Valerian Ho recalls the aircraft manufacturer’s launch and ten decades of aviation evolution I

n July this year Boeing celebrated its 100th anniversary. The brainchild of American entrepreneur William Boeing wasn’t his first great idea, however. Boeing made his fortune in the timber business, but he became fascinated by the relatively new world of aviation, and after finally hitching a flight, Boeing immediately decided he could build a better aeroplane using his own green-wood timber.

On July 15, 1916, Pacific Aero Products Company was launched, and this was renamed the Boeing Airplane Co in 1917. Boeing’s first aircraft was a B&W seaplane – named Bluebill – and this and its second aircraft were sold to New Zealand in 1918. The Boeing company went on to build a wide range of products, from satellites and spacecraft to missiles, but its main focus was always passenger planes.

In 1947 Boeing rolled out the Stratocruiser 377, the commercial version of the C-97 military transport, which carried up to 100 passengers – Pan American World Airways ordered 20 of them. In 1957, the burgeoning aircraft manufacturer rolled out the first production model of the Boeing 707, and Pan Am took delivery of the US’s first commercial jet airliner in 1958, serving the transatlantic route. Boeing continued producing a range of passenger aircraft, including the B737 in 1965, which is still in use today.

Its most iconic aircraft is the B747 – the jumbo jet or“Queen of the Skies”. It was first constructed in 1969 and made its maiden flight from New York to London in 1970 with Pan Am. Able to carry up to 416 passengers and 3,400 pieces of baggage, the much loved plane is still in service but is now being slowly retired in favour of more fuel-efficient planes such as Boeing’s innovative B787 Dreamliner and the new B777X series. Left and above: Boeing 247D over New York - the first modern passenger plane; Roll-out of first 707 at Renton WAMay 1954; Canvas and wooden wings