The Beginning of the World's Most Popular Jet Family: The first flight of the Boeing 737-100 occurred April 9, 1967. With pilots Brian Wygle and Lew Wallick at the controls, the airplane took off from Boeing Field in Seattle and flew for 2-1/2 hours before landing at Paine Field in Everett, Washington. The 737 was designed as a logical short-range airplane to complement larger 707 and 727 jetliners. The 737 was certified by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration in December 1967 after more than 1,300 hours of flight testing by a six-airplane fleet. For the first time, certification included approval for automatic approaches in bad weather under Category II conditions-- defined as 100-foot ceilings and 1,200-foot forward visibility. The first 737-100 was delivered to Lufthansa December 28,1967, and began commercial revenue service on February 10, 1968. The last 737-100 model was produced in 1969 and delivered in November that same year. Interestingly, the last 737-100 delivered was actually the first 737 Boeing produced. The aircraft had been used by Boeing as a test airplane before being delivered to NASA on July 26, 1973, for use as a test and training aircraft by the space agency. All told, Boeing delivered 30 737-100s.