Dash Eighty, 20 years of the 707

So it was during the years following World War II that Boeing gradually developed a technology that no other air­ craft manufacturer in the world would hone to such an ad­ vantage. While other manufacturers were still building piston engined airliners, flying boats, jet fighters and small civil air­ craft Boeing were designing and putting into operation hun­dreds of swept wing large multi-engined jets in the form of B47s and B52s.

The Boeing sales team then turned to the commercial market and began knocking on airline doors from New York to Johannesburg to sell their initial 600mph jet transport.

Qantas was one such airline. At the time, commercial jet transportation was a brand new field. Boeing had achieved only limited sales success with commercial aircraft sales in the post war period and it had no experience with Qantas as a customer or of Qantas’ peculiar operational problems.

However, they did have the most advanced technology albeit with a hitherto solely military application. The selection team knew also that Douglas specialised in airliners and ex­actly how to overcome the hundreds of small, but important, problems that develop when introducing a new aircraft on a passenger route. They also appreciated that Bristol had a good thing in its new Brittania and that Lockheed was con­stantly developing better Constallations.

However, the real choice would be between the British de Havilland Comet, the Douglas DCB and the Boeing 707.

Qantas had cooled off the Comet after the problems en­ countered with the earlier marks. The 4C, on paper, might be a good aircraft but it was not sufficiently proven to dispel the bad publicity relayed to the flying public by those early Comet disasters.

So it was between Douglas and Boeing.

By this time, 1956, Boeing had had two full years of prac­ tical experience with their Dash Eighty prototype. Boeing had also picked up the enormous contract to supply the USAF with over 800 KC135 aircraft over an eight year period. In other words, Boeing were not only currently building basic variants of the original 707 concept but the world’s foremost air force was actually flying them. Add the 1700 B47s already delivered to SAC and the first B52s then entering service and you find the reason Boeing won the Qantas order together with the orders of most of the world’s carriers.

Boeing had all the large jet, swept wing experience that you could muster while their competitors, principally Douglas, had just embarked upon that route and were run­ ning into hundreds of problems which Boeing engineers had discovered and solved a decade earlier through working on the B47.

This is why there are over 940 707/720 airliners operated by some 133 operators in almost every country in the world. Boeing had the necessary design experience which counted in an age when jet transportation signified a similar technological leap forward as the SST does today.

This is what gives me the feeling that ol’ Dash Eighty is one helluva aircraft. For Dash Eighty was ultimately responsi­ble for the evolution and development of over 4500 Boeing jet transports including the KC135, 7071720, 727, 737 and even the 747. No other aircraft in peacetime has “given birth to so many offspring. ”

The story of Dash Eighty did not end during the ’50s though, this particular aircraft went on to serve as a Boeing test bed for such advances as the flying boom, new power plants (which doubled original power), new avionics and systems, new boundary layer effect devices and various flying surface modifications which gave 367-80 a modification record unheard of in aviation history. Dash Eighty, the aircraft which carried the western world into the jet age, now proudly resides at the Smithsonian Air Museum in Washington, DC. The famous jet joins such historic craft as the Wright Brothers’ Flyer, Lindbergh’s “Spirit of St Louis”, the “Friendship 7” and Apollo II capsules as part of aviation history.

And so Boeing had won round one of the jetliner procurement stakes. Pan American had once again helped underwrite 1rnt1al development of the design through ad­ vance orders just as it had done with the Stratoliner Stratocruiser and was to do with the 747. On the other hand; Qantas was a real plum to pick. Our national carrier had always had the knack of picking the “right” airliner and her prestige worldwide was high due to the exacting operation and maintenance procedures undertaken by Qantas· safety precautions and policy unfortunately not always accepted by every airline. Even today the old axiom remains, “if Qantas do it that way then it must be right”. Obviously their service and safety record reflects the validity of this well deserved respect.

So Boeing had both Pan American and Qantas on their order books, the rest followed with a rush, particularly as the prototype DCB did not fly until May 1958 and the Vickers VC10 until 1962. In the meantime, somewhat sadly the much developed and vastly improveed Comet 4C had virtually faded into oblivion with less than six dozen aircraft sold as a total programme.

Consequently in September 1956 Qantas signed a con­tract with Boeing for seven short bodied 120 model 707s later known as 707-138 aircraft. Due to the complexities of the Qantas trunk routes, long range and medium payload the larger versions of the 707 would prove too large for Qantas use and so the airline, in 1956, laid down its requirement to Boeing m what their 120 model should be. Basically the Qan­tas inspired 707 was 10 foot shorter than the versions by Pan American, TWA, American and Continental. The Qantas air­ craft shared the same wing and Pratt & Whitney JT3C-6 tur­bo Jets as the longer 707. Though the figures in our aircraft comparison chart show the long range 707-320/420 to be most economic, the fact remained that in the late ’50s and early ’60s Qantas would not have anywhere near the passenger capacity to fill such an aircraft. Therefore it opted for a “short” design which in retrospect provided gestation for the very popular 720 version which shares almost exact specifications as the early Qantas jet.

In August, 1959 Qantas brought Australia into the jet age with the arrival in Sydney of the first 707. It was a national event to remember as that first big jet in our own airline’s livery roared into view and taxied up to a reception headed by many famous dignitaries including the Prime Minister.

By the end of the year Qantas was operating the new jet on all its overseas routes and in many countries it was the first airline to land a jet airliner. Early introduction of the 707 into Australia also gave Qantas a decided commercial edge through 1959 and 1960. So great was the public acceptance of the 707 that Qantas’ per annum growth increased four fold over previous years. The benefits achieved during this early period largely remain with the company today.

However, prior to the arrival of the first aircraft, Qantas had spent much time solving. a host of problems that were said to exist with the introduction of jet aircraft.

Firstly there was noise. Qantas was warned by all and sun­ dry (particularly everybody stiil selling prop driven aircraft!) that the noise of four jet engines would shatter windows in the terminal buildings, rupture unprotected eardrums within a quarter mile and cause an avalanche of community anger. The truth came when a group of anti-noise protesters camped next to Mascot Airport to measure the sound and fury of the big jet. As the aircraft approached not one protester noticed it and finally the group had to be told by a Sydney radio sta­ tion, who were covering the protest, that the jet had landed an hour ago. That ended the excessive noise bogey, though I must admit that perhaps the early JT3s weren’t the quietest of engines.

Then came heat. There were frightening stories of the heat from the engines being so intense that it would literally melt macadam and hurl it as molten tar into the air causing immeasurable damage to airport surroundings.

This bogey was overcome by Qantas, who to be on the safe side, towed the fully laden 707 out to the runway end by tractor, lighting engines and taking off posthaste. This fact ac­ counts for Qantas having the most powerful tractors in aviation service at the time. Like noise, the heat bogey was ex­ ploded and in operation the jet generally created less rear turbulence than a large propellor aircraft when taxiing away from airport terminals.

Next came the jet wake. A large jet weighing over 100 tons and travelling at over 160mph would literally roll cars off nearby roads with its enormous jet wake. This scenario could virtually be taken to the extremes of imaginations by com munity protest groups and often was. So horrific was their profecy of doom that DCA had a set of traffic lights installed well clear of the new tunnel on General Holmes Drive at Mascot. When a jet was about to commence its long roll the traffic would be halted to avert disaster! Only after several months of jet operations was the folly of this emotive action realised by those in the ivory towers of bureaucracy and the lights were quietly deactivated.

Then there was fuel consumption. Indeed the early jet engine did use a lot of fuel, but the 707 did basically carry twice as many passengers as a Connie at nearly double the cruise speed. In short it could move almost four times as many people over a period in comparison to propellor driven com­petitors.

The overall reliability of the turbine also meant fewer frustrating and costly delays en route, something the big, often overtaxed piston engined airliners were plagued with. In operation the new jets used less fuel than anticipated and their prolonged ground running did not eventuate as the major problem that it was at first thought.

So there were the myths of the period – noise, heat, ex­cessively high fuel consumption, high procurement cost, etc, etc. Sound a little like the Concorde doesn’t it?

Handling the new jets was a lot different to the old Con­ nies, and this was something that the very experienced Qan­tas flight crews had to come to grips with. With the Connie you could sit it at the end of the runway, rev the engines till she shook, let go the brakes and acceleration would be im­ mediate and strong, V2 would soon approach and you would lift off and climb away very slowly to a few hundred feet before labouring onto a steady climb rate.

On the other hand, without the brute torque of four large propellors the jet captain lined up at the extreme end of the runway, accelerated his engines, released the brakes to lethargically roll away while speed increased slowly. Even a two mile strip of asphalt would seem insignificant under the nose of those early jet transports. After what seemed an eter­nity the co-pilot would gladly call “rotate”, the captain would haul back on the column, the long nose would lift and again she would seem to just sit there till sufficient airspeed and in­cidence had been generated over the swept back wings to br­ ing the sleek jet into the air. Then the difference would really become apparent as the jet would literally thunder skywards not dropping a knot and climbing away many times faster than a Connie could ever hope to.

Flying the jets was a boon for flight crew and passengers alike. By being able to fly well above the weather, something that the propellor aircraft could never do, the flight would usually be very smooth. And who can argue that flying at 550mph is not better than 300mph; the Qantas and Boeing marketing men were ecstatic with their new toy.

By 1960 the Qantas Super Constallations were on the way out and by the early ’60s the entire fleet of 16 had been retired. And so it was all over the world as airlines from Africa to Asia rapidly, and at great initial expense re-equipped with the new jets. By 1963 the battle was largely between Boeing and Douglas with the former selling two 707s for every DCB produced in that period. Others had tried and failed. Convair had met with dismal support for the CV880 and Coronado projects with only a few dozen ever being sold. de Havilland had all but buried their Comet program while Vickers were making a very late run with their T tailed VC10. However, Boeing had been first with the best and from that day back at Renton in July, 1954 when ol’ Dash Eight took to the skies for the first time the company would experience an overwhelm­ ing dominance in commercial aircraft sales which continues to this very day.

The 707, and for that matter all her jet understudies, was an expensive aircraft to acquire initially. Qantas paid in the region of $6m for a 707 back in 1960, while only 10 years earlier the price tag on a Connie had been around $750,000. While ven as late as 1956 the best Stratocruiser, Constellation or Douglas DC7C would cost less than a third of a 707 or DCB.

This was a big step for the airlines which had already committed themselves heavily on the later model prop air­ craft. Everybody wanted the speed, capacity, glamour and reliability of jets but each carrier would have preferred to continue operating the more established airliners for a few years longer. As it turned out the jet was able to introduce operating efficiencies that even the early Boeing salesmen did not dream of.

Overall, a 707 was an honest 20 per cent cheaper to main­ tain than a Constellation, Douglas DC6/7 or a Stratocruiser. The engines introduced a level of reliability that could not have even been imagined 10 years earlier. The airframes of the new jets, particularly the 707, had been so engineered that there was not the usual fatigue problem experienced with many of the piston engined growth versions which were powered by ever more powerful and overtaxed engines to increase payload and speed against a competitor.

Another boom was the utilisation on a seat mile basis, which was fantastic. A fewer number of jets were envisaged to replace the existing props but what happened in reality was that more people began to fly, the cost to the average person became affordable and an entire travelling revolution was born throughout the world. The jet age had arrived.

The first Qantas 707 aircraft were powered by the P&W JT3C-6, a turbojet which also employed water injection on take off to increase maximum thrust to 13,000lb. It was the water injection which created the thick black smoke which was so visibly emitted from those early jets and which still is from the turbojet powered KC135 aircraft of the USAF.

Technical development rarely stands still and by early 1959 the American engine manufacturers were actively developing engines incorporating the by-pass or fan princi­ ple. Pratt & Whitney were basing their development of a fan engine on a modification of the famous and well tried J57 type engine which powered early 707, KC135, B52 and F100 aircraft representing a mountain of technical expertise.

As a result of this Boeing was able to offer for sale fan­ engined versions of the 120 model 707. The installation or conversion of these aircraft from turbojet to turbofan was then designated a B series aircraft.

A careful examination of the 707-138 specifications show­ ed that though the basic aeroplane had proved good, the B model would be better. It would show vastly improved take­ off performance and therefore be capable of operating into airports otherwise unsuitable. Its cruise speed would increase to match or more than match the faster jet aircraft then available and its improved fuel economy would give substan­ tial reduction in operating costs and considerably increase range.

It was abundantly clear from these studies that any future purchases of the 707 by Qantas must be of the B model 138 long-range series aircraft. Accordingly, in the early part of 1960 Qantas contracted with Boeing to obtain four 707-1388 aircraft and to convert its existing fleet to the 138B configura­tion.

In all, Qantas ordered a total of 36 Boeing 707s, 13 were 138B, 21 were the later 338C, while two 338C aircraft were on lease. However, the fleet at July, 1978 comprised only three 707 aircraft with the final aeroplane scheduled to be phased out in 1980. It is an interesting coincidence that in September, 1978 Qantas will take delivery of its 16th 747B and this par­ticular aircraft will be the 50th Boeing jet to be delivered to our national carrier. By 1980 Qantas will operate solely 747B aircraft and will have a fleet of 20 units, the largest projected fleet worldwide of the popular B model.

Even today the 707 has a lot of miles left in her and is still being produced at the rate of one aircraft per month. At August, 1977 four of the jets had logged in excess of 60,000 hours (no, that is not a misprint!) while an additional 84 air­ craft had exceeded 50,000 flight hours. Not many aircraft can claim that type of longevity.

One of the most interesting, and controversial, 707 developments is the $110m per unit E3A AWACS aircraft. The E3A will provide the area commander with the tools to manage his airspace whether it be in Europe, over the Atlantic or in the Pacific. Due to its design from the basic 707 airframe the E3A will be both readily deployable anywhere in the world at short notice and able to demonstrate unparalleled range and endurance in the early warning and control environment.

The E3A aircraft is a modified 707-320B commercial air­ frame. Besides the addition of a large, rotating radome to house its radar, IFF and data link fighter-control antennas, the aircraft has been modified by replacing its four standard engines with more powerful 21,00016 TF33 turbofans.

In tactical exercises and thousands of training and evalua­tion engagements, the E3A has demonstrated its enormous value in vectoring both air and sea forces for maximum effectiveness, particularly in the role of identifying low level aircraft that might more easily penetrate ground based radar. USAF requirement is for a total of 34 units while Iran and NATO could be involved in future acquisition of the most ex­ pensive Boeing ever built.

Yet another variant under test at present is a CFM56 powered 707-320. Use of the 22,00016 thrust engine on the 707 would provide better takeoff performance, extended range, improved fuel consumption and would lower takeoff noise by as much as 15 decibels. Plans call for supply of the engines, reverser and fan ducts by CFM of France. Engine ground testing will be undertaken by GE while assembly of nacelle and strut will be completed at Boeing’s Wichita plant. Boeing will provide the test airframe and it is projected that the air­craft will commence flight development by year end 1979. By mid 1980 the entire program will be completed and a decision will then be taken on future use of this new mating.

Boeing is also studying the possibility of increasing the 707 fuselage length by about 17 feet, to provide a passenger capacity of 180 to 185 in mixed class configuration. Other studies include a Boeing-developed “quiet nacelle” added to the present JT3 engines, and fitting a “refanned” JTBD-209 – power plant – an advanced version of the unit which powers both 727 and 737 airliners – to the 707.

The dream that Pan American turned into reality back in August, 1958 with the first 707 passenger flight looks like con­tinuing for a long time to come. Two decades later more than 570 million passengers have travelled over 15 billion miles with 133 operators from Peking to Madagascar on the 707. I would even venture to suggest that in the year 2000 there would still be several hundred refurbished 707s plying the sky ways.

To the mother of them all, ol’ Dash Eighty, I salute you.