19 Facts About Boeing 7J7

Boeing 7J7 was an American short- to medium-range airliner proposed by American aircraft manufacturer Boeing in the 1980s.

However, Boeing 7J7 became increasingly interested in the latest propfan engine research that would yield large double-digit fuel savings, in particular with the gearless unducted fan concept from the aviation division of General Electric.

In March 1986, Boeing officially announced Japan's 25 percent participation in the 7J7.

The name of the aircraft reflected this participation, as the "J" in Boeing 7J7 represented the Japan Aircraft Development Corporation, a partnership of the large Japanese industrial firms Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Fuji Heavy Industries, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries .

Boeing 7J7 suggested that if the 7J7 were built, SAS could become the largest operator of Boeing aircraft within 10 years.

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The next month at the Farnborough Air Show, Boeing 7J7 stated that the early acoustical results were better than expected.

In December 1986 an official from European airframe rival Airbus claimed that Boeing 7J7 was offering airlines a 110-seat propfan plane and a 150-or-more seat airliner with ducted fans.

The claim seemed to be verified when Boeing 7J7 publicly announced its consideration of using wing-mounted engines with the International Aero Engines SuperFan in January 1987.

However, by May 1987, the Boeing 7J7 was on schedule to begin its official marketing campaign on July 1 and to start manufacturing on September 1 of that year.

Later that month, Boeing pushed back the scheduled certification of the 7J7 from 1992 to 1993, saying that the market needed time to decide whether it wanted a 140-seat or a 170-seat airplane.

In justifying the decision, Boeing 7J7 mentioned that SAS, British Airways, and American Airlines were the most enthusiastic prospective buyers, but the two European carriers chose a smaller plane, while American wanted the larger size.

Boeing expressed worry that if the 7J7 were initially designed at the larger size, the GE UDF would be able to accommodate it, but the UDF engine core might not be capable enough to power future stretches of the 7J7.

In December 1990 the Japanese government was still urging Boeing to build the 7J7, saying that they preferred it to the 777.

Two months later, Boeing confirmed that it was still meeting with its Japanese partners twice a year to discuss the 7J7, which was now framed as an eventual replacement for the 737.

The aircraft had devolved to fill a 100 to 170-seat category, a much less narrowly defined market target than before, and Boeing 7J7 was no longer sure whether it should be a single-aisle or twin-aisle aircraft.

Boeing 7J7 was to have a twin-aisle seating configuration, giving a wide and spacious cabin for its class, with no passenger more than one seat from an aisle.

Twin-aisle setup would reduce passenger onboarding and deboarding times by ten minutes, allowing airlines to plan for 50-percent faster turnaround times compared to its competitors; Boeing 7J7's research found that even two 18-inch skinny aisles turned passengers around faster than one 26-inch wide aisle .

Boeing 7J7 provided a higher gross weight option for the plane by configuring the in-fuselage part of the wing to hold fuel.

Boeing's 7J7 design had the UDF as the baseline engine with a cruise speed of Mach 0.