The last 707 video?

Fans of the Boeing 707 (myself included, and I'm sure Bob Parks as well) will like this video:

 

Yes, I liked it, Jim. It was interesting to see the auxiliary inlet doors working on what was obviously a 'B" model with fan engines. I couldn't quite understand the feature of that square window being an observation point for a "refueler" on a tanker. Those "blow in doors" on the cowlings were necessary to feed air to the intakes due to the sharp radius on the cowling inlet that produced a stall at high airflow around the lip. Douglas didn't have the problem due to the generous radius on their cowling. The Boeing aero guys dictated a low drag configuration at cruise and that was it, period. So, the engine guys solved the problem with the aux inlet doors. Still a great and beautiful airplane.

 

I spent plenty of time as a kid back in the '60s flying Pan Am 707s (and on at least one occasion, a 720) between San Juan and New York, alternating with Eastern DC-8s. I never did get to fly on a four-engine propliner.

As I've told before, the most ironic experience was flying up to NYC in November 1965 so that my mom could say goodbye to her dying brother. On Thanksgiving Day, they put us on the Jet Clipper Mayflower!

 

Thanks for posting. First 707 flight was Vienna to New York in coach. 11 hours.

 

I think the Iranian 707 tanker distributed fuel using the probe-&-drogue system with the baskets retracting into pods under the outer wings, so the observer needed to be looking out the sides to monitor the operation.

I suspect that the air force got the aircraft with the interior already in it, which explains why it's the old-style interior with open overhead shelves and the service units mounted underneath them. Very quaint! I don't know what the Iranians did with the aircraft when they took it out of passenger service, but if they were smart, they would have kept it operational enough for use by movie studios.

 

The last time I was on a 707 was in Kenya around 1996. I can't remember where, exactly, we went-- Nairobi to somewhere. Maybe Nairobi - Harare?

 

Thanks re window. I learn something every day.

 

I only flew on a 707 on one round trip as a kid -- my first plane flight. Phoenix to Chicago.

 

Oslo, Norway to Idlewild for me in 1961 on PanAm. A real adventure back then. Noisy as all get out, but not compared to a C-118 (DC-6).

 

yes! Flew a DC-6 from San Diego to Dallas in 1952 and I had a seat over the center section. My legs were numb from the knees down. I will always remember the lounge area in the aft section where one could sit on a comfortable bench style seat that was arranged around the curvature of the pressure bulkhead with some along the side. When all her services were completed, a "stew" came back and played her ukulele for a while.

 

When I was a kid I did a lot of travelling with my parents (had been 3 times around the world by the age of 10), which is probably why I dislike travelling now....
We were based in Germany. In mid 1968 we went to Asia (Bangkok, Saigon June 1968 ) and then Hong Kong . In Hong Kong we boarded a Qantas flight to Sydney - and I was given a "Qantas Junior V Jet Log Book" by a stewardess to record my journey. Its a great memento of a bygone era.

The flight to Sydney way on VH-EBV, a 707-338 which is still operational now as an E-8C P-2
http://www.aussieairliners.org/b-707q/vh-ebv/vhebv.html

Another leg of the trip ( Nadi to Honolulu) was on Qantas VH-EAF another 707-338 which is also still flying as an E-8A J-STARS
http://www.aussieairliners.org/b-707q/vh-eaf/vheaf.html

On this trip we also flew N722 PA, a relatively early 707-321 that was scrapped in 1978.
In those days flying was an occaison and the flight crew really looked after their passengers.As a kid In the 1960's I was also fortunate enough to fly
on Tridents, Lockheed Electras, Viscounts, DC3, DC8, DC9, Convair 880, Caravelle, 727.

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Nice thing to have. The good old days when the stewardesses were young and pretty and nobody was treated like cattle.

 

I see 707-320Bs every day flying around Alaska.

 

Flew 707s many times as a Kid from South Africa to NYC or Heathrow, plus the Quantas one that went south Africa to mauritius to refuel and drop off passengers then on to sydney. The South Africa NYC flights landed in Sol island to refuel both ways. Went on a swiss convair once or twice too.
There were El Al 707s to israel, and I think once otr twice a 720 which was a narrow 707 from what I remember 2+3 seating. there was even one of those used for Domestic routes in South Africa.
The most interesting was the BOAC VC10, that took off in Johannesburg refueled in Seychelles and then Columbo or maybe the other way around and then on to Hong Kong. I think it was the first high bypass airliner? Went on an Ilushin 62 once which sort of looked like a VC10 but was a very different experince especialy the Russian landing technique which was drop the plane on to the ground and then full braking so the seatbacks folded forwards.

Later on the 747s could go NYC Jonhannesburg non stop but they couldnt take off in Johannesburg with full fuel (5700Ft) and enough passengers so still landed at sol island to refuel outbound. Forst they were 747 SPs which could really climb, even the 400 couldnt go nonstop from JHB.

More recently the latter A 340's could go nonstop either way, but takign off at 57000 ft with full load, it feels like you're on the runway forever. I think i flew United 767s same rout but to Atlanta also non stop.

There were lots of 707s in Johannesburg in the 90s but then the Illushyn freighters came in and took over that buisness. For whatever reason the DC8 still seems to do the tramp steamer thing in Africa along with some DC9s.. The 727 is still very much a favorite though and has taken over from the prior favorite the DC4, not least because it too can happily land on a hard sand surface.

About 4 years ago flew out of Botswna in a 707 200. Those turbojets dont seem to have to takeff acceleration as modern high bypass fans and intial climb is quite shallow compared to a 320.

I think long distance traveling was much more comfortable in 2019 than 1969 or 79.

 

With "US Air Force" on the side?

 

Nice logbook! If you had ever flown VH-EBM, that's the 707-138B that John Travolta owned for a number of years. Has it made it to Australia yet?

 

And a big skunk-flavor M&M on the roof!

 

VH-EBM is not listed in that logbook and our next trip to Australia was in late 1970 by which time Qantas had sold it. Travolta donated the plane to HARS however its unclear if the plane has actually made it to Australia yet - I can't see it listed as a museum exhibit.
https://hars.org.au/
https://hars.org.au/last-hotrods-vh-ebm/

 

I remember catching one of those Quantas 707s in Mauritius(early 70's) to flay back to South Africa. They landed to refuel first light and left at 6 am so you had to wake real early and get to the airport. For some reason my parents thought it was 6pm, so there was suddenly this mad dash at 3am to pack and leave the hotel.

Its still etched in my mind seeing the plane taxi back down the runway to the terminal after landing, big sunrise in the background. Woder if it was the same one I saw Travolta leave Gaberone in. Ill ask my mother if she has any plane pictures of those trips.

Hard to believe it was all so long ago. Besides the difference in range/refueling , from a passenger perspective trips are no quicker now.

 

Yup, Mach .85 and below are still the sweet spot for airliners, just like it was then. They sure use a lot less fuel now, though, and are much, much quieter.

 

Jetliners generally fly slower now than they did in 1960. Eastern's NYC-SJU flights were scheduled for 3:15; today a similar flight is scheduled for 4 hours! (Of course, schedules also allow more time for ground delays than they used to.)

 

To save fuel, which is a LOT more expensive than it was then.

 

Not only that, but in 1960, the airlines were still trying to impress the public with how much faster the jets were, so they flew them at what today would be considered "maximum cruise speed" instead of today's "economical cruise speed". Back then all we heard was "600 mph"; on recent flights where the speed and altitude were provided on the video screen, the average speed was usually closer to 500 mph, a bit faster with a tailwind, a bit slower with a headwind.

At the same time that Eastern was timing the 1960 DC-8 flight from Idlewild to San Juan at 3:15, all the other flights, using DC-6s, were taking 6:30, or exactly twice as long!

 

I flew a few times in a 707 and KC-135A/E. DC-8 numerous times. The odd ball flight was a Delta Convair 880.

 

Thought you guys might like this B720 story. This is a great facebook page by the way. Some incredible color images from the 1940's, 1950's and 1960's of airliners.

https://www.facebook.com/zoggavia/photos/a.968854876465156/3651347344882549/?type=3&theater

"Trip down memory lane - Delivered 12 January 1962 the brand new c/n 18248 D-ABOP Boeing 720-030B Lufthansa 'Bremen' arriving at Santiago de Chile airport in 1962, Zoggavia collection via Mel Lawrence.

The Boeing was lost in a training flight on 7 July 1964. The report of Aviation Safety Network: The Boeing 720B took off from Frankfurt International Airport (FRA), Germany at 09:33. The crew reported reaching 13.000 feet at 09:38. The IFR flight schedule was abandoned and the crew continued VFR to carry out some training manoeuvres between VOR Kitzingen and the Roethenbach beacon. A complete (barrel) roll was flown, but while attempting a second roll, the plane went out of control in the inverted position. The Boeing became overstressed, disintegrated and crashed in flames near Ansbach, between Petersdorf and Forst."


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