737proto

The Boeing 737 Prototype Airplane
PA099 Boeing 737 Prototype Airplane NASA 515

Something wonderful was happening in the aviation world of 1965 - 1968. A new airplane was being designed and built, an elegantly simple and clean looking machine that would change the Company that built her, the airlines that operated her, the people that flew her, and in her, and the communities she served. She was the Boeing 737, a small twin-engine jetliner, that kept getting better, longer, bigger, heavier, and longer- ranged, until today she has become the most popular airliner ever built. More than 6000 have been built or ordered, in more than a dozen different models, and with new orders from the U.S. Navy for a patrol version, appears set to be built for at least another 25 - 30 years, maybe much longer! Sixty years in production for a single airplane is a record in anyone's books! Clearly, she has "The Right Stuff."

My life, professionally, and personally, became intertwined with this airplane from the beginning, and still does today. PA099 - a kind of unglamorous designation - is the first of this long line of flying machines. I, with many others, helped to design, build, and test her in the early days, when we both were young, and now, in our mutual retirements, I continue to look after her today. We are joined by our heads, our hands, and our hearts - for airplanes are living things, or didn't you know that?

She was built by Boeing. She's owned by NASA. She's on loan to the Museum of Flight in Seattle. But she's all mine! And I love her. So I built this web site to share my love and affection. This journey is divided into six parts: