There was a time, during the last century, when major achievements of the aeronautical sort were met with considerable public recognition by media of the day. Such newsworthy events were not limited to aviation ‘firsts’ and record-breaking flights but included the latest technical breakthroughs and industrial advancements by scientists, engineers and other innovators involved in aviation.
Alas, such treatment seems not to be afforded by purveyors of that which passes for news today. Indeed, it appears that the release of a new video game or the usually self-created tribulations of a so-called celebrity are more worthy of media attention while aviation activities are often covered in little more than a few paragraphs if at all.
On that note, the Boeing Company, producer of prodigious quantities of jet airliners since the first Model 707 entered service with Pan American World Airways in 1958, celebrated an important event this month when the 1,000th Model 767 was completed. The aircraft, a 767-381ER destined for All Nippon Airways, was rolled out to suitable fanfare on 2 February and flew for the first time on the 15th of this month.
The prototype, 767-200 N767BA, took to the skies for the first time on 26 September 1981 and since then the 767 has appeared in numerous variants. The vast majority of 767s have been ordered by airlines and to that end the type has appeared in versions of increasingly greater length – and therefore capacity – and longer legs. The -200 and -200ER (extended range) gave way to the -300 and -300ER and, ultimately, the -400ER. Specialized 767 freighters, both new-build -300s and conversions of existing -200s, were developed by Boeing for the logistics industry.
Military versions, though built in very limited numbers, have also rolled off the assembly line. They are in use, though not with any American armed services, as airborne warning and control system (AWACS) platforms and as tankers to refuel other aircraft while airborne. A tanker/transport version, tailored for use by the US Air Force, has been in the long-running, on-again-off-again competition against the Airbus A330 to replace that service’s fleet of aging Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers.
The 767 has been quite a success for Boeing. It is only the second wide-body type to be produced in numbers greater than 1,000 and shares that distinction with another Boeing design – the instantly recognizable Model 747.
The following links are provided for more on the rollout of 767 #1,000:
Flightglobal
Reuters
(above) Though not procured in large numbers, the 767 was the choice of many airlines – both old and new – in eastern European countries and the former Soviet Union in the years following the end of the Cold War in 1989. Aeroflot was, by virtue of its status as an arm of the Soviet Union’s communist government, once the world’s largest airline in terms of fleet size. However, the airline was not long in adopting Western-built airliners when freedom arrived in late 1991. Boeing 767-300 series aircraft like this one first entered Aeroflot service in 1994 and 13 have been flown at one time or another since then. Today the airline flies ten examples.
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