The Jet Age
The restored jet arrives back to East Fortune after a major
refit
The restored front fuselage of the Boeing 707 has just returned
to the National Museum of Flight after being repainted in its
original 1960s colour scheme.
The front fuselage of the passenger jet airliner, which dates
from 1960, will go on display to the public this Easter.
Boeing 707 exhibition
Accompanying the 707, G-APFJ, also known as Foxtrot
Juliet will be an exhibition explaining the aircraft's role in
ushering in the age of commercial passenger travel and in the
creation of the original jet-set of the 1960s.
Former crew members have been traced around the world to relive
how their lives were transformed by the introduction of the early
jet aircraft and the growth in transatlantic flights in the
1960s.
Other new features in the exhibition will be an original cockpit
of a Hawker Siddley Trident, a short-haul aircraft that served the
London-Edinburgh shuttle route.
The 707 will go on full public display on 1 April 2010 and
will be positioned beside the Museum's Concorde.
Why is the Boeing 707 so important?
Alastair Dodds, principal curator at National Museums Scotland
said " This Boeing 707 fuselage is the only surviving one in
the UK and it is an important representative of the first
generation of jet airliners to make non-stop transatlantic flights
in the late 1950s. It was the birth of modern air
travel.
The early flights however were hugely expensive and their
exclusivity to pop celebrities like The Beatles, Sandie Shaw, and
Twiggy and sports stars like Jackie
Stewart actually coined the expression of the "jet set"for a
whole generation".
Efficient transatlantic travel
The Boeing 707 could fly faster than any other passenger jet at
the time. As a result, fewer stops were needed to refuel. This made
it possible to fly from New York to London in only 6½ hours!
The design of the 707 was very different to the first jet
airliner and its engines hung underneath the wings. This made
them easier to maintain and consequently more profitable for
airlines. As a result, the layout of the 707, with its
under-wing engines and distinctive sloping tail fin became the
pattern for most passenger jet aircraft designs that followed.