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Boeing 367-80 "Dash 80"
U.S. civil aviation entered the jet age on July 15, 1954, when the Boeing 367-80, or "Dash 80," first took flight. Designed for the U.S. Air Force as a jet tanker-transport, this airplane was the prototype for America's first commercial jet airliner, the Boeing 707.
Boeing began designing the Dash 80 without a contract in 1952. In 1954, the Air Force purchased the first of 820 KC-135s tankers, as the modified version was designated. At the request of Pan American, Boeing widened the fuselage to accommodate six-across seating for airline use. This larger aircraft became the Boeing 707, of which 855 were built between 1957 and 1992. The Dash 80 tested many new technologies, including new engines and engine nacelles, different wing shapes, and a variety of flaps and control surfaces, before it was donated to the Smithsonian in 1972. Boeing restored it in 1995. |