The De Havilland Comet was revolutionary, but it kept breaking up on at least three occasions. It seemed like if this kept happening, people would go back to piston engines. But then, a hero arose. That hero was the Boeing 707. And thanks to it, more and more people travelled by jet aircraft. The jet age had really begun. Today, the 707 no longer flies passenger flights. But it still has found other uses as a tanker in several air forces. May the legacy of the 707 as a passenger aircraft live on, in today’s modern Boeing jets, including the newest 787 and 777X.
P.S. That’s my next post!
The DH-106 was only troubled with fatigue in the first variant made, the Comet 1, while the Comet 2 solved that.
three numbers
737
Tu-104 only operational jet airliner for 2 years
Tu-124 second turbofan engine on an airliner, first Soviet turbofan aircraft
Avro Canada C.102 Jetliner second jet airliner ever to fly
Sud Caravelle first tail-mounted engine airliner, operated on every continent until 2005
There were multiple jet airliners between the Comet and the 707, and some later versions of the Comet were as reliable as the 707, but because of people's mistrust in the Comet the British turned to turboprops rather than jets
Just as the KC-135
Too bad it does not fly as a passenger plane anymore...
Fun fact: Saha Air retired their 707s in 2013!!