Boeing Model C

Bill Boeing standing on a Model C float

On March 3, 1919, William Boeing (right) and pilot Eddie Hubbard performed the first U.S. international airmail flight in this Boeing Model C, a modified World War I trainer they flew from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, to Seattle.

The Model C training seaplane was the first "all-Boeing" design and the company's first financial success.

A total of 56 C-type trainers were built. Fifty-five used twin pontoons. The Model C-1F had a single main pontoon and small auxiliary floats under each wing and was powered by a Curtiss OX-5 engine.

The Navy bought 53 of the Model C trainers and the Army bought two landplane versions with side-by-side seating. The final Model C was built for William Boeing and called the C-700 (the last Navy plane had been Navy serial number 699). Boeing and Eddie Hubbard flew the C-700 on the first international mail delivery from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, to Seattle on March 3, 1919.

First flight: Nov. 15, 1916
Model numbers: 2, 3, 5
Classification: Trainer
Span: 43 feet 10 inches
Length: 27 feet
Gross weight: 2,395 pounds
Top speed: 72.7 mph
Cruising speed: 65 mph
Range: 200 miles
Ceiling: 6,500 feet
Power: 100-horsepower Hall-Scott A-7A engine
Accommodation: 2 crew