Boeing Has Made More Than Airplanes in the Past 100 Years
Not all products built in Boeing’s factories have flown through the air. In addition to planes, the company has also made boats, trains, and many more items.
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In the 1960s and 1970s, Boeing manufactured hydrofoils for commercial and military applications at its plant in Renton, WA. The vessels included the Model 923 and Model 928, which were 74-foot-long high-speed patrol gunboats. The aluminum ships, which featured jet propulsion and automatic control systems, were used by the U.S. Navy. Boeing also built a commercial version called the Model 929 jetfoil. The 90-foot-long boat was used for waterbus service in Hong Kong and other overseas markets.
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In the 1970s, Boeing’s Vertol division expanded beyond its traditional rotorcraft business by building rolling stock for urban mass transit authorities. It made articulated light rail vehicles for use in Boston and San Francisco. The company also produced stainless steel rapid transit cars for use on Chicago’s elevated rail and subway system.
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In the 1980s, Boeing built some of the first wind turbines operated in the United States. The MOD-2 and MOD-5B were used in wind farms in California, Hawaii, Washington and Wyoming. At the time, they set several world records for diameter and power output.
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Boeing built the lunar roving vehicles that were used by astronauts on three Apollo missions in the early 1970s. The 10-footlong buggies travelled 10 mph and ran on two 36-volt batteries that powered four 0.25-hp electric motors attached to each wheel. Instead of rubber tires, the vehicle used woven piano-wire mesh-like wheels designed to negotiate the bumpy surface of the moon.
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In the 1970s, engineers at Boeing Vertol designed a personal rapid transit system. The rubber-tired, electrically powered vehicles travelled on computerized concrete guideways. The system allowed 20-passenger, on-demand pods to wait for people rather than forcing commuters to wait for vehicles. An eight-mile system that transports 15,000 riders daily is still in use on the campus of West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV.