| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
| Contents | ||
The 707 was based on a prototype Boeing aircraft known as the Boeing 367-80. The "Dash 80," as it was called within Boeing, cost $16 million to develop and took less than two years from project launch in 1952 to rollout on May 14, 1954. The prototype was the basis for both to the KC-135, an air tanker used by the United States Air Force, and the 707. To enable the fitting of six-abreast seats, the 707's fuselage was widened by 6 inches compared to the original 367-80.
Pan Am was the first airline to operate the 707; the aircraft's first commercial flight was from New York to Paris on October 26, 1958Events January January 1 Treaty of Rome founding the EU is implemented January 4 Sputnik 1 falls to Earth from its orbit (launched on October 4 1957) January 8 14 year old Bobby Fischer wins the United States Chess Championship January 18 Armed Lumbee Nat. American AirlinesAmerican Airlines AA is the major airline in the United States. It is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, and operates scheduled flights throughout the United States, as well as flights to Latin America, Western Europe, and Japan. Since 1982, AA has been operated the first transcontinental 707 flight on January 25January 25 is the 25th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 340 days remaining (341 in leap years). Events 1327 Edward III becomes King of England. 1494 Alfonso II becomes King of Naples. 1533 Henry VIII of England marries his second wife, 1959Events January-February January 1 Cultivars of plants named after this date must be named in a modern language, not in Latin. January 1 Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when forces of Fidel Castro advance January 2 CBS Radio cuts four soap operas: Bac. Many other airlines followed, and the 707 quickly became the most popular jetliner of its time, edging out its main competitor, the Douglas DC-8The Douglas DC-8 is a four-engined jet airliner, manufactured between 1959 and 1972. Background At the time the world's first jet airliner was introduced, the de Havilland Comet in 1949, Douglas held a commanding position in the aircraft market. Although.As the 1960s drew to a close, the exponential growth in the popularity of air travel ironically led to the 707 being a victim of its own success. It had become obvious that the 707 was now too small to handle the passenger densities on the routes for which it was designed. Stretching the fuselage was not a viable option owning to the 707's limited ground clearance which made the installation of a larger undercarriage almost impossible. Boeing's answer to the problem was the first twin aisle airliner - the 747The Boeing 747 also popularly known as the jumbo jet is the second largest passenger airliner after Airbus A380. Until the first commercial flight of the A380 in 2006, however, it remains the largest aircraft in commercial service. The four-engine 747, pr. The 707's first-generation engine technology was also rapidly becoming obsolete in the areas of noise and fuel economy.
Production of the passenger 707 ended in 1978Events January January 1 The Copyright Act of 1976 takes effect, making sweeping changes to United States copyright law. January 1 Air India's Boeing 747 explodes near Bombay 213 dead. January 4 Referendum in Chile supports policies of Augusto Pinochet. (the 767The Boeing 767 is a commercial passenger airplane manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The Boeing 767, which was introduced in about the same time period as the 757, has a seat-to-aisle ratio in economy class of 3. 5 seats per aisle, making for qu acted as its partial replacement). In total, 1,010 707s were built for civil use. The military versions remained in production until 1991.
The "genes" of the 707 are still in many of Boeing's current products, most notably the 737, which still uses 707 fuselage sections. In fact, if the 707 were still in production it would have probably evolved into what is now the 737-900, which is arguably a modernized 707 with two high bypass ratio engines replacing the original four engines.