"Bridging the Gap" |
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| The Boeing Aircraft Company, maker of the B-17 Flying Fortress and B-29 Superfortress, emerged from WW II as the leading builder of large aircraft. At the 1950 British air show, DeHavilland flew its new jet airliner called "The Comet", and Boeing management knew then that the future of commercial aviation lay in jets. Production go-ahead for the Boeing 367-80 was announced on August 30, 1952, as a company-financed $16 million investment. The airplane rolled from the factory less than two years later, on May 14, 1954. |
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Original Painting 40" x 30" - Acrylic on Canvas |
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| After flight tests began in July 1954, Boeing began to modify the initial 367-80 designs in order for it to succeed as a commercial airliner. The Boeing 707-120 series of jetliners entered service and made commercial aviation history on October 26, 1958, when Pan American World Airways inaugurated transatlantic jet service between New York and Paris. Powered by four Pratt & Whitney JT3 engines, each able to produce 13,000 pounds of thrust, the "Clipper America" made the flight in eight hours and forty-one minutes; twice as fast as a propeller airplane. |
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| Boeing quickly developed the larger 707-320 intercontinental series with a bigger wing, more powerful engines, and a longer fuselage. With increased fuel capacity, the 707-320 had a range of over 4,000 miles, a cruising speed over 600 mph, and seating for 141 passengers. |
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| An offshoot of the 707 prototype is the United States Air Force KC-135 tanker cargo airplane, built for in-flight refueling of military fighters, bombers, and cargo aircraft. Boeing built 820 of these aircraft for Strategic Air Command (SAC) and Military Airlift Command (MAC). Another military application based upon the 707 design is the E-3 Airborne Warning or Control System or AWACS. When the 707 production line was closed at the end May 1991, Boeing had sold over 1,800 variants of the aircraft. |
