Category: Airliners & Travel

727 Early Birds

The very first 727, N7001U, is born.
The only 727 then in existence is readied for flight.
The prototype on a test drive heading north past Washington’s Whidbey Island.
The 15th 727 built, N1970 of American Airlines, is seen at Boeing’s Renton plant in 1963.
Renton flightline.
N8106 of Eastern Airlines was the 17th 727 built. Later in its life, it was owned by one Donald J. Trump.

While perusing a shoebox of old negatives & positives, these 727 pics were discovered. All were taken in 1963 or (early) 1964.

Factory-Fresh 707s

G-ARWD of the short-lived Cunard Eagle Airways.
American Airlines 707-323B N8436 rolling out for an early test flight.
N760PA, the “Clipper Evening Star” awaits delivery to its owners at Pan Am.
Israel’s El AL Airlines was another 707 customer.
N7555A of American Airlines

Here is a batch of photos (of varying quality) from the early/mid 1960s that captured a mixed bag of 707s as they began what was for many, a long life of service with various airlines.

“Mystery Airfield” is actually…

Myst

Had a couple of good guesses at our mystery airfield, but…

It is Bellingham Airport, in Washington State.

And said airport has grown a bit over the years.

A couple of classics are parked on the ramp: A P-51 Mustang on the right, and, of course, a DC-3 on the left. The latter wears the livery of West Coast Airlines (who called their DC-3s the ScenicLiner).

West Coast Airlines is kind of/sort of still around today. It merged with Pacific Airlines +Bonanza Airlines to make Air West which became Hughes Airwest which was then taken over by Republic Airlines which was acquired by Northwest which became part of Delta. It’s that simple.

TWA Back in the Day

“StarStream” is a great name for an airliner. N750TW served with TWA for many years.
N778TW on the Boeing flightline at Renton. The first 727 lurks in the background.
N738TW in Feb. 1961. A company Connie in the foreground looks on with a decided lack of enthusiasm.

One of the many versions of the 707, namely the 707-131, is seen here. Once a familiar sight at airports around the globe, the 707-131 is, alas, no more. However, even in retirement it still had an important job to do: After faithfully serving TWA (and other airlines), the -131 became a useful source of parts for the USAF in the 1980s. Namely, the Air Force wanted the -131’s Pratt & Whitney TF-33 engines for the purpose of upgrading the KC-135A. Once re-engined, the “A” model became the KC-135E. Thus the retired 707-131s were given a lease on life to serve as suppliers of engines and parts.

For many years, the retired 707s were a familiar sight at the Davis-Monthan AFB boneyard as they were slowly picked to pieces for useful KC-135E parts (The E-model was retired in 2009). No doubt, more than a few boneyard visitors in the early 21st Century wondered why the USAF was storing a fleet of somewhat dilapidated civilian 707s.

Yoon-kers

Junkers W34 of Luft hansa.
G.24 of Ελληνική Εταιρία Εναερίων Συγκοινωνιών Α.Ε. (E.E.E.Σ.) – Or, Hellenic Air Transport Co.
F13 of Union Airways.
W33
Happy folks pose with their Junker in Seattle.
Luft Hansa G.31 at Croydon Airport. Note the exhaust stack running down the fuselage.

Back in the 1920s, Junkers was way ahead of the competition when it came to modern design and function (looking at the company’s F13, it’s hard to believe it is over a century old). In a time when aircraft manufacturers were still quite content to swaddle their products in heaps of fabric, Junkers was already wrapping their birds in metal. It is little wonder then that Junkers, in the 1920s and 30s, was a force to be reckoned with. 

1969: Boeing Gets a B-47

Still sporting its USAF markings, 51-7066 is seen soon after its arrival in 1969.
Joined by other Boeing products new and old: a Model 247, and a 747 (5th one built for TWA).

As the B-47 fleet was retired in the mid-1960s, it occurred to Boeing that despite having built over 2,000 Stratojets for everyone else, they didn’t have one to call their own. This issue was happily resolved when the USAF handed its last operational B-47 (by then converted to a WB-47) to Boeing in 1969. That bird, 51-7066, is, of course, still at Boeing Field today, where it is proudly parked in front of the Museum of Flight.

Vanished: The “Hawaii Clipper”

Martin M-130 Hawaii Clipper

Seen at Pearl Harbor’s Fleet Air Base in 1936-37, this Martin M-130 – better known as Pan Am’s “Hawaii Clipper” – is prepped for its next long hop over the Pacific. Sadly, in 1938, somewhere between Guam and Manila, this aircraft disappeared with all its crew and passengers, never to be seen again.

Conspiracy theories sprang up, ones that continue to this day. Chief among these rumors is that the plane was sabotaged by Japanese secret agents to prevent it from delivering millions of dollars for military aid to China. A more plausible scenario (but less spy thriller) is one where the plane flew into unavoidable severe weather and was destroyed (the last radio contact was interrupted due to weather-related static).

Japanese spies aside, the cause that led to the disappearance of the Hawaii Clipper will probably always remain a mystery.

From the “Looks are Deceiving” Dept.

Loening Model 23 of the New York – Newport Air Service.
Army Air Service S-1 (24-1) seen at Langley Field in the mid-20s.

The Loening Model 23/S-1 of the early 1920s is a testament that one cannot judge an aircraft solely by its appearance. Yes, the Model 23 looked somewhat ungainly in its design. Yes, it looked far more hydrodynamic than aerodynamic (This outward form would explain the origins of the Model 23’s official name:  “The Flying Yacht”). 

But, as they say in the Looks are Deceiving Dept…

In actuality, the awkward-appearing “Flying Yacht”, was an amazingly efficient airplane. First taking to the sky in 1921, Loening’s bird won multiple awards for its design – including the Collier Trophy. It also set world records for speed, distance, and altitude. To top it off, the Model 23 was one of the first monoplane-configured seaplanes to go into production. 

Loening’s “Flying Yacht” was quickly eclipsed by the rapid advances in 1920s aviation, but for a brief shining moment, it was unquestionably among the top seaplanes in the world. 

The 707 Mini

Seen in the brief period it served as a test plane, N-93134 was the prototype 138 “B” model.
Photos are dated June 8, 1961.

It is easy to look at photos of a 707 and say to oneself, “Look, it is a 707”. However, any aficionado of Boeing’s first jet airliner knows there are more than a dozen 707 variants, and one of those derivatives was the 707-138B.  Shorter by ten feet compared to the standard 707-120, the 138B was used exclusively by Qantas Empire Airways, which favored the abbreviated version due to its increased range.

The aircraft seen here, N-93134, is the first 138B built and was initially used for testing by Boeing. That project completed, in July of 1961, the bird was off to Australia as VH-EBH, “City of Darwin”. 

One of the interesting details in these photos is that even though Boeing was using the plane for testing, it already bears most of the red and white livery of its ultimate customer: Qantas. 

Boeing 314 #1

img057

It’s 1938, and Boeing’s new baby, the 314, makes its appearance in Seattle.
The first Model 314 sticks its tail over the Duwamish River. Note that the cockpit has yet to be completed.
Seen afloat on Seattle’s Elliot Bay, the first 314, now numbered NX18601, is ready to begin testing.
NX18601 was initially built with a single vertical stabilizer.
The single tail did not provide adequete directional control…
…and a fix was devised in the form of a double tail.
The short-lived double tail/no center stabilizer.
Even two tails were not doing the trick and thus the three-tailed 314 was born.
In the spotlight.

These photographs feature the first Model 314 produced by Boeing (later registered as NX18601). As with most prototypes, the first 314 model encountered some challenges during its development. One of the primary issues was related to lateral control. Although the aircraft was built with a standard single centerline vertical fin, early test flights revealed a need for more lateral control. To address this problem, a growing number of vertical stabilizers were installed on the aircraft. Initially, the solo center tail was removed and replaced with a pair of endplates. However, this dual arrangement proved insufficient, and a centerline fin was once again added to the aircraft, which proved to be effective in providing the necessary lateral stability. once again the 314 was provided with a centerline fin (Hey, good thing they didn’t throw that item away when they did the initial redesign of the tail)

Post-War Life for Catalinas

NC74680 was the sole money maker for the short lived Totem Air Service of Alaska. Stripped of most of its Totem livery, the bird awaits new owners at Boeing Field.
The flagship of Totem Air in its earlier days.
Resting after long years of service with the RCAF, 11075 was sold and eventually was converted to a fire bomber.
Air France was also in the post-war Catalina business.
This PBY served with the Army Air Forces as an OA-10A, then later flew for various owners in Canada. Seen here in the markings of its former owner, Pacific Western Airlines, the bird was later purchased for use as a fire bomber. Sadly, it crashed, but the wreckage is stored at the Pima Air Museum.
Another bird that started life as an OA-10A. Seen here while operating with Alaska Coastal-Ellis Airlines, the plane later served owners in the US and Canada, but it has survived and is now on display at McChord AFB.
Nicknamed “Temptress”, N788C is seen at Boeing Field in the 1960s.
“Temptress” is now at the Liberty Aviation Museum in Ohio.