Larry J said:

>The 747 was the losing design for the jumbo transport, while
>the C-5 was the winner. That was a paper design study. After
>losing the military contract, Boeing had to invest a lot of money
>to build the 747. The money Boeing got to help design their
>transport entry was minimal compared to the cost of developing
>the 747.

It's my understanding that part of that "paper study" was a series of wind tunnel tests conducted at NASA Langley. Those wind tunnel tests revealed that the B-747/C-5 prototype had exceptional aerodynamic qualities. That discovery along with the partial financing provided by Pan American is what convinced Boeing to complete development of the B-747.

Larry J was right when he said that Boeing had to "bet their company" when they developed aircraft like the B-747. Boeing did this multiple times with different air frames and won. When presented with the B-2707 SST, Boeing didn't like the odds and refused to take the bet unless Uncle Sam insured their risk. Uncle Sam declined and that ended America's SST effort.

Gary