ORPO1C

Here's a rare bird these days- a non-winglet equipped Boeing 737-900. Not a -900ER, but a straight -900, of which only 52 or so were built before being replaced by the more capable 737-900ER. Alaska Airlines has 12 737-900s in its fleet compared to 76 active 737-900ERs (3 parked as of 4Q2021). ⁣

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This particular aircraft departing Sea-Tac early in the morning is N305AS, one of the three former prototype aircraft used in the 737-900 flight test program- all three are now operated by Alaska- N302AS, N303AS and N305AS and were the first three -900s built. ⁣

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The lack of winglets is due to having an earlier style of wing structure that would make retrofitting winglets a lower return on investment compared to the early 900ERs that were retrofitted with winglets. ⁣

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In Alaska's fleet, the -900s are still very useful on routes where range is not as critical- primarily non-transcon trunk routes and up and down the West Coast. ⁣

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The 737-900 had its origins as an aircraft with the 737-800's capacity but with more leg room. In a two-class configuration, the limitations of the -900 were mininal but for the European inclusive tour operators flying single class configurations, the -900 was limited by the emergency exits. Additionally, in the wake of the 2003 Air Midwest crash in Charlotte, the standard passenger weight was revised for weight and balance purposes (170 in the summer, 175 in the winter, to 190 in the summer, 195 in the winter) which had the effect of shortening the range of all passenger aircraft. ⁣

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For Alaska, this meant the -900 couldn't do transcons with a full load and the 737-800 was ordered to fill that role until the arrival of the 737-900ER with featured a beefed up structure and modifications to the wing and flap scheduling to improve its field performance (the first big change to the 737NG wing).⁣

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#Boeing #737 #Alaska #AlaskaAirlines #N305AS⁣

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#instagramaviation #splendid_transport #instaaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #flight ⁣

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Look at this... 👀 https://pin.it/2YpZOjw