Boeing 367-80

Two things made Boeing think about making a jet airliner. The first reason was because of the Boeing B-47 Stratojet. The second reason was because of the world's first jet airliner, the de Havilland Comet.

In 1950 Boeing made some details on a jet airliner which they called the Model 473-60C.^[1] Airlines were not sure about jet planes^[2] because they successful with propeller planes like the Douglas DC-4, DC-6, Boeing Stratocruiser and Lockheed Constellation.

Boeing had sold a lot of planes to the military but they were not very successful with airlines. Douglas was the most successful airliner maker at the time. Boeing thought that the only way to get airlines to buy a jet plane was to show them one.^[3]

Boeing wanted its jets to have different model numbers from its propeller planes. The names of the propeller planes all started with 300. The numbers 400, 500 and 600 were used by missiles and other things, so Boeing made the model number of the jets 700. The first jet would be the 707.^[4]

The Dash 80 was 132 inches (3.35 m) wide. Boeing wanted to make the 707's fuselage 144 inches (3.66 m) wide. By the time the 707 was made, its fuselage was 148 inches (3.76 m) in diameter. The decision to change it did not make many delays, because the Dash 80 was mostly made by hand.^[5]

By early 1952 the Dash 80 was designed and Boeing's managers allowed it to be made. The Dash 80 was made at Boeing's Renton factory.^[6]

The Dash 80 was finished on May 15, 1954, which was 18 months after the making started.^[7]

Some problems were found with the engines and brakes. The brakes once completely failed when the plane landed, so it went over the runway.^[8]

People from Aircraft Industries Association (AIA) and International Air Transport Association (IATA) came to the 1955 Seafair and Gold Cup Hydroplane Races on August 6, 1955. The Dash 80 was supposed to make a simple flight above them, but the Boeing test pilot did two barrel rolls instead.^[9]

The next day, the pilot was told never to do it again. However, the pilot said it was completely safe.^{[10][N 1]}

A Boeing test pilot who made the first Boeing 777 flight on June 12, 1994 was told "No rolls."^[11]

After the first 707 was made in 1957, the Dash 80 was changed into a test planes for other things. It tested things for the new Boeing 727. To do this, another engine was put in at the back.^[2]

The Dash 80 was put in storage in 1969.^[12] On May 26, 1972 Boeing gave the Dash 8- to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.^[12] For 18 years the plane was in a "desert boneyard" in Arizona. Boeing took it back and restored it. The Dash 80's last flight was to Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C. on August 27, 2003. It was painted in its first ever colours and it was sent to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, which is near Dulles Airport in Chantilly, Virginia.^[13]

Data from Boeing Aircraft since 1916^[14]

General characteristics

• Crew: 3
• Length: 127 ft 10 in (39.97 m)
• Wingspan: 129 ft 8 in (39.88 m)
• Height: 38 ft (11.59 m)
• Wing area: 2,400 ft² (223 m²)
• Empty weight: 92,120 lb (41,870 kg)
• Loaded weight: 190,000 lb (86,360 kg)
• Powerplant: 4 × Pratt & Whitney JT3 turbojets, 10,000 lbf (44.5 kN) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 582 mph (506 knots, 937 km/h) at 25,000 ft (7,600 m)
• Cruise speed: 550 mph (478 knots, 886 km/h)
• Range: 3,530 mi (3,070 nmi, 5,683 km)
• Service ceiling: 43,000 ft (13,110 m)
• Rate of climb: 2,500 ft/min (12.7 m/s)

Aircraft related to this one

• Boeing 707
• Boeing 727
• Boeing 737

Similar aircraft

• Douglas DC-8

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

• Boeing 367-80 history on Boeing.com
• Boeing 707 family history (including 367-80) on Boeing.com