Boeing 929

Boeing 929-115-018 Cacilhas at Hong Kong harbour.
History
Name:	Jetfoil
Builder:	Boeing Marine Systems, Renton, Washington Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., Kobe, Japan Shanghai Simno Marine Ltd. CSSC, China
Launched:	1976
General characteristics
Tonnage:	30 metric tons
Depth:	3.0 m
Decks:	2
Propulsion:	2x Rolls-Royce Allison 501KF Gas Turbine engines
Speed:	43-47 knots (80 km/h)
Capacity:	240 passengers (160-400)
Complement:	3 officers (captain, chief engineer, engineer)
Notes:	2150 l gas oil/h (consider the cruising distance per hour)

Jetfoil 929-115-020 "Princesse Stephanie" of RMT

Jetfoil 929-100-007 Urzela of TurboJET

Jetfoil 929-115-019 Niji of Tokai Kisen

The Boeing 929 Jetfoil is the name for a passenger-carrying waterjet-propelled hydrofoil design by Boeing.

Boeing began adapting many systems used in jet airplanes for hydrofoils. Robert Bateman led development. Boeing launched its first passenger-carrying waterjet-propelled hydrofoil in April 1974. It could carry from 167 to 400 passengers. It was based on the same technology pioneered by the patrol hydrofoil Tucumcari, and used some of the same technology used in the Pegasus class military patrol hydrofoils. Currently this product line is sold to the Japanese company Kawasaki Heavy Industries.^[1]

Design and development

Boeing launched three Jetfoil 929-100 hydrofoils that were acquired in 1975 for service in the Hawaiian Islands, which was operated by a Honolulu-based operator Seaflite Inc. Seaflight operated 3 Boeing Jetfoils between 1975 to the company's demise in 1979. When the service ended the three hydrofoils were acquired by Far East Hydrofoil (now TurboJET) for service between Hong Kong and Macau.^[2] About two dozen Boeing Jetfoils saw service in Hong Kong-Macau, Japan, South Korea, the English Channel, the Canary Islands, the Korea Strait, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.

In 1979, the Royal Navy purchased a Boeing Jetfoil, HMS Speedy, to provide the Royal Navy with an opportunity to gain practical experience in the operation and support of a modern hydrofoil, to establish technical and performance characteristics, and to assess the capability of a hydrofoil in the Fishery Protection Squadron.^[3]

In 1980 B&I shipping lines opened a Jetfoil service from Dublin to Liverpool with the jetfoil Cú Na Mara (Hound of the Sea). The service was not a success and the service was discontinued at the end of the 1981 season.^[4]

In North America, the Boeing Jetfoil saw regularly scheduled service between Seattle, Washington and Victoria, British Columbia during the summer tourist season of 1980. Leased from Boeing, a single Jetfoil, the Flying Princess, was operated by the non-profit Flying Princess Transportation Corp., with the close co-operation and assistance of the B.C. Steamship Company.^[5][6] Regularly scheduled service ran from Seattle to Victoria to Vancouver from April to September, 1985, by Island Jetfoil. Boeing reclaimed the Island Jetfoil boat and sold it for service in Japan.^[7]

Fleet

Built by Boeing Marine Systems in Renton, Washington

Built under license by Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. in Kobe, Japan

Built under license by Shanghai Simno Marine Ltd. CSSC, China

See also

• Boeing hydrofoils
• Pegasus class hydrofoil

References

1. ↑ http://www.boeing.com/history/boeing/hydro.html Boeing history page
2. ↑ "www.classicfastferries.com/cff/pdf/cff_2004_2.pdf?bcsi_scan_A4C9E8056B19D97F=0&bcsi_scan_filename=cff_2004_2.pdf" (PDF). 
3. ↑ "TRIS Online: THE EVALUATION OF THE HYDROFOIL HMS SPEEDY". HMS SPEEDY was procured in 1979 to provide the Royal Navy with an opportunity to gain practical experience in the operation and support of a modern hydrofoil, to establish technical and performance characteristics, and to assess the capability of a hydrofoil in the UK 'Offshore Tapestry' role. The present paper describes the operational and technical evaluation of HMS SPEEDY undertaken in 1980-82, and outlines the results obtained. 
4. ↑ "A History of Roll on". 
5. ↑ HistoryLink.org Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History, "Princess Marguerite I, II, and III: Three Historic Vessels" (by Daryl C. McClary), http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=7478 Accessed December 11, 2006.
6. ↑ "Hansard — Thursday, July 3, 1980 — Afternoon Sitting". leg.bc.ca. 
7. ↑ Lane, Polly (October 22, 1997). "Hydrofoil Comeback Proposed". The Seattle Times. 

Bibliography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jetfoil.

• Kawasaki Jetfoil homepage