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random thought d'jour ... 1

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rb1957

Aerospace
Apr 15, 2005
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what happened to Airbus A360 and A370 ?

ie why A380 after A340 ?
maybe no reason as A350 followed A380 ?

deep questions !?

another day in paradise, or is paradise one day closer ?
 
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I dunno,
Why did the 717 come after the 727, 737, 747, 757, 767 and 777?
Why did the DC-9 morph into MD80, while the DC-10 morphed into MD11?

"Schiefgehen wird, was schiefgehen kann" - das Murphygesetz
 
RB...

Perhaps...

Proposed models that reached a significant state of initial design/layout... but never materialized... but were kept in-line because design data and preliminary drawing were valuable for LL experiences... and became proprietary for corporate intellectual property... 'just-in-case'? Lotsa possible reasons.

I know a few companies with serial-numbering schemes that worked this way. EVERY aircraft design study was registered under a unique/sequential serial-designation, since preliminary design data and drawings were created... regardless of long-term outcome. IF the design evolved to experimental flight status then the aircraft was flown under that serial-design number... upon reaching production status... THEN a unique 'model number and name' were given to the aircraft.

For instance...

The Northrop N-156 fighter design/experimental study evolved to become the T-38 trainer and the F-5 fighter aircraft series.

The Northrop N300 design study evolved to be the P530 'Cobra' experimental fighter that was re-designated by the USAF as the YF-17... which lost the competition for USAF light weight fighter to the YF-16 'Falcon'. Then McDonnell Douglas procured design and manufacturing rights for the P530 for the USN fighter competition... evolving the P530 design to become the YF-18 'Hornet' with carrier and other USN adaptations.

Cessna Model 318 became the production T-37 'Twety Bird' trainer... and the T-37 evolved to the Model 318E which is the Cessna model number for the A-37 'Dragonfly' attack variant.

Boeing on the other-hand seems to favor '7X7' for a new [clean-sheet] design or '777X' [example] as their public face for a evolution or test-model of an existing aircraft model-line.

Hemi... NOTE.
Boeing 717 for the DAC MD-8* family [under Boeing ownership] was actually an internal 'aw-sh*t' for Boeing... had to be [internally] re-designated as 717-100. Here is the reason why...

The experimental model Boeing 367... 4-engine jet transport prototype... evolved to be the 707, 717 and the 720 family of related aircraft. Model 717 was selected by the USAF to become the KC-135A air refueling tanker. Yep.

Regards, Wil Taylor

o Trust - But Verify!
o We believe to be true what we prefer to be true. [Unknown]
o For those who believe, no proof is required; for those who cannot believe, no proof is possible. [variation,Stuart Chase]
o Unfortunately, in science what You 'believe' is irrelevant. ["Orion", Homebuiltairplanes.com forum]
 
WKTaylor said:
Boeing 717 for the DAC MD-8* family [under Boeing ownership] was actually an internal 'aw-sh*t' for Boeing... had to be [internally] re-designated as 717-100. Here is the reason why...

The experimental model Boeing 367... 4-engine jet transport prototype... evolved to be the 707, 717 and the 720 family of related aircraft. Model 717 was selected by the USAF to become the KC-135A air refueling tanker. Yep.
...I didn't know that [lol]

"Schiefgehen wird, was schiefgehen kann" - das Murphygesetz
 
As far as I know, The '8' is because it's considered a lucky number in Asia and, since that was considered one of the primary markets for the big 'plane, it became the A380. Simple as that.

Boeing were just fortunate that the 787 had 767 and 777 preceeding it or else we might be asking the same question as them.
 
Heck, how does any vehicle manufacturer come up with - and stick with - a model numbering system?
I have a GMC 2500 from model year 2004, and somehow that makes it a "3/4 ton truck". But the current 2500 can carry a hell of a lot more than mine ever could, which is already a lot more than 3/4 ton.
Why does Volvo go from 440 to 480, 740, 760, 780, 850, 940, 960. Explain to me how the model numbers refer to the the number of cylinders, then prove to me that the "480" had an 8-cylinder engine!
Dell has cycled through a lot of Latitude laptop model numbers since the model went on the market in 2008. In 2019 the model number digits had to roll "up" to "00" as in "5500" which overlaps where they started from. A "5500" could have a dual Celeron, or it might have an 8th generation Intel i7 in it... trivial difference... but they both have the same screen size so who cares, right?? ;)
The Cessna 206 doesn't look anything like a Cessna 208B. But then the early Cessna Citations all look pretty much the same, going from 500, to 525, 550, 560, with no seeming pattern to the numbers but plenty of engine variations.


 
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