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The requirements for the 747 were largely driven by the USAF and then Pan Am. If I understand right, both customers were so influential that Boeing felt it had
by ak217 10y ago
The requirements for the 747 were largely driven by the USAF and then Pan Am. If I understand right, both customers were so influential that Boeing felt it had to accommodate them.
- WalterBright 10y agoThe USAF never did buy any 747s.
- emp_zealoth 10y agoThe Space Shuttle never flew any polar missions either
- hga 10y agoFormally, there's the Civil Reserve Air Fleet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Reserve_Air_Fleet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Reserve_Air_Fleet and in general these planes can be used in emergencies. The transport planes the US military tends to buy have additional requirements that aren't conducive to civil air fleet profitability.
- ak217 10y agoRight, because Lockheed won the bid, and Boeing had to shop their design around to Pan Am and civilian freighters.