Boeing 707 - New Haynes Manual

Considering that Haynes has already done "Owners' Workshop Manuals" (!) for the D.H. Comet, VC-10, Concorde and 747, it seemed only natural to do one on the Boeing 707, the plane that, more than any other, started the commercial airline revolution that today has seen most of the civilized world's residents having flown on jetliners, and doing so routinely and repeatedly.

Well, the book is finally here, and I think it is a good one. It naturally starts with a brief history of Boeing's earlier commercial aviation activities and covers the development of the 367-80, the first of the line. Its test program and the resulting changes to the definitive 707 are detailed, and all of the subsequent 707 variants are described individually, including the short-fuselage -138 for Qantas, the -227 for Braniff, and the 720. The various engines and the move to the "widebody" cabin interior are covered, and there is a brief roundup of the competing jetliners from around the world.

The "Anatomy" section covers the structure and all the various systems, relatively briefly but including an isometric cutaway and numerous drawings from the technical manuals. The "Airline Service" section gives a reasonable history from entry into service to eventual conversion to freighters and goes right to the end of scheduled service. The "707 in Uniform" concentrates on U.S. usage like the E-3, E-6, E-8, C-18 and VC-137 but also includes the C-135 variants (which originated from the same source) and worldwide military usage.

"Flying the 707" includes detailed photos of the instrument and flight engineer's panels and covers a typical flight in a -320B from preflight check to engine shutdown. The use of the simulator is covered and some of the more significant accidents to befall 707s are described. There is a section on maintenance and a list of Boeing customer codes for all airlines that ordered 707s or 720s from the manufacturer, followed by a reasonable four-page index.

I should point out that throughout the book are numerous sidebars on a gray background, some quite short and some adding up to several pages. Among the topics covered are: early flutter problems, the infamous barrel rolls, the later life of the Dash 80, the long life of several Qantas -138s (including John Travolta's), the Chinese Y-10 near-copy, water injection, sound suppressors, Middle East airlines at war, and the 720 controlled impact demonstration that didn't quite turn out as planned. So, as you can see, most nuances of the 707's story have been taken care of. I think this 188-page book belongs in every U.S. airliner enthusiast's library.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Bob, it would be interesting to see which of your contributions to the 707 design made it into the manual. I still credit the 707 with making me an aeronautical engineer, although it did that by simply flying noisily over my house on Long Island in 1959. (I was 6 years old at the time.)

You may also be interested in the new September issue of "Aviation History" magazine, which has a tribute article to the 747 written by Clive Irving. It features Joe Sutter prominently, but also mentions some other gents whose names you'll probably recognize: Rowland Brown, Ed Wells, W.T. Hamilton and Jack Waddell.

 

Well, Bob, you were still a valuable asset to the company, and at least you were an employee. Both times I worked there, I was a "visitor"; at least I think that's what my badge called me!

 

It's one of a long series. It may have started some 12 years ago as a joke, when Haynes decided to do an Owners' Workshop Manual for a "Spitfire", which probably had everyone thinking that it was for a Triumph, when in fact it was for a Supermarine! But it sold like hotcakes, and today there are several dozen such manuals for famous aircraft, tanks, ships, racing cars, spacecraft and even sci-fi!

Calling them "Owners' Worshop Manuals" is definitely an exaggeration, since you could not possibly maintain any of these vehicles with the details within; I'd prefer the term "Enthusiasts' Manual". But they are serious reference books for the subjects covered.

 

I hate to say it, but my first flight ever was in an Eastern DC-8-21 (a "DC-8B" in their literature) in the summer of 1960, from SJU to IDL and back.

We took an annual trip between P.R. and NYC and flew both Eastern and Pan Am, so my 1961 flight was probably on a Pan Am 707-121.

A spur-of-the-moment trip in November 1965, so my mom could see her dying brother in N.Y., was the most memorable, since we flew on Thanksgiving Day on Pan Am's Clipper Mayflower. How's that for coincidence?

 

A 707, brand new, cost $6 million in 1959. Today, that probably wouldn't even buy one engine!

 

On 777, a program had been developed called EPIC, which was effectively a digital mock-up, where multiple CATIA models could be loaded to view parts of the airplane with all structure and systems included. (EPIC stood for something like Electronic Pre-assembly Integration on CATIA.) Structure was colored green, if I recall, and each system had its own color, so you could distinguish between electrical, hydraulic, fuel, etc. There were also digital mechanics that could be added so you could see whether normal tasks could be accomplished without problem.

There was another program called Flythru which allowed one to take a "fantastic voyage" thru the aircraft as a fly might be able to do. I think these programs were developed in-house by Boeing but I'm not sure; Bob might be able to add to the story. These were once proprietary programs, but since we're talking technology which is now over 25 years old, I think that we can at least mention them.

 

That's a good one!