The Bomber That Created a Bridge to Modern Airliners

Ride along on a ‘Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020’ journey in a Boeing 307 Stratoliner.

Patrick Chovanec

Friday, July 12, 2024 at 01:30 PM ET

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Edited By: tccjeremy

The Boeing 307 Stratoliner in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020. [Courtesy: Patrick Chovanec]

Key Takeaways:

The Boeing 307 Stratoliner was a groundbreaking commercial airliner, being the first with a pressurized cabin, enabling higher-altitude flights and enhanced passenger comfort. It shared much of its design and components with the B-17 bomber.
Operated by TWA and Pan Am for luxury cross-country and international routes, the Stratoliner's advanced features led to high operational costs and maintenance challenges, contributing to only 10 units ever being produced.
During World War II, modified Stratoliners (C-75s) played a crucial role in transatlantic transport for VIPs and cargo, proving indispensable before newer, more efficient military aircraft became available.
Despite its pioneering innovations, the Stratoliner was eventually phased out post-war due to high operating costs and the emergence of more advanced airliners, with only one airframe (the *Clipper Flying Cloud*) preserved today.

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Today in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, I’ll be flying the Boeing 307 Stratoliner, the first commercial airliner with a pressurized cabin that shared much of its DNA with the B-17 bomber.

In 1935, the major airlines in the U.S. had a problem. They had contributed $100,000 each for Douglas Aircraft to develop a four-engine successor to the two-engine DC-3. But it was clear that the new DC-4 had problems and would be delayed. So they dropped out of the program and TWA (Transcontinental & Western Air) approached Boeing Corp. to see if it could adapt its promising new B-17 bomber into a passenger plane.