From kls Thu Sep 2 04:13:07 1993 Newsgroups: sci.aeronautics.airliners Path: bounce-back From: kls@ohare.Chicago.COM (Karl Swartz) Subject: Re: Was there a 717 ... References: Message-ID: Approved: kls@ohare.Chicago.COM Organization: Chicago Software Works Sender: kls@ohare.Chicago.COM Date: 02 Sep 93 04:13:07 PDT Terry Drinkard writes: >What was to have been the 717 was named the 720 instead to please the >UAL CEO who was purchasing them (UAL was the launch customer on the >720 I think - am I right Karl?). Yes, United was first to sign up for the 720; they and Eastern were the launch customers, just as they were later on for the 727. But I can't locate any reference to a name change on the 720 -- as far as I know the 717 is just Boeing's name for the KC-135. (See also the next aritcle in this thread, which suggests what could be a 717-to- 720 metamorphosis.) >The 720 was the single aisle version of the 747SP. I.e., a chopped body >with extra long range performance. As I understand it, the 720 is quite >different from the 707 structurally. I had always understood the 720 to be a medium-range derivative of the 707, which wasn't a blazing success because it didn't go far enough in reducing costs. However, I looked up the 720 in Legend and Legacy and it talks about the 720B (the turbofan version) in the context of a sale to Northwest in a manner that sounds more like your description. They note, though, that load factors pushed Northwest to switch from the 720B to the 707-320 Intercontinental on the same routes, so it does not seem that the 720 had a significantly longer-range. You aren't by any chance thinking of the five QANTAS 707-138s are you? These were 10 feet shorter than a normal -120, to reduce weight and thus give QANTAS the range they needed. -- Karl Swartz |INet kls@ditka.chicago.com 1-415/854-3409 |UUCP uunet!decwrl!ditka!kls |Snail 2144 Sand Hill Rd., Menlo Park CA 94025, USA Send sci.aeronautics.airliners submissions to airliners@chicago.com