Boeing 314 #1

It’s 1938, and Boeing’s new baby, the 314, makes its appearance in Seattle.

The first Model 314 sticks its tail over the Duwamish River. Note that the cockpit has yet to be completed.

Seen afloat on Seattle’s Elliot Bay, the first 314, now numbered NX18601, is ready to begin testing.

NX18601 was initially built with a single vertical stabilizer.

The single tail did not provide adequete directional control…

…and a fix was devised in the form of a double tail.

The short-lived double tail/no center stabilizer.

Even two tails were not doing the trick and thus the three-tailed 314 was born.

In the spotlight.

These photographs feature the first Model 314 produced by Boeing (later registered as NX18601). As with most prototypes, the first 314 model encountered some challenges during its development. One of the primary issues was related to lateral control. Although the aircraft was built with a standard single centerline vertical fin, early test flights revealed a need for more lateral control. To address this problem, a growing number of vertical stabilizers were installed on the aircraft. Initially, the solo center tail was removed and replaced with a pair of endplates. However, this dual arrangement proved insufficient, and a centerline fin was once again added to the aircraft, which proved to be effective in providing the necessary lateral stability. once again the 314 was provided with a centerline fin (Hey, good thing they didn’t throw that item away when they did the initial redesign of the tail)