Boeing 757

The Boeing 757 is a medium-range transcontinental commercial passenger airplane manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was designed for Eastern Air Lines and British Airways to replace the Boeing 727 and entered service in 1983. Production of the 757 ended on November 28, 2005 after 1,050 had been built. The final aircraft was delivered to Shanghai Airlines.[1] The 757 could be considered as one of Boeing's most successful programs. However, sales dwindled during the late 90's, eventually causing manufacturing to cease. The demand for the 757-200 continues mainly due to its New York to Western Europe range.

Introduction

The 757 (designated "7N7" during initial development) was designed by Boeing to complement the Boeing 767 on less dense routes. Originally conceived as the Boeing 727-300, a stretched variant over the 727-200, the 757 was a newer design. Original designs of this plane featured a "T-tail" as the Boeing 727 but a conventional tail was ultimately adopted.

The 757 has transatlantic range, and was one of the earliest ETOPS-rated airliners. For better economics, the passenger capacity is increased by 50 over the 727.

The 757 uses many of the same components as the widebody 767, and the two planes have a common FAA type-rating, enabling flight crews to earn certification for both by training and testing only on one. The 757 maintains the same fuselage diameter as the previous 707, 727, and 737.

The 757 was discontinued just after sales had reached 1000. The 737-900 fulfills Boeing's marketing niche previously occupied by the 757, though it does not have the same range or take-off performance. Indeed, the 757 was preferred by airlines which needed to traverse long, thin routes, chiefly transcontinental and transatlantic routes. It was also desired by airlines flying from hot and high climates, such as Mexico City. The 757 has sometimes been called the Rocket Plane because of its ability to rapidly climb (it is able to carry its full Maximum Take Off Weight, and climb to 41,000 feet faster than any other commercial airplane).

The 757's resale value has increased since the discontinuation of new production. In fact, a December 29, 2004 order from Continental Airlines for Boeing's new 787-8 and currently-produced 737-800 airliners included ten used 757-300s.

The 757 is the first Boeing airliner launched with non-US engines, Rolls-Royce RB211-535. Later, however, the Pratt & Whitney PW2000 was also offered as an option. Initially, a General Electric engine, the CF6-32, was also offered, but was cancelled due to lack of interest from airlines.

Variants

It has been manufactured in two basic variants. The 757-200 is shorter and has a longer operating range than the 757-300. The -100 was to be a variant but was not built. Some airlines truncate the full designations of these aircraft, and refer to them as the 752 and 753.

757-100

This is the initial design with 150 seat capacity which is the direct replacement of the 727. It failed to generate interest and was not built.

757-200

The 757-200 is the definitive version and forms the majority of the 757. It has also been manufactured in freighter (757-200F) and passenger-freight combo (757-200M) versions. In the late 1990's some of the airliner 757-200 were converted to freighters.

The passenger-carrying versions of the 757-200 was available in two different door configurations. One version used three standard doors per side with an additional, smaller door aft of the wing on each side for emergency evacuations. All eight door locations are equipped with inflatable evacuation slides. The alternate version is equipped with three standard doors per side (two towards the front and one at the aft of the cabin) with two "plug-type" overwing exits per side replacing the smaller door aft of the wing.

757-200ER : Extended range version, never went past design phase. Some airlines have given this title to their higher gross weight versions, especially on intercontinental applications.
757-200PF : Package freighter version.
757-200SF : Special freighter version for DHL.

757-300

The 757-300 is a stretched version, trading range for passenger capacity and the plane first flew in August 1998. The 757-300 is configured to carry 252 passengers. Range is 3,500 n.mi. Only 55 were ordered. This model has 8 standard doors, with 4 over-the-wing exit doors, 2 on either side. This model also features the interior of the Next Generation 737, which blends aspects of the 757-200 interior with the Boeing 777-style interior.

Private and military variants

The C-32, a variant of the 757, is the usual transportation for the Vice President of the United States.

The United States Air Force has fitted 757s for VIP transport duties: designated C-32, these aircraft are often used to transport the Vice President of the United States under the callsign "Air Force Two". The Royal New Zealand Air Force has two 757s that are used for transporting troops and VIPs.

One 757 is also serving as the Presidential aircraft in Argentina as the Tango 01, and another one is also serving in the VIP and Presidential transport role in Mexico. A Boeing 757 is also used by the royal family of Saudi Arabia as a flying hospital.

Senator John Kerry used a chartered 757-200 from TransMeridian Airlines nicknamed Freedom Bird as his campaign jet during the 2004 U.S. presidential election. [2]

At least three 757s are in use as private aircraft, one by supermarket magnate Ronald Burkle, and two by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Allen has one for personal use, tail number N757AF. The other, tail number N756AF, he purchased to serve as team aircraft for the Portland TrailBlazers, the Seattle Mariners, and the Seattle Seahawks, all of which he has partial or complete ownership of.

In-service

The majority of 757s are in domestic service with U.S. carriers, most notably American Airlines and Delta Air Lines. American operates the largest fleet of 757s and Delta comes in at a close second only by about 20 planes. United Airlines, Continental Airlines, US Airways, America West Airlines, and Northwest Airlines also operate the type. Some airlines, such as Icelandair, Continental Airlines, American Airlines and ATA Airlines use the aircraft for transoceanic flights. For many airlines, like Royal Brunei and Royal Nepal Airlines, the 757 provided them an economical intercontinental airliner allowing such airlines for the first time service to European cities. For many third world airlines, the 757 is also a perfect substitute to the aging Boeing 707s in their fleet.

The 757 is a popular aircraft for holiday/charter Airlines in the UK currently Thomas Cook Airlines, First Choice Airways, Monarch Airlines, Titan Airways, Excel Airways, Astraeus and Thomsonfly. The 757 can reach South Africa as well as places nearer to Britain such as Amsterdam and Paris.

After initially successful sales, the sales of the 757 went down dramatically from the middle of the 1990s onwards. The 757 was first bought mainly by airlines wishing to tap long and thin (as well as young) routes. However, as the routes matured, the 757 was replaced by widebody airliners with better economics.

On the short haul market, airlines consider the 757 too big as it is profitable only when it is at least three-quarters full. The short haul markets are better served by the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 families of airliners. Should the passenger load reach three-quarters, the A321 and the 737-900 are more economical. Although neither have the range of the 757, they fulfill the requirements of 90% of the routes served by the 757. The 757 became the victim of changing market condition rather than technical obsolescence. However, the 757 has found new life among many American airlines, its range enabling it to economically service "long-thin" trans-Atlantic markets such as Copenhagen, Glasgow and Shannon from East Coast hubs.

The 1,050th and last 757 destined for Shanghai Airlines rolled off the production line at Renton on October 28, 2004. The 757-200 is being replaced in the short term by the 737-900ER, and in the long term by the Y1. The 757-300 is being replaced by the 787-3 widebody.

In recent years, some 757s have been found to suffer from engine oil toxic fumes entering the cockpit and significantly affecting pilots, although the problem has not been as widespread as with the BAe 146^[1].

Winglets

Although production has ceased for the 757, blended winglets are now available from Aviation Partners Inc. as a retrofit to increase fuel efficiency and range. American Airlines, Continental Airlines, and Icelandair have commenced fitting them to some of their fleets, targeted at longer range routes which are too far for 737 or MD-80 aircraft but not popular enough to operate a B767 or A300.

General characteristics

	757-200	757-200F	757-300
First flight	February 19, 1982		August 2, 1998
Crew	2	2	2
Passengers (2 class)	200 (12 + 188)		243 (12 + 231)
Passengers (1 class)	228		280
Cargo capacity	1,670 ft³ (43.3 m³)	8,430 ft³ (239 m³)	2,370 ft³ (67.1 m³)
Empty weight	128,730 lb (58,390 kg)		141,330 lb (64,110 kg )
Max. takeoff weight	255,000 lb (115,680 kg)		272,500 lb (123,600 kg)
Fuel capacity	11,489 US gal (43,490 l)	11,276 US gal (42,680 l)	11,466 US gal (43,400 l)
Operating range	3,928 nautical miles (7,275 km)	3,150 nautical miles (5,834 km)	3,467 nautical miles (6,421 km)
Cruising speed	540 mph (868 km/h) 530 knots (982 km/h)
Ceiling	41,000 ft (12,500 m)
Length	155 ft 3 in (47.32 m)		178 ft 7 in (54.47 m)
Wingspan	124 ft 10 in (38.05 m)
Tail height	44 ft 6 in (13.56 m)
Powerplants	Two Rolls-Royce RB211, Pratt & Whitney PW2037, Pratt & Whitney PW2040, or Pratt & Whitney PW2043 high-bypass ratio turbofan engines, rated at 36,600 lbf (163 kN) to 43,500 lbf (193 kN) thrust each

Accident summary

As of 2004:

Hull-loss accidents: 6 with a total of 568 fatalities
Other occurrences: 2 with a total of 0 fatalities
Hijackings: 5 with a total of 283 fatalities

References

^ The Guardian. "Toxic cockpit fumes that bring danger to the skies". Retrieved 2006-04-30.

External links

Boeing 757 Family
Production of Boeing 757 will be stopped in 2004
Planemad.net - Boeing 757 Production Lists
757.org.uk - Boeing 757 reference site
B737-757-767 training aids - interactive instrument panels