The Boeing 737 Prototype Airplane
PA099 Boeing 737 Prototype Airplane NASA 515    by Bob Bogash

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 14,000 have been built or ordered, in more than a dozen different models, and with her new P-8 U.S. Navy  patrol version, appears set to be built for at least another 25 - 30 years, maybe much longer!  More than 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 is 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.  I dedicate it to the fine people, living and dead, who worked so hard to create this wonderful flying machine.

HOT !!!  50th Birthday Celebration - April 9, 2017 - Click here for Info

This journey is divided into many parts - 
Enjoy the journey !

Boeing 737 Prototype Airplane  The Early Years - 1965 - 1973

Boeing 737 Prototype Airplane  Twenty-Five Years with NASA -  1973-1997

  Six Years at Moses Lake -- in Preparation for Her Final Flight 1997-2003

    YouTube Video of Preps from KING-5 TV

     4-Part YouTube Video on Preps from New Zealand

 

 

 The Story of Her Historic Final Flight - September 21, 2003


    A Final Flight Celebration



  The 40th Anniversary of the First Flight of the 737 !  - Click here




Her life at the Air Park of the Museum of Flight in Seattle - 2003-2016


    Her Final Move to the Aviation Pavilion - 2016


    Yikes!  10 years have passed in the blink of an eye - and now is the time for her 50th - Her Golden Jubilee.  A big party is planned for Sunday, April 9, 2017 at the Museum of Flight.  You're invited!
Click Here for your Invitation


   Uh Oh!  You say you missed it?  Here's a recap!

 
  A Prototype Photo Album



   Some early Program Photos

 


Some Important Links

Airborne Trailblazer
- A wonderful book describing all the NASA flight tests using this airplane - available online

737 Production Lists: 

History of the Boeing 737 - a great potpouri resource from the UK.

737 History Page at Boeing Website


Contact Me


Return to Website Home Page

Copyright 2004-2017 by Robert A. Bogash.  All Rights Reserved
 



Last revised :
5 Jul 2004
28 May 2006
4 Feb 2007
9 Apr 2007
15 Jan 2009

15 Feb 2017
13 Mar 2017
6 Apr 2017
20 Apr 2017
25 Apr 2017