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| Boeing
707-320 model airplane |
| In
the US, Boeing was the first to appreciate the potential of the gas turbine
engine to power a new generation of civil transport aircraft, and to take
positive action to design and construct such a machine. In August, 1952,
the company took the bold step of gambling some 16 million dollars to build
the prototype of a completely new turbojet-powered civil transport. Boeing
was sufficiently realistic to appreciate from the very beginning that its
large private-venture investment, even in 1952 dollars, was nowhere near
the amount that would be needed if large-scale production of a civil airliner
was to become a reality. Shrewdly, they developed the initial design to
serve as a high-speed military transport, or inflight-refueling tanker,
banking upon gaining a military contract which would underwrite the tooling
costs and provide finance for the development of a first-class civil airliner.
The prototype, known as the Dash-80, flew for the first time on July 15,
1954, and on October 5, 1954 Boeing's gamble paid off, they were awarded
an initial contract for 29 KC-135A tanker/transports (the military version
of the 707). Then, on October 13, 1955, Boeing received the first contract
for six civilian aircraft from Pan American, with the inaugural flight
on October 26, 1958, on Pan Am's New Your-London route. However, it was
not until the Model 707-320 intercontinental, that sustained scheduled
transatlantic flights began on October 10, 1959. When production of the
707 came to an end in 1990, a total of 999 aircraft had been built, in
several variations. The Boeing 707-320C had a maximum speed of 627 mph,
maximum cruising speed of 605 mph, service ceiling of 39.000 feet, and
a range with maximum fuel and 147 passengers of 5,755 miles. |
#G4110P3W
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#G4210P3W
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All airplane models are Hand Carved, Hand Painted
Mahogany and comes fully assembled with removable desk stand. |
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Dimensions: Wingspan, 17 1/2" -Length, 18
1/2" -Scale, 1/100
Item #G4110P3W (American Airlines) - $134.95
Item #G4210P3W (Pan Am) - $134.95
not shown - Item #G5610P3W (TWA) - $134.95
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