Date: 2024-07-17 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00020027
Aircraft
Boeing 757
Is the Boeing 757 a good plane? What is the safest commercial aircraft?
Peter Burgess
Hello there,
The Boeing 757 is a very good, and under appreciated airliner. It is literally the last evolution of the 707/727/737 single aisle design line of the 1960’s - this is evidenced by photos of development models as published in Air International magazine in the early 1980’s. Early versions of it - the 7N7, for instance - recycled the tailplane and cockpit of the of the 727 with a new wing and tailcone:
As the end of development neared, a configuration reminiscent of the contemporary Airbus A300B4 was adopted, and almost until the end of development, the type was able to accommodate the nose of the 707/727/737, or else one adapted from the parallel 767 development.
As you can see, right until the end, the earlier cockpit was seriously considered as a production option. History records the outcome - airlines decided to go for the more modern design for commonality with the 767.
As related in Air International in 1982, the first purchase order for the 757 was a bit of a blunder in terms of organisation - Delta Airlines announced that they had selected the Rolls-Royce RB211-535 high-efficiency, high-bypass turbofan for their initial order, before announcing their selection of the 757 ! The announcement was however welcome to Boeing, as it meant that the 757 would be at a minimum a break even, and at best make some money, which was the purpose of the aircraft.
The alternative engine for release was the Pratt & Whitney PW2000 series rather than the Rolls-Royce - however, thanks to the relative efficiency of the RR unit, most 757’s tended to feature this engine when purchased.
[First flight in 1982 - I’m getting old - I remember this being on the TV news at the time!]
So what made the 757 good ?
It can be summarised as follows :
- It was optimised for smaller passenger loads, for short-to-medium range routes.
- It’s design was optimised for economy - both in terms of technology (most of which was recycled from the 707/727/737 and the contemporary 767), and in terms of close matching to the engines which were themselves optimised for fuel economy.
- The only expensive component of the 757 were the flying surfaces - the wings and tail - but even here design time had been conserved by being a component of the 767 program.
- Operators of the 757 quickly found that it offered a very good performance in terms of delivering a profit when used on the sectors it was designed for. British Airways found they could cover all of Europe, all the way to Russia, on the 757.
[James Bond’s BA airliner in Goldeneye - proof of the 757’s utility to BA in the 1990’s]
Monarch Charter Airlines used quite a few 757’s to become a favoured ‘Holiday Jet’ in the the 1990’s.
[Ibiza tourbus for Brits in search of a dance party in the 1990’s]
Smaller airlines found that the 757 was an excellent regional jet airliner.
[The last 757 - the model 300 - flew in 1998. 767-cockpit in evidence]
Its fair to say that the 757 was one of the pioneers of regional jet airliner concept.
It is significant that as the 757 aged - operators figuratively flew them into the ground in terms of using them to the end of their service lives thanks to their profitability.
The result of the aging and retirement of the 757 fleet from being worn out through constant use, was that competitor Airbus created the later A321 - a stretched form of the smaller A320 which closely matched the characteristics of the 757 as far as was possible.
[Convergent market evolution - the Airbus A321, designed to offer a mission-match to the 757 ]
I’ve found an interesting film on the subject, for which see here :
The 757, then was a good airliner for matching the needs of its customers, and provided high efficiency airliner which delivered good serviceability, great safety, and optimised to medium-range small-load regional airliner service.
My 2c worth, and kind regards.
References :
- Air International, June 1980
- Boeing 757 - Wikipedia
- Airbus A321 - Wikipedia
I’m an inveterate builder of model aircraft, and love building paper models both profile performance as well as 3D scale. Often really good designs by other designers become firm favourites - and the work of enthusiast Edwin Rodriguez deserves special mention - he has learned all the lessons from Kiyouchi Kiyonaga (P.Model, free models on Canon Papercraft) in terms of designing new models of Jet airliners.
If you fancy building a gratis Paper scale model of a Boeing 757, please see this instruction video, with a link in the description for the model - do enjoy, its really good ! I’ve even been able to modify my builds to be lighter and tough enough to fly as gliders, and they do very well - mine include corrugated paper spars for lightness and strength, as well as functional undercarriage wheels to allow a successful landing.
Do enjoy ! A 757 model for free - and, if printed on A3 paper, its about 1:80 scale, a bit less than 1:72, but very impressive.
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