Neil Pomerleau

Neil Pomerleau

Software Engineer, Comedian, Musician

Design Plans for a Convenience Store Transporter

In the midst of designing and building a real aircraft for my final project at WPI, I decided to have some fun with this conceptual project for my Aircraft Design course. The Boeing 7117 (“Seven-Eleventy-Seven”) Caffeine-Liner is an amphibian aircraft capable of transporting a modified, full-size 7-Eleven convenience store within the fuselage for flights between land and water, so that customers can enjoy the familiarity and convenience of a 7-Eleven store on land, in the air, and at sea.

For the first time ever, off-shore customers will be able to enjoy such items as the Slurpee drink that can only be found at 7-Eleven, while frugal airborne customers will find great deals like freshly-brewed coffee for just $1 on Wednesdays. By taking the idea of a convenience store and putting it on an aircraft for the first time, the Boeing 7117 will take 7-Eleven to new heights, and beyond.

Here’s the project presentation…

Some tidbits from the report:

By bringing a 7-Eleven convenience store within the confines of a transport aircraft for the first time, the Boeing 7117 allows passengers and crew to get very high while consuming caffeine, up to a flight ceiling of approximately 40,000 ft.

The Boeing 7117 “Caffeine-Liner” is an ambitious aircraft that proves convenience is possible at any altitude, and gives a new meaning to mid-air refuel for customers.

…the high placement of the engines prevents the turbines from dipping into the water and accidentally becoming the second Slurpee machine on this aircraft.

One of the deficiencies of the design is that it is economically risky. While 7-Eleven has been enormously successful with their land-based stores, the demand for a convenience store in the sky is unknown. The store can serve many customers while at sea, but the design is only specifies that two customers can be in the store while it is in the air. This may prove inconvenient for two reasons. First, the customers who happened to be in the store when the aircraft takes off are forced to remain inside the store for the remainder of the flight, unable to enjoy the cigarette products that 7-Eleven has to offer. Second, there is no way for new customers to enter the store while it is in the air.

Check out the full report to see the actual calculations and engineering behind the design.

March 1, 2013 at 4:31 pm

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About Me

Hi, I'm Neil! I'm passionate about building delightful products at scale, creating music, and performing in theatre and comedy shows.

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