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Aviation History
2003
2003 - 1626.PDF
History VALKYRIE: North American's XB-70 Mach 3 bomber was cancelled when it flew in 1964 Winners and losers McDonnell merged with Douglas and North American merged with Rockwell Standard in 1967, as competitions and cancellations reshaped the industry. Douglas was losing the jetliner battle to Boeing as the 727 (1963) and 737 (1967) built on the success of the 707. Both companies lost the C-5 airlifter competition to Lockheed, leading Boeing to "bet the company" on development of the 747(1969). Douglas exited the fighter business when the F6D was cancelled in 1961, and Boeing, controversially, lost the TFX competition to General Dynamics and Grumman in 1962. Termination of the XB-70 bomber in 1964 was a near-fatal blow to North American, while cancellation of the X-20 Dyna-Soar in 1963 and the Manned Orbiting Laboratory in 1969 set back Boeing and McDonnell Douglas (MDC), respectively. Starting badly The 1970s did not start well for Boeing. The 2707 supersonic transport was cancelled in 1971 and a commercial recession drove employment below 60,000. McDonnell Douglas, having introduced the DC-10 in 1970, fared little better, and employment also fell below 60,000 by mid-decade. MDC's military side was healthier, with the F-15 flying in 1972, followed in 1978 by the F/A-18. But both companies suffered when the Advanced Medium STOL Transport competition was cancelled in 1979. Rockwell saw the B-1A bomber cancelled in 1977. Boeing's E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System flew in 1977, extending the life of the 707 line, and MDC gave the DC-9 (1965) a new lease of life when it introduced theMD-80in1979. Getting better The 1980s were better all round. Boeing introduced the 767 (1981) and 757 (1982) with their common cockpits, McDonnell Douglas won the Dual-Role Fighter competi- JUMBO JET: A risky project when it flew in 1969, the 747 passed 1,000 sales in 1999 tion with the F-15E, and Rockwell received a contract for 100 B-1Bs. The Rockwell-devel oped Space Shuttle made its first orbital flight in 1981. MDC acquired Hughes Helicopters in 1984, and with it the AH-64 Apache (1975). Boeing had acquired Vertol in 1960, and its sole product was the CH-47 Chinook (1961), but in 1989 the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor, jointly developed by Bell and Boeing, entered flight testing. Coming together McDonnell Douglas started the 1990s on a high, introducing the MD-11 widebody (1990) and MD-90 narrowbody (1993) airlin ers and C-17 airlifter (1991). But the 1991 cancellation of the A-12 attack aircraft, elimi nation from the Joint Strike Fighter competition and then cancellation of the MD-12 large airliner in 1996 all helped to precipitate a crisis. Boeing was on a roll, meanwhile, intro ducing the 777 in 1994 and delivering its 3,000th 737 in 1998. The company sur prised everyone by making the JSF shortlist in 1996, the year it launched the strategy to balance its civil and military revenues by buying Rockwell's aerospace and defence business. A year later, Boeing and McDon nell Douglas merged in a $13.3 billion deal. Networking Boeing continued its diversification into 2000 by acquiring satellite builder Hughes Space & Communications and aviation data provider Jeppesen, and by standing up Connexion by Boeing and Air Traffic Management as business units. In 2001, Boeing lost the JSF competition, but a year later clinched two key network- centric warfare programmes - the Future Combat System and the Joint Tactical Radio System. Plans for a bigger 747X gave way to the high-speed Sonic Cruiser, which was dropped in favour of the super-efficient 7E7. A new Boeing had arrived. • TRIJETS: The first McDonnell Douglas airliner, 1970's DC-10, led to the MD-11 TILTROTOR: Bell and Boeing joined to develop the revolutionary V-22 Osprey BIG TWIN: Boeing rewrote its design and manufacturing book with 1994's 777 FIGHTING FINISH: Boeing lost JSF, but its X-32 proved a tough competitor SONIC DREAM: The Sonic Cruiser gave way to the 7E7 in the search for efficiency XXXIV 17-23 JUNE 2003 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL SUPPLEMENT www.fliqhtinternational.com
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