Length: 15.7 m Height: 4.7 m Wing area: 77.6 sq. m Gross weight: 5738 kg Engines: 2xPratt & Whitney "Wasp" S1D1 Max. speed: 291 km/h Cruise speed: 248 km/h Cruise ceiling: 5608 m Range: 776 km Payload: 10 passengers

Data for Boeing 247D: Crew: 3 Wingspan: 22.6 m Length: 16.3 m Height: 3.7 m Wing area: 77.6 sq. m Empty weight: 4100 kg Takeoff weight: 5950 kg Engines: 2xPratt & Whitney "Wasp" S1H1G, 543 hp each Max. speed: 324 km/h Cruise speed: 304 km/h Landing speed: 98 km/h Climb rate: 4.6 m/s Ceiling: 7741 m Cruise ceiling: 3000 m Range: 1192 km Payload: 10 passengers.

Early route flying after the First World War convinced airline operators that multiengined aircraft were preferable for flying long distances and across water, in terms of both economy and safety. However, while huge lumbering biplanes were still the vogue, the Boeing company designed the Model 247 as a new ten-passenger aircraft of revolutionary concept. The all-metal airframe was well streamlined, with low monoplane wings, a smooth oval semimonocoque fuselage, neatly cowled twin engines, and an enclosed cockpit for the pilots. The undercarriage was retractable, giving the aircraft a maximum speed of over 290 km/h (180 mph). This was far higher than the speed of contemporary biplane airliners, rivaling the performance of military fighters of the day. The 247 was an immediate success and the first production aircraft were quickly followed by the refined Model 247D. But destiny still held further success for the airliner. Many great aircraft built between the wars were evolved to take part in air races; such contests were also excellent proving grounds for new or established production types. So, when the MacRobertson Race from England to Australia was organized in 1934, a Boeing Model 247D was entered. Flown by Col. Roscoe Turner and Clyde Pangbourne, it gained second place in the transport section, behind its great rival the DC-2.

The aircraft pictured above is a fully restored 1933 Boeing247D. Fourteen + years of volunteer labor went into this restoration and the airplane was back in the air on 29 June,1994. The airplane was delivered to the Pacific NW Historical Foundation March 2, 1966, flown into Renton, WA. airport by United's Capt. Jack Leffler and Ray Pepka of Renton Aviation from Bakersfield CA. PNAHF subsequently became Seattle's Museum of Flight. The airplane is based at the Museum's Restoration Center at Paine Field in Snohomish County some 34 miles north of the museum at Boeing Field.

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