Boeing 367-80
The Boeing 367-80 is the original model of both the successful Boeing 707 passenger jets and the built in large numbers military transporter, the C -135 family.
History of development
In the early 1950s matured at Boeing plans for a passenger aircraft with the then new jet propulsion. To have to raise the estimated high development costs are not alone, tried to the manufacturer from the beginning to win the U.S. Air Force ( USAF) as a buyer.
Boeing called his draft Model 367-80. Based on its model 367, which stood as a C -97 at the U.S. Air Force as a tanker aircraft KC -97 in action Internally designated Boeing the project early as 707, used to the outside but still the name of 367-80. The USAF initially showed no interest, however, and so Boeing decided to build a prototype at its own risk. End of August 1952, the production of which ended with the rollout already on 14 May 1954. This usually only briefly Dash 80 (english dash: dash) called aircraft flew on 15 July of the same year for the first time. Until then, Boeing had invested 16 million U.S. dollars. Soon the machine received a fueling facility with a rigid boom, which was the Air Force demonstrated convincingly, so they ordered the first 29 copies of the KC- 135A as a combined Transport-/Tankflugzeug on August 3, 1954. Compared with the Dash 80, the military series models have been significantly modified and developed. So they got to call the Air Force toward a wider by 30 cm hull.
After a civil demonstration flight in August 1955, the major U.S. airlines were impressed by the performance of the model. PanAm made on 13 October 1955 beginning and ordered 20 machines based on the Dash 80 new type 707-120. To be able to bring in the cabin instead of 2 and 3 seats per row 3 and 3 seats, the fuselage had to be widened by 10 centimeters compared to the KC -135, however, again. The new civilian series received now officially model number 707 and was the first civilian aircraft from Boeing with the now-classic 7X7 designation. On 20 December 1957, the first flight of the 707-120 took place, the delivery to the airlines began in August 1958.
The military series was internally designated as Model 717, which is why the 707 no 717, but the Boeing 727 was followed. After Boeing and McDonnell Douglas merged in mid-1997, carries the McDonnell Douglas MD -95 since the beginning of 1998 the official term Boeing 717
The prototype Dash 80 with the registration N70700 served Boeing continue as test aircraft. It received the meantime, among other things, a fifth engine at the rear, in order to test this arrangement for the Boeing 727, it flew with up to three different engine types and experimented with other suspensions, sprays, flap systems and radar antennas. After about 3000 hours it was sent in 1972 to retire and the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian passed. The early 1990s restored Boeing the machine faithfully and on 27 August 2003 it flew for the last time. Since then she has exhibited at the Steven F. Udvar- Hazy Center near Washington Dulles International Airports.