"Boeing-707" - a passenger aircraft: overview, description, characteristics, history of creation and cabin layout

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Today, Boeing Corporation is a trendsetter in the US aviation industry and one of the world's leading aircraft manufacturers. At one time, it was this company that invented the famous Boeing 707 aircraft, thanks to which international air travel gained wide popularity.

How did Boeing come about?

Boeing was founded in the early twentieth century by William Boeing. Initially, the company produced training aircraft and airliners for the delivery of mail. Also, this company was engaged in the creation of various military equipment: bombers, torpedo bombers, fighters.

In 1930, one of the first high-speed aircraft called Monomail was produced, which was used to deliver mail. Later, on its basis, the company's developers created the first passenger airliner, the Boeing 247. Since then, Boeing has become a leading manufacturer in the civil aircraft industry.

In 1954, the company produced the world's first jet passenger aircraft Boeing 707. The description, history of creation and characteristics of this aircraft will be discussed in detail below. Based on this liner, a line of passenger aircraft will subsequently be released, which includes the Boeing 737, Boeing 747, Boeing 757 and Boeing 767. These models have become leaders in the civil aircraft industry. The total number of cars produced has exceeded 6.5 thousand units.

The history of the creation of a flying machine

The history of the creation of the Boeing 707 from the very beginning was adventurous. The manufacturing company decided to invest more than 16 million dollars in its design and creation, because it was about developing a unique copy of a new generation passenger aircraft, which was supposed to have a turbojet engine. Due to the high degree of secrecy of this machine, she was given the code name "Model 367-80". Among Boeing employees, the project was known as Dash 80. And only the top management of the company knew that the future name of the new airliner was Boeing 707.

The Boeing 707 was introduced to the public on May 14, 1954. The new aircraft was created on the basis of two models of liners: the civil piston Model 377 and the military Model KC-97. In terms of its aerodynamic properties, the Boeing 707 model was close to the military jet aircraft B-47 Stratojet, created in 1950.

First experiment althe new passenger airliner flew on July 15, 1954, and already on October 13, 1955, the largest air carrier at that time, Pan American, signed a contract with Boeing for the production of six Boeing-707-120 aircraft, the description and characteristics of which are given below.

Description of Boeing-707-120 model

In the fifties of the twentieth century, passenger aircraft manufacturing began to develop rapidly. In this regard, Boeing acquired a serious competitor - McDonnell Douglas Corporation, which was developing the Douglas DC-8 jetliner. This fact influenced the design process of the Boeing 707 aircraft and made some adjustments. The end result of the development process was named "Boeing 707-120".

From the original model of the aircraft, it was distinguished by the dimensions of the section and the length of the fuselage. These parameters have become larger. Thanks to such technical solutions, the designers managed to increase the number of seats in one row and, accordingly, the number of passenger seats. Also, new engines were installed on the airliner, which made it possible to increase the flight range. Now this figure was 5 thousand kilometers.

Regular flights of this Boeing model began in August 1958.

Technical characteristics of "Boeing-707-120"

This aircraft is 44.07m long and 12.93m high. Empty weight is 55.58t.

The wing of an airliner is characterized by the following indicators:its span is 39.9 m, and its area is 226.3 m².

The cruising speed of this Boeing model is 1000 km/h. The maximum flight altitude reaches 11.9 km.

The Boeing 707-120 crew consists of three people.

The number of passenger seats is from 110 to 179, depending on the class.

Description of "Boeing-707-138"

The Boeing 707-138 passenger liner was built by special order of the Australian airline Qantas. The Boeing engineers were tasked with developing a special version of the 707-120 aircraft, which would have the ability to carry out ultra-long flights.

The end result of the work was the creation of a passenger liner with a shortened tail fuselage. Additionally, the payload was reduced, and another fuel tank was installed. This model of the Boeing 707 was produced in limited quantities - only 7 units.

Description of "Boeing-707-320"

At the end of 1955, the engineering staff of the Boeing company began work on the creation of a passenger aircraft that could perform intercontinental flights. The new airliner was named "Boeing-707-320". Its fuselage was enlarged, making the aircraft longer than the 707-120. The fuel tank of the liner has become more capacious. The wingspan has also increased. The car was equipped with engines of increased power. The new aircraft "Boeing-707-320" was the most popular amongliners of their class.

Technical characteristics of "Boeing-707-320"

The length of this airliner is 46.61 m, height - 12.93 m. Empty weight reaches 65.4 tons.

The wing of the aircraft is characterized by the following indicators: its span is 44.42 m, and the area is 283 m².

The cruising speed of this Boeing model is 920 km/h. The maximum flight altitude reaches 11.9 km.

The Boeing 707-320 crew consists of three people.

The number of passenger seats is from 147 to 189, depending on the class.

"Boeing 707": cabin layout, seats and passenger reviews

Let's look at what this liner is from the inside. The photo below shows a typical plan for the location of seats and auxiliary facilities for the Boeing-707 aircraft.

The layout of the cabin of this liner contains the following designations:

• B – buffet;
• C - wardrobe;
• G - kitchen;
• L - toilet;
• LC - hand luggage compartment;
• M - movie screen;
• S - warehouse.

The cockpit of the Boeing-707 aircraft is marked in gray in the picture.

The cabin of the liner contains 151 passenger seats, 16 of which are located in the first class (yellow and orange zone in the photo), and another 135 in the second (blue and green zone).

In the aircraft cabin map, non-smoking seats are marked in yellow and blue. These include rows one through two and five througheighteenth. Smoking areas are highlighted in orange and green. These are rows three through four and nineteen through twenty-eight.

Reviews from Boeing 707 passengers are positive, despite the fact that such a machine has long been discontinued. This airliner can successfully compete with many modern aircraft in terms of flight quality.

Other modifications of the Boeing 707

In addition to the passenger version of this aircraft, Boeing also produced other modifications for various purposes.

For example, on the basis of this model, the world's first refueling aircraft KS-135 was created, which was used by the air forces of various countries. This liner served for several decades in the specified units of the USA, France, Turkey and other states.

Another modification of the Boeing 707 was an early warning aircraft called the E-3 AWACS. This airliner was created specifically for the US Air Force and did the job of detecting enemy aircraft by scanning space in a tilt-and-return mode.

Also, on the basis of the Boeing-707, a special-purpose aircraft VC-137 was built, which was aircraft number 1 and was used to transport US presidents. Only two such liners saw the light. They are both currently in the US Air Force Museum.

On the basis of the Boeing-707, a number of military transport modifications of such an airliner were created. All these machines, despite the solidage, are now successfully coping with the tasks assigned to them.

Boeing 707 John Travolta

Famous actor John Travolta owns a Boeing 707. A photo of the happy pilot along with his airliner can be seen below.

Aircraft John Travolta fell in love at a young age. Even then, he liked to book tickets for his family members on his own. John's first flight brought him a lot of impressions. After that, Travolta lived for some time in the city of aviators, in which the main street was replaced by a runway.

In 2003, the actor built his own house in the form of an airport. Near the building there is a runway with a length of 700 meters. It was built for Travolta's personal jets. The actor's favorite is the Boeing 707, which is named after John's children: Jett Clipper Ella. Inside the aircraft there are three living rooms, several bedrooms, and an office. This aircraft became the property of the actor in 2002, and Travolta is not going to part with his Boeing, at least not in the near future.

The most mysterious Boeing 707 crash

Despite the fact that the aircraft model was very successful, accidents with its participation still happened. For the entire period of operation of such airliners, 194 aircraft of various modifications crashed. The most mysterious among all these tragic stories is the one that happened on September 2, 1983. It was then that the Boeing 707, owned by the companyKorean Air Lines from South Korea was shot down over the territory of the USSR by a SU-15 fighter piloted by a Soviet pilot.

According to the official version, the airliner violated the airspace of the USSR and flew over important secret military facilities. The Boeing crew refused to carry out the command to land the aircraft at the nearest airfield, as a result of which the liner was shot down and crashed in the southwestern part of Sakhalin Island. The accident killed all passengers and crew members. US politicians were also on board. This incident sparked an international scandal. To this day, the true reason for the death of the Boeing 707 on September 2, 1983 remains not fully understood.

The end of the Boeing 707 era

By the beginning of the 1970s, the airliner could no longer cope with the increased number of passengers by that time. The company's engineers could not further lengthen the fuselage for technical reasons. Modernization works have become economically unjustified. Indeed, to solve this problem, it would be necessary to create new engines, increase the distance between the aircraft landing gear and make other design changes. In addition, the Boeing 707 was physically outdated, too noisy and uneconomical in terms of fuel. It was not possible to improve the aircraft. So, it was necessary to invent a worthy replacement. This is how the new Boeing 747 airliner appeared, which could accommodate more passengers and fly longer distances.

By the mid-1970s, fewer and fewer companies showed a desire to purchase such a device. Air carriers in Europe and the United States have gradually begun to move away from using this model. The main states that still operated such an aircraft were the developing countries of Asia, Africa and South America. In 1978, serial production of the Boeing 707 was completed, and in 1983 its last scheduled flight to the United States took place.

By the end of the 1990s, such an aircraft was used in Africa and South America. Its main task was freight transportation. As of early 2010, there were 155 Boeing 707s in operation around the world. Mostly these were military modifications. Nowadays, the only air carrier that uses such a passenger aircraft is the Iranian company Saha Air.

Conclusion

Boeing 707 is a passenger plane with four jet engines. In 1954, this airliner was the first to make intercontinental flights. Such a Boeing model turned out to be the most successful among other aircraft modifications of that time. She quickly gained popularity. However, by the early 1970s, the Boeing 707 had become a victim of its own success. He no longer coped with the tasks assigned to him to transport a sufficient number of passengers over long distances. It was not economically viable to modernize this airliner, so new Boeing models came to replace it.