United Airlines Boeing 727-100 Peanut One

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The Boeing 727 is a narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavier 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flights from smaller airports. On December 5, 1960, the 727 was launched with 40 orders each from United Airlines and Eastern Air Lines. The first 727-100 rolled out on November 27, 1962, first flew on February 9, 1963, and first entered service with Eastern on February 1, 1964.

The only trijet aircraft to be produced by Boeing, the 727 is powered by Pratt & Whitney JT8D low-bypass turbofans below a T-tail, one on each side of the rear fuselage and a center one fed through an S-duct. The Boeing 727 design was a compromise among United Airlines, American Airlines, and Eastern Air Lines for each of the three had developed requirements for a jet airliner to serve smaller cities with shorter runways and fewer passengers. United Airlines had requested a four-engine aircraft for its flights to high-altitude airports, especially its hub at Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado.

For over a decade, more 727s were built per year than any other jet airliner and in 1984 the production of the 727 ended with 1,832 built and 1,831 delivered. This was the highest total for any jet airliner until the 737 surpassed it in the early 1990s.

United Airlines was formed by the amalgamation of several airlines in the late 1920s, the oldest of these being Varney Air Lines which was created in 1926 by Walter Varney and who later co-founded the predecessor to Continental Airlines. In 1997, United became one of the five founding airlines of Star Alliance, of which it remains a member today. Since its merger with Continental in 2010, United consistently ranks as one of the world’s largest airlines and is currently first by the number of destinations served and third in terms of revenue and fleet size.
In 1973, United Airlines became the first civil airline to carry an active President of the United States, when then-president Richard Nixon was on board of a regularly scheduled flight from Washington D.C to Los Angeles. The aircraft used, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10, therefore received the call sign “Executive One”. In 1976, United Airlines provided the 727-100 for the Governor of Georgia Jimmy Carter’s presidential campaign.

James Earl “Jimmy” Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981. Carter, a Democrat from rural Georgia, devotional Baptist, was a peanut farmer. He served seven years’ service as a naval officer and two terms as a Georgia State Senator, from 1963 to 1967, and one as the Governor of Georgia, from 1971 to 1975. He was elected President in 1976, defeating President Gerald Ford in a relatively close election and served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981.
The United Airlines Boeing 727-100 N-7635U used by Carter for his campaign was dubbed “Peanut One” and ironically the pilot of the aircraft was Captain James K. ‘Jimmy’ Carter. Captain Carter spent 36 years with United Airlines starting in 1956 and throughout 1976 he flew President Jimmy Carter on his campaign charters. The727 “Peanut One” transported a standard flight crew, security personnel, key staff members and representatives of major newspapers and wire services.

Jimmy Carter’s campaign made a stop in Albuquerque New Mexico in 1976 for a speech at the downtown Civic Plaza.

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