| Developed in
1933, the Model 247 was an all-metal, twin-engine airplane, and the
first modern passenger airliner. It had an autopilot, pneumatically
operated de-icing equipment, a variable-pitch propeller, and retractable
landing gear. It took the Model 247 20 hours, with seven stops, to fly
between New York and Los Angeles. However, because the 247 flew at 189
mph, its trip was seven and a half hours shorter than that made by
previous airliners. Seventy-six 247s were built. Boeing Air
Transport flew 60 Model 247s. United Aircraft Corporation flew 10, and
the rest went to Deutsche Lufthansa and a private owner in China. The
247s remained in airline service until World War II, when several were
converted into C-73 transports and trainers. Some were still flying in
the late 1960s. |
