Even in the 1960s, Northwest management saw the revolutionary potential of high-speed transports (HSTs) that would allow one aircraft to complete several trans-Pacific hops in a single day. NWA’s order for the unbuilt Boeing 2707 signified their desire to be at the forefront of technological progress, but the market failure of Concorde and growing understanding of how significant the engineering challenges were meant that desire would remain unfulfilled.
In the back half of the 1980s, however, it seemed like progress was ready for the building, as advancements in computing and materials science – and the keen need for a more reliable orbital launch system than the Space Shuttle – were converging. The December 2018 issue of REFLECTIONS goes into detail about the types of vehicles being considered (both Mach 5 and single-stage-to-orbit designs) and how they might have been employed on the Northwest system.
McDonnell Douglas had been putting a lot of thought into hypersonic aircraft design, and Northwest had taken a commercial advocacy role, so it was natural the two companies would consult with each other about how to operate and service such a vehicle, what the passenger experience would look like, and what the economics would be. In 1987 McDD presented Northwest with a large model of their delta-bodied proposal, painted in NWA’s colors, as seen below.
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