Boeing 727: The Best-selling Commercial Jetliner that Helped Accelerate the Jet Age

The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.After the heavier 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed a growing demand for an aircraft to be used on shorter routes from smaller airports. The only trijet to be produced by Boeing, the 727 was designed for operations from smaller airports, so independence from ground facilities was essential.It led to one of the 727’s most distinctive features: the built-in airstair that opens from the rear underbelly of the fuselage, which initially could be opened in flight.This allowed passengers to be embarked and disembarked without needing jetways or stairs. The 727 proved to be such a reliable and versatile airliner that it came to form the core of many airlines’ fleets.One of the features that gave the 727 its ability to land on shorter runways was its clean wing design - the trijet configuration involving one engine mounted on each side of the rear fuselage, with the third