When was the boeing 707 launched

As he approached the lake-shore crowd at low altitude, Johnson gently pulled up on the controls and performed a graceful roll in the airplane. The crowd was in awe as the four-engine airliner completed the maneuver , something usually only seen in airshows performed by aerobatic pilots. Boeing president Bill Allen reprimanded Johnson, but the pilot pointed out the roll was a simple 1-g maneuver and the airplane was never pushed beyond its limits.

The pilot continued working for Boeing for many more years. The famous roll in the Dash 80 apparently helped the marketing effort of the new airplane. Pan American World Airways and American Airlines both placed orders for the new by the end of But Boeing had competition from its old rival Douglas Aircraft, which had introduced a similar-looking jet airliner, the DC The two manufacturers were locked in a battle to deliver the new jets.

The swept-wing airliner captured the imagination of the flying public. It would be nearly a year before the DC-8 would enter service.

Boeing won the race to enter service first and, along with Pan Am, became synonymous with the jet age. The original Dash 80 never flew with paying passengers. Instead the airplane continued to serve as a test aircraft into the s until it was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution. Only the countries of the Soviet bloc used Tupolev aircraft. The first successor, in , was the three-engine Boeing ; the four-engine , launched in , was perhaps the most innovative concept in modern aviation; and the new addition, the Dreamliner, launched in , was the first aircraft to be made of composites of carbon fiber, capable of flying more than 17 hours on routes.

On October 26, , the first scheduled flight of the , named Clipper America , was followed by a welcoming ceremony and a speech by Juan Trippe, president of Pan Am. On the tail of Boeing , an enormous blue globe was painted just for the flight. It was a symbol that meant Pan Am would offer travelers the world; a revolutionary logo crafted especially for the mid-century modern era that Pan Am was ushering in. That night in , as the passengers reached the air stairs leading to the jetliner at Idlewild Airport, a US Army band serenaded them.

Among the first transatlantic jet travelers was a genuine celebrity, the actress Greer Garson, who had won an Academy Award for her performance in Mrs. Miniver 16 years earlier. After enjoying such onboard luxuries as wines poured into stemware, hot meals served on china and set on linen-covered tables, the lucky passengers landed eight hrs and 41 min after they had left New York at Paris-Le Bourget Airport. The Boeing had a military pedigree, as the company was known then for its military aircraft manufactured during and after World War II.

On the B and B, Boeing already had extensive experience with this issue and had developed the yaw damper system on the B that would later be added to the Boeing The first flight of the first-production took place on December 20, , and FAA certification followed on September 18, The Boeing s were the dominant long-distance jetliners until the wide-bodies were launched, first the Boeing and then the McDonnell Douglas DC and the Lockheed L in The incremental changes that came about from the Boeing family culminated in a vastly superior aircraft, the Boeing Dreamliner.

The first of the type could seat about more individuals in a regular two-class business and economy configuration than the , with a maximum take-off weight almost twice as high and a maximum range almost twice as long. Two years later, in , the first prototype — dubbed the Dash 80 — rolled out from the factory. But Boeing still had to prove its credentials, with some airline executives saying no airline would buy a jet airliner from Boeing.

However, Boeing test pilot Tex Johnston had other ideas. Not content with one roll, Mr Johnston brought the Dash 80 around again and repeated the stunt — in case any of the airline executives thought they were seeing things.

The had a price tag double that of the piston engine aircraft it would replace but it would produce three times the revenue.

Aside from the glamour of the speed and the lower fares, the jet engine was far more reliable than the piston engines it replaced, giving travellers much greater confidence in air travel. The and the DC-8 blitzed the great ocean liners and even as early as , more travellers went by air across the North Atlantic than by ship.

The basic fuselage design gave birth to the , and The went on to be the most popular commercial jet in history, with over 14, sold. Log in to leave a comment. We use cookies to make our website easier for you to use. You can remove any cookies already stored on your computer, but these may prevent you from using parts of our website. Sign in. Log into your account. Password recovery. Friday, November 5, Newsletter About Contact.