Boeing Model 1 "B&W"
Model Airplane News Cover Art for March, 1965
by Jo Kotula
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This was the very first of the long line of Boeing aircraft, the Model 1 was known also as the B & W. Its design was the result of a collaboration between William E. Boeing and a friend, Cdr G.C. Westervelt of the US Navy; "B & W" represents their initials. The first B & W, completed in June 1916, was made of wood, linen and wire, extensively strutted and braced. the Model 1 was an unequal-span biplane, with ailerons on the upper wings only. The fuselage, mounted directly on the lower wing, had two open cockpits in tandem, and carried at the rear a tail unit that was a typical braced structure of its period. Power was provided by a Hall-Scott engine mounted in the nose of the fuselage to drive a tractor propeller. Floatplane landing gear included two single-step floats, strut-mounted and braced beneath the fuselage, plus a small float under the tail to prevent disaster in a tail-down landing.

  

Photos of the Boeing Model 1 "B&W"
Flotation Gear Patent No.1,295,203
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The first of two Model 1s was flown initially in 1916, by which time Cdr Westervelt had been posted to the other side of the American continent. William Boeing decided, established a company to build these aircraft, first called Pacific Aero Products Company and then the Boeing Airplane Company. The two B & Ws were offered to the U.S. Navy. When the Navy did not buy them, they were sold to the New Zealand Flying School and became the company's first international sale. The B & Ws later were used for New Zealand express and airmail deliveries, set a New Zealand altitude record of 6,500 feet on June 25, 1919, and made that country's first official airmail flight on Dec. 16, 1919.

The Boeing Model 1 "B&W" may be seen in the first seconds of this video history of the Boeing Corporation:

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