Early Douglas\Boeing Aircraft Nose Section Comparison

[Herman]

I have always found it interesting about the different designs of Aircraft Nose Sections. I suppose they all served their specific reasons...aerodynamically and asthetically. 

Douglas commercial aircraft seem to stick with their similar design whereas Boeing has frequent changes as shown in the images below.

The Douglas DC-3...DC-6....DC-7.














Boeing 307 Stratoliner.....377 Stratocruiser.









Herman

[Tom/CalClassic]

Douglas was very good at reusing design elements, as here and into the jet era. Look at the DC-9-10 to MD-80.

[Herman]

Yes indeed.... and also in the Jet Era.... the DH 106 Comet .... Sud Caravelle.... Vickers VC-10 and Vanguard differed from the traditional nose designs.

Herman

[mrcapitalism]

When you look at the windows of the Boeing, they look very similar as well.

[nmlw]

I never gave it much thought, but aerodynamics is probably the major function of nose section design. There are so many different ones and they keep changing over time, for the better hopefully.

[Herman]

Thank you all for your input. Much appreciated.

Herman

[Pacific SMX]

The narrow-body Boeing jets also seemed to use the same nose design. The B727 and the B737 nose designs seem to have also derived from the B707 nose. It may or not be a rumor, but I've heard that today's pilots tend to feel a bit more cramped in these cockpits as their original design, almost 70 years ago, was partly based on the average pilot being of a smaller stature than today's pilots.

Regards,
Phil