The Boeing 7J7
was a short- to medium-range airliner proposed by American aircraft
manufacturer Boeing in the 1980s. It would have carried 150 passengers and was
touted as the successor to the successful Boeing 727. It was initially planned
to enter service in 1992. This was intended as a highly fuel-efficient aircraft
employing new technologies, but it was cancelled when the price of oil dropped
during the 1980s.
Boeing 7J7 Design
The 7J7 was planned to include advanced technology and electronics, such as:
The sum of all these features promised better fuel consumption by more than 60% compared to any existing large passenger aircraft technology at the time. "Efficiency" was the key theme. The 7J7 was to have a twin-aisle (2+2+2) seating configuration, giving an unprecedented wide and spacious cabin for its class, with no passenger more than one seat from an aisle.
It was also unprecedented in its foreign content withJapan
The project's cancellation (as disappointing as it was to the Japanese aviation industry) signaled a new era of cooperation between Boeing and Japanese suppliers. Japanese companies contributed significantly larger percentages of subsequent Boeing projects (about 15% of the Boeing 767 and 25% of the Boeing 777).
Japanese industry continues to be a primary foreign partner on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Design and Development
The 7J7 was planned to include advanced technology and electronics, such as:
- fly-by-wire flight control system by Bendix
- glass cockpit by Honeywell utilizing LCDs
- advanced integrated avionics suite
- widespread use of high-strength composites
such as carbon-fiber
- two General Electric GE36 UDF rear-mounted
advanced technology contra-rotating unducted fan (propfan) engines.
The sum of all these features promised better fuel consumption by more than 60% compared to any existing large passenger aircraft technology at the time. "Efficiency" was the key theme. The 7J7 was to have a twin-aisle (2+2+2) seating configuration, giving an unprecedented wide and spacious cabin for its class, with no passenger more than one seat from an aisle.
Foreign Partnership
It was also unprecedented in its foreign content with
The project's cancellation (as disappointing as it was to the Japanese aviation industry) signaled a new era of cooperation between Boeing and Japanese suppliers. Japanese companies contributed significantly larger percentages of subsequent Boeing projects (about 15% of the Boeing 767 and 25% of the Boeing 777).
Japanese industry continues to be a primary foreign partner on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Competition
Competing with
the 7J7 for airline interest was the McDonnell Douglas MD-94X, also powered by propfans,
and the Airbus A320. The A320 featured a lot of similar advanced technology and
electronics but was powered by conventional turbofan engines. The Boeing 737
Next Generation and the 777 incorporate many of the proposed 7J7 improvements.
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