Once upon a time, a company based in Seattle bet their entire worth on a new aircraft project. To keep the secret of what they were doing from their competitors, they named it the Boeing 367-80. Anyone from the outside would think it was another variant of the military version of the Boeing Stratocruiser. How wrong they were!
This prototype spawned the Boeing 707 and from there many of the famous aircraft that shaped the jet age. The President of Boeing throughout this period was Bill Allen and his foresight and vision flipped the manufacturer from nothing in commercial aviation to the market leader. Quite a feat!
Boeing 367-80 Video
Following on from the last video about the Italian Savoia-Marchetti S.66 flying boat, this time we cross the Atlantic for a look at the Boeing 367-80. This presentation is from one of my favourite content creators on YouTube, Mustard.
Running for just a shade under 15 minutes, it covers everything you need to know about the aircraft. There is some excellent analysis of what went wrong with the British de Havilland Comet, the world’s first jet airliner, and how Boeing capitalised on the experiences there.
While the famous barrel roll in 1955 is covered in the first video, it’s not shown. The presentation above covers that in more detail, and runs for around four minutes. It’s also worth checking out, as it has some interesting people who were there speaking in it.
Overall Thoughts
The Boeing 367-80 really changed the aviation landscape as we know it. While it remained a one off, its contribution to aviation cannot be underestimated.
Happily the aircraft was restored to flying status and flown to where it lives today. I’ve been to visit it at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington Dulles airport. It’s well worth the visit.
What do you think of the videos on the Boeing 367-80? Had you seen the barrel roll before? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image by Boeing Dreamscape via Wikimedia Commons.
