56 Years Ago Today

[Guest Crew Report]

Boeing's 367-80/Dash 80 made its first flight in Seattle.

http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2010/07/0715boeing-707-test-flight#ixzz0tlsZeQTI

Tex Johnston "selling airplanes."

Edited July 16, 2010 by Crew Report

[HuggyU2]

Ummm... your photo is upside down..

[08Dawg]

"You were in a 4G, INVERTED dive with a 707?"

[HiFlyer]

I was at the 1955 "Gold Cup" unlimited hydroplane race on Lake Washington in Seattle when Tex did two fly-bys over the course between races ( a couple of days after that picture was taken). He rolled it twice (two separate passes) in front of about 100,000+ spectators, including the CEO of Boeing (Bill Allen) and his guest, the CEO of PanAm. Allen almost had a heart attack; the PanAm CEO decided to buy the airplane on the spot! Tex was fired as Chief Test Pilot that night by a very upset Bill Allen, but hired back in a day or two as "Chief of Customer Flight Test Relations" or something like that after Allen calmed down. My dad worked at Boeing (on the 707 program) at the time and the whole company was in an uproar for a week or two before things settled down. I can still remember it; the whole place got deathly quiet for about 15 seconds the first time anticipating a horrific crash, but the second time the applause and yelling was incredible.

[Gravedigger]

I was at the 1955 "Gold Cup"...I can still remember it...

Holy shit, your avatar is fitting.

Edit: ...Sir

Edited July 17, 2010 by Gravedigger

[xaarman]

; the PanAm CEO decided to buy the airplane on the spot! Tex was fired as Chief Test Pilot that night by a very upset Bill Allen, but hired back in a day or two as "Chief of Customer Flight Test Relations" or something like that after Allen calmed down.

This is false, and the story has several variations. Here is Tex Johnson talking about the meeting with the boss and mentions nothing about being fired... in fact he goes on to say "it was fine":

edit: That seemed a little harsher than I meant it. I fly the 135 and think it's an amazing aircraft. The fact it was designed in the 50s and still flys today blows my mind... and the fact that ours has no foreseeable replacement in the future nor can be switched to UAVs means it's going to be around for another 20+ years at least. Insane.

Edited July 18, 2010 by xaarman

[BQZip01]

This is false, and the story has several variations. Here is Tex Johnson talking about the meeting with the boss and mentions nothing about being fired... in fact he goes on to say "it was fine":

edit: That seemed a little harsher than I meant it. I fly the 135 and think it's an amazing aircraft. The fact it was designed in the 50s and still flys today blows my mind... and the fact that ours has no foreseeable replacement in the future nor can be switched to UAVs means it's going to be around for another 20+ years at least. Insane.

The BUFF is from the same era & company and the YB-52 first flew 15 April 1952 (58+ years ago... :-P)

They sure don't make 'em like the used to...

[Dead Last]

The BUFF is from the same era & company and the YB-52 first flew 15 April 1952 (58+ years ago... :-P)

They sure don't make 'em like the used to...

The Herk is coming up on 56 as well, 23 Aug 54 if I'm not mistaken.

And you're right in saying they definitely don't make like they used to.

cheers

[Almansur]

The Herk is coming up on 56 as well, 23 Aug 54 if I'm not mistaken.

With one important distinction: in continuous production ever since!

[HiFlyer]

Holy shit, your avatar is fitting.

Edit: ...Sir

You think its a coincidence???

[HiFlyer]

This is false, and the story has several variations. Here is Tex Johnson talking about the meeting with the boss and mentions nothing about being fired... in fact he goes on to say "it was fine":

Not exactly false, just not the whole story. A lot went on between Saturday afternoon and Monday morning. Bill was livid on Saturday, believing that since every cent Boeing had was invested in the -80 program and its failure would probably have bankrupted Boeing, Tex's "stunt" performed without "management permission or advice" was seen as endangering the viability of the whole company; he felt personally "betrayed" according to one assistant my dad knew. You have to remember that Bill Allen was a very smart businessman, but not an aviation engineer or pilot. He initially viewed the maneuver as "acrobatics" (which it technically was by FAA definitions). He informed his assistants later that night that he was going to fire Tex on Monday when they all got back to the office, but they calmed him down a little and got him to put off any actions or decisions until he talked with Tex on Monday. When Tex explained everything Bill calmed down, probably helped by the very complementary comments of the Pan Am Chairman who later mentioned that the roll convinced him that the performance capabilities of the airplane were clearly more than a simple sales pitch. Tex kept flying but according to my dad was "moved out" of the Chief Test Pilot position not long afterward...although I can't confirm that part...I just took my dad's explanation as accurate.

Edited July 19, 2010 by HiFlyer

[HuggyU2]

I read that Allen refused to have that photo anywhere in his facilities, and until the day he died, the photo infuriated him.

[HiFlyer]

I read that Allen refused to have that photo anywhere in his facilities, and until the day he died, the photo infuriated him.

I'd heard that, too. It was part of the "betrayal" feeling, I suspect, and he didn't want it to be remembered or glorified. It was not his idea of how to sell aviation and he didn't want it repeated. He was a great CEO, but a bean-counter, at heart!

[Guest Crew Report]

With one important distinction: in continuous production ever since!

Other than the fact the J-Model is almost totally different than the legacy Herk. Sure.

[BQZip01]

With one important distinction: in continuous production ever since!

The C-47 is still in production too. And while I'm not sure that production has been continuous, the USAF still flies it...

Edited July 19, 2010 by BQZip01

[Spoo]

The C-47 is still in production too. And while I'm not sure that production has been continuous, the USAF still flies it...

It's a bit of a misnomer to say it's still "in production". The last one rolled off the production line in 1946, but there's more than 1000 still flying and companies like Basler Conversions refurbish and hang turboprops on them. BTW, more than 50 DC-3s are scheduled to fly into Oshkosh this year to celebrate the aircraft's 60th anniversary.