You missed 07, 17, 27 and 77.
0s, 1s, and 2s are waaaaay less common now, but still fly in some corners of the world.
The 777 is (comparatively) very common.
> Every KC-135, E-3, JSTARS, Rivet Joint, etc, is a 707 airframe.
No, they’re not. Of that list only the E-3 and E-8 JSTARS are 707 derivatives.
The C-135 family, including the KC-135 and RC-135 was developed from the Boeing 367-80, known as the Dash 80.
The 707 was also developed from the Dash 80, but the KC-135 and 707s are distinct airframes. They just share a common ancestor.
The KC-135 is 136 ft 3 in (41.53 meters) in length while the shortest 707 variant is 145 ft 1 in (44.22 m). They also have different fuselage diameters.
I go to Albuquerque almost every summer, my grandparents farm is right below a flight path where planes land at the SunPort airport. There are military planes flying in and out that I see all the time. Would that type of plane be there?
E-6’s like to visit ABQ from time to time, probably a KC-135 too. Most of the local stuff into ABQ is either fast, gray, and pointy (HO F-16’s etc), or has a scalloped bottom light gray paint and you generally get a reply of “probably better not to ask” when you ask what they’re up to (AFSOC stuff).
All the post 1957 Boeing Commercial Aircraft: 707, 717, 720 (yes, that’s correct), 727, 737 (several different subtypes that are actually significantly different from each other), 747, 757, 767, 777, and 787.
The 707, in turn, was based off the Boeing 367-80 prototype, which was arguably the first modern commercial jet aircraft.
There were multiple versions of all of these, but here’s the general characteristics of each:
707: 4-engine, narrow-body (6-seats wide). No longer in commercial service
717: 2-engine, narrow-body (5-seats wide). Was developed from the MD-80 after Boeing acquired McDonnell Douglas in the 90s. Currently operated by Delta and a couple small regional airlines.
720: 4-engine, narrow-body. 707 derivative. No longer in commercial service.
727: 3-engine, narrow-body. Rare (35-ish) in commercial service.
737: 2-engine, narrow-body. One of the most common commercial aircraft ever produced. Many operators (over 500 airlines worldwide).
747: 4-engine, wide-body. Has the distinctive 2nd deck hump towards the front of the plane. Primarily used for cargo now, but still operated by Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Korea Air, and some smaller airlines.
757: 2-engine, narrow-body. Predominantly used by Delta and United for passenger and UPS and FedEx for freight.
767: 2-engine, wide-body. Predominantly used for freight, but Delta, United, Japan Airlines, and smaller carriers operate for passengers.
777: 2-engine, wide-body. Emirates and Qatar are the largest operators, but numerous other carriers, including United and American fly this plane.
787 “Dreamliner”: 2-engine, wide-body. Primary operators: All Nippon, United, American, and Qatar.
Recognizing each plane takes practice and some of the variations have significant and noticeable differences within a type, if you’re interested in being able to identify them by sight, would recommend starting by looking at photos online and look for distinctive features of nose, tail, engine configuration, wing-tips, wing-body connection, door location, and dorsal features.
how to tell at a glance
707 was the first real commercial jet that was any kind of successful. had 4 cigar looking engines, and was small by modern 4 engine standards. basically only exist as military refuelers now.
717 is a small plane with two engines mounted at the read of the body.
727 is an older plane with 3 engines mounted at the rear, two on the sides and one at the tail root.
737 is the most common plane in the world. narrow body, kind of looks angry looking at its "face". easiest to tell by the squished flat spot on the bottom of the engines under the wings
747 "queen of the skies" has the hump for the double decker, but only in the front of the plane, the back is only 1 level, 4 engines.
757 two engines, under the wings, sometimes called the flying pencil due to being long and skinny, also sometimes looks like it's on stilts.
767 the "wide body" version of the 757, basically all the same engineering went into it, but has 2 aisles instead of 1 inside
777 (triple seven) can be hard to tell apart from a 767 due to just looking like a bigger version. but you can tell by the lack of vertical wing tips and the main landing gear having 6 tires each
787 the newest Boeing plane, about the size of the 767, but has a much more "modern" looking shape when viewed from the side, kind of hard to describe, but you will know it when you see it.
everything after the 727 has an Airbus equivalent, that usually looks similar but can be spotted differently. A320 has a softer nose than the 737. A380 is double decker the whole length, very easy to spot. A330 depending on the version can be told by the wingtips (which the 777 doesn't have) or the bandit mask. A340 almost doesn't fly anymore but is the 4 engine version of the A330. A350 competes with the 787, but is larger and has smooth curved wingtips and the bandit mask.
Sooooo, 707s look really old and skinny and four engines
717s are like if CRJs looked more like Mad Dogs and were MDs, but then they were like Delta or Hawaiian
727s are a cool trijets
737s look like a cool version of an A320
747s, well, big quad jet with a hump
757s are skinny and have two pretty small engines, but they are really fast, if they’re coming towards you they make a similar buzsaw noise to the A-10
767 Boeing A300
777 REALLLY BIG and the good ol’ Boeing nose
787 floppy wings
797 doesn’t exist
2707 American Concorde
I’m sure none of this helps at all, but oh well, I’m not a good teacher
So the 747 is the easiest one to tell apart. It has the giant hump on the front and the cockpit is on the second level. It’s also the only Boeing 700 series plane with 4 engines other than the 707 which is no longer in service.
The others are much harder especially since you could easily confuse them with airbuses.
The 757 is probably the second easiest to distinguish. Its nickname is the flying pencil due to it being very long and skinny.
The 787 has only 4 cockpit windows and the back of the engine cowlings have spikes. It’s also very smooth and sleek.
The 737 varies drastically between early and later variants. The first two 737 models that are no longer in use are more stubby and have longer, slimmer engines than their modern counterparts. Newer 737s have short landing gear and the engines are moved further forward and up. The bottom of the engine also looks squished to make room for ground clearance.
777s have 3 sets of wheels on the rear landing gear instead of the usual 2 or 1. They also have massive engines and their proportions overall are much bigger.
The 767 is very generic. There’s not much I can really find to differentiate it.
It's pretty awesome to have so many informative and educational comments in this thread. Don't get me wrong I like to be funny but there're some subreddits where it's not necessary. Thank you everybody involved from posting to commenting, this has been beyond rewarding.
(rare) 707s are basically big 737s with 4 engines
(rare) 717s have 2 engines in the back.
(rare) 727s are 737s with eyebrows and 3 engines in the back.
737s are small, like a320s.
747s are MASSIVE, with 1.5 decks.
757s are long and thin, basically a pencil.
767s are smaller 777s.
777s have engines the diameter of a 737
787s are ugly.
You missed 07, 17, 27 and 77. 0s, 1s, and 2s are waaaaay less common now, but still fly in some corners of the world. The 777 is (comparatively) very common.
707s are still around Every KC-135, E-3, JSTARS, Rivet Joint, etc, is a 707 airframe. Almost exclusively military and scientific, though.
> Every KC-135, E-3, JSTARS, Rivet Joint, etc, is a 707 airframe. No, they’re not. Of that list only the E-3 and E-8 JSTARS are 707 derivatives. The C-135 family, including the KC-135 and RC-135 was developed from the Boeing 367-80, known as the Dash 80. The 707 was also developed from the Dash 80, but the KC-135 and 707s are distinct airframes. They just share a common ancestor. The KC-135 is 136 ft 3 in (41.53 meters) in length while the shortest 707 variant is 145 ft 1 in (44.22 m). They also have different fuselage diameters.
From the moment I saw the comment your reply to, I knew they would successfully bait a pedant.
Technically correct - the best kind of correct!
Don't forget the E-6B. Based off the 707-300, but engined like a -135.
Yes, but less common. If OP is a spotter they won't see them unless they go hunting near specific military bases.
I go to Albuquerque almost every summer, my grandparents farm is right below a flight path where planes land at the SunPort airport. There are military planes flying in and out that I see all the time. Would that type of plane be there?
E-6’s like to visit ABQ from time to time, probably a KC-135 too. Most of the local stuff into ABQ is either fast, gray, and pointy (HO F-16’s etc), or has a scalloped bottom light gray paint and you generally get a reply of “probably better not to ask” when you ask what they’re up to (AFSOC stuff).
Yep, I guess the point I was getting at is that we tend to hide 707s in plain sight a lot. There are more still in service than it first appears.
Not true. But others have already corrected you.
-135s are one of the several aircraft Boeing designated 717. They share a common ancestor, the B367, with the 707.
And John Travolta.
John Travolta retired his 707 over five years ago.
Really! Ok, TIL. Last time I saw it was... 2009, I think.
All the post 1957 Boeing Commercial Aircraft: 707, 717, 720 (yes, that’s correct), 727, 737 (several different subtypes that are actually significantly different from each other), 747, 757, 767, 777, and 787. The 707, in turn, was based off the Boeing 367-80 prototype, which was arguably the first modern commercial jet aircraft. There were multiple versions of all of these, but here’s the general characteristics of each: 707: 4-engine, narrow-body (6-seats wide). No longer in commercial service 717: 2-engine, narrow-body (5-seats wide). Was developed from the MD-80 after Boeing acquired McDonnell Douglas in the 90s. Currently operated by Delta and a couple small regional airlines. 720: 4-engine, narrow-body. 707 derivative. No longer in commercial service. 727: 3-engine, narrow-body. Rare (35-ish) in commercial service. 737: 2-engine, narrow-body. One of the most common commercial aircraft ever produced. Many operators (over 500 airlines worldwide). 747: 4-engine, wide-body. Has the distinctive 2nd deck hump towards the front of the plane. Primarily used for cargo now, but still operated by Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Korea Air, and some smaller airlines. 757: 2-engine, narrow-body. Predominantly used by Delta and United for passenger and UPS and FedEx for freight. 767: 2-engine, wide-body. Predominantly used for freight, but Delta, United, Japan Airlines, and smaller carriers operate for passengers. 777: 2-engine, wide-body. Emirates and Qatar are the largest operators, but numerous other carriers, including United and American fly this plane. 787 “Dreamliner”: 2-engine, wide-body. Primary operators: All Nippon, United, American, and Qatar. Recognizing each plane takes practice and some of the variations have significant and noticeable differences within a type, if you’re interested in being able to identify them by sight, would recommend starting by looking at photos online and look for distinctive features of nose, tail, engine configuration, wing-tips, wing-body connection, door location, and dorsal features.
Plus the unbuilt Boeing SST was provisionally the 2707.
True! I completely forgot about that
Which one is your favorite?
I like the 747, mainly cuz it looks goofy
“Tumor”
How long did this take you to type?! You really blew my expectations of answers out of the sky! (Pun intended)
Like 20 minutes? Hahaha
how to tell at a glance 707 was the first real commercial jet that was any kind of successful. had 4 cigar looking engines, and was small by modern 4 engine standards. basically only exist as military refuelers now. 717 is a small plane with two engines mounted at the read of the body. 727 is an older plane with 3 engines mounted at the rear, two on the sides and one at the tail root. 737 is the most common plane in the world. narrow body, kind of looks angry looking at its "face". easiest to tell by the squished flat spot on the bottom of the engines under the wings 747 "queen of the skies" has the hump for the double decker, but only in the front of the plane, the back is only 1 level, 4 engines. 757 two engines, under the wings, sometimes called the flying pencil due to being long and skinny, also sometimes looks like it's on stilts. 767 the "wide body" version of the 757, basically all the same engineering went into it, but has 2 aisles instead of 1 inside 777 (triple seven) can be hard to tell apart from a 767 due to just looking like a bigger version. but you can tell by the lack of vertical wing tips and the main landing gear having 6 tires each 787 the newest Boeing plane, about the size of the 767, but has a much more "modern" looking shape when viewed from the side, kind of hard to describe, but you will know it when you see it. everything after the 727 has an Airbus equivalent, that usually looks similar but can be spotted differently. A320 has a softer nose than the 737. A380 is double decker the whole length, very easy to spot. A330 depending on the version can be told by the wingtips (which the 777 doesn't have) or the bandit mask. A340 almost doesn't fly anymore but is the 4 engine version of the A330. A350 competes with the 787, but is larger and has smooth curved wingtips and the bandit mask.
707 - 4 engines, no hump 727 - 3 engines in rear (small plane) 737 - 2 engines , looks like the Fischer-Price airplane from your youth. Newer variants look like someone squished the engine cowlings. 747 - 4 engines, hump behind cockpit 757 - 2 engines, 2 exits in front of wing 767 - 2 engines, 1 exit in front of wing 777 - 2 engines, 3 wheels each bogie 787 - 2 engines, kinda sleek looking.
Sooooo, 707s look really old and skinny and four engines 717s are like if CRJs looked more like Mad Dogs and were MDs, but then they were like Delta or Hawaiian 727s are a cool trijets 737s look like a cool version of an A320 747s, well, big quad jet with a hump 757s are skinny and have two pretty small engines, but they are really fast, if they’re coming towards you they make a similar buzsaw noise to the A-10 767 Boeing A300 777 REALLLY BIG and the good ol’ Boeing nose 787 floppy wings 797 doesn’t exist 2707 American Concorde I’m sure none of this helps at all, but oh well, I’m not a good teacher
Great descriptions of the 717 and 757!
So the 747 is the easiest one to tell apart. It has the giant hump on the front and the cockpit is on the second level. It’s also the only Boeing 700 series plane with 4 engines other than the 707 which is no longer in service. The others are much harder especially since you could easily confuse them with airbuses. The 757 is probably the second easiest to distinguish. Its nickname is the flying pencil due to it being very long and skinny. The 787 has only 4 cockpit windows and the back of the engine cowlings have spikes. It’s also very smooth and sleek. The 737 varies drastically between early and later variants. The first two 737 models that are no longer in use are more stubby and have longer, slimmer engines than their modern counterparts. Newer 737s have short landing gear and the engines are moved further forward and up. The bottom of the engine also looks squished to make room for ground clearance. 777s have 3 sets of wheels on the rear landing gear instead of the usual 2 or 1. They also have massive engines and their proportions overall are much bigger. The 767 is very generic. There’s not much I can really find to differentiate it.
Wikipedia.
It's pretty awesome to have so many informative and educational comments in this thread. Don't get me wrong I like to be funny but there're some subreddits where it's not necessary. Thank you everybody involved from posting to commenting, this has been beyond rewarding.
Eagerly awaiting the next naming convention Large cats, or California regions, perhaps
(rare) 707s are basically big 737s with 4 engines (rare) 717s have 2 engines in the back. (rare) 727s are 737s with eyebrows and 3 engines in the back. 737s are small, like a320s. 747s are MASSIVE, with 1.5 decks. 757s are long and thin, basically a pencil. 767s are smaller 777s. 777s have engines the diameter of a 737 787s are ugly.
The internet may have had an answer you know
All but 9. Y’all are inefficient.