RA-73044: UTair Boeing B737-500

The Boeing 737 Classic are narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the original Boeing 737-100/-200. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in February 1984 and entered service in December of that year. The stretched 737-400 first flew in February 1988 and entered service later that year The shortest variant, the 737-500, first flew in June 1989 and entered service in 1990. The -500 series was the smallest dimensions of the 737 Classic series. The -500 was offered, due to customer demand, as a modern and direct replacement of the 737-200, incorporating the improvements of the 737 Classic series in a model that allowed longer routes with fewer passengers to be more economical than with the 737-300. Though smaller than the -300 and -400, the fuselage length of the -500 is 1 ft 7 in (48 cm) longer than the 737-200, accommodating up to 140 passengers. Both glass and older style mechanical cockpits arrangements were available. Using the CFM56-3 engine also gave a 25% increase in fuel efficiency over the older -200s P&W engines.[