US aviation: the Boeing 707
. While built in America, the 707 was profoundly international in
operation, being the aircraft which brought long range and high speed
jet travel to virtually all of the parts of the world not part of the
communist bloc, from England, to France, to Australia, to India, etc,
etc.
What made the
707 a great plane was not an ingenious concept, although there was
plenty of great engineering involved. In the 1950's, when the 707 was
introduced, all of the large industrialized nations of the world could
see the potential of jet travel, and they put their best minds, and
their best spies to work to seize the future of air travel. An idea
which was purely creative in nature, ended up "shared" willingly or
no. What really made the 707 great was the priorities of Boeing.
Boeing had two priorities which it emphasized more than other competitors.
The first, was
the willingness to provide an aircraft which would fulfill the specific
desires of customer airlines or purchasing government agencies. This
commitment to customer service was so great that it became a sort of
gamble. Boeing had originally calculated that a jet airliner would cost
some $16 million dollars, which was approximately 20% of the net worth
of the company at the time. Customer airlines and governments kept
asking for changes however, and despite the vast expense, Boeing
complied. By the time the 707 was finished, its development had cost
$185 million dollars, which was more than the company was worth, and a
sum which left the firm deeply in debt; a gamble indeed.
The end result
of this gamble however, was an aircraft which could carry many more
people much further than all of the other jets available, the result of
every increasing requests for more range and capacity.
The second
priority was safety. The most notable design feature, unique at the
time, was to suspend each engine in its own pod beneath the
wings. Boeing did this so that damage to one engine would be less
likely to affect another, and so that fire would be less able to spread
from a damaged engine to the rest of the plane. Other aircraft firms
were aware of this possibility, but did not adopt this design at the
time because it would create additional drag in flight.
As it turned
out however, Boeing's focus on safety paid off, and not just in the
anticipated hazard reduction. Placing the engines in individual
suspended pods allowed the wings to be simpler, cheaper, and easier to
make, as well as lighter.
Moreover, the
engines in individual pods were easy to repair, and to replace with
better or more efficient jets, over time, which caused airlines to
prefer these jets over competing designs. Most jet aircraft have
similar designs today in imitation of this successful feature on the
Boeing 707.
A look at the priorities of Boeing's competitors quickly reveals the reason for Boeing's eventual triumph.
The British had the most ambitious competitor in the De Havilland Comet,
and they had prioritized sleek, low drag aerodynamic design, with the
engines embedded inside the wings themselves, comfort and view, with big
square windows, and high-tech design with an unusually thin skin bonded
with a novel glue, as well as conventional rivets. Not only this, but
the De Havilland Comet came out before the Boeing 707. So why did the
De Havilland not triumph? The most notable reason arrived with a
boom. The De Havillands started to crash, and kept on doing so, until
the British were forced to ground them all. Eventually it became clear
that the large luxurious square windows helped to start cracks and
splits developing in the unusually thin skin of the Comet. The Comets
were essentially popping like balloons in midair as the cracks and
splits grew.
Of course most
customers did not wish to purchase such an aircraft, and were reluctant
to buy the upgraded version even after the problem was supposed to be
fixed. British Airways could have been made to purchase the Comet
anyway, but it was impossible to ignore the advantages of longer range
and double the number of passengers, so in the end, even British Airways
bought more Boeing 707's than De Havilland Comets.
The French had prioritized good design and economy. Their Sud Aviation Caravelle
had podded engines much like the Boeing, although mounted near the
tail, rather than on the wings. In fact, the Caravelle was a success,
but because Boeing had continued to expand the 707's range and capacity
to suit the desires of its customers, despite the expense involved, the
Caravelle could not really compete directly with it.
The result of
all this is that the Boeing 707 ushered in the jet age, and had such a
major effect on people's lives that it is one of the few airplanes to be
widely mentioned specifically in song. Here are a few examples with
YouTube song links.
- Out on runway number nine, big seven oh seven set to roll. ("Early Morning Rain" written by Gordon Lightfoot and recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary, as well as covered by Elvis Presley, and Neil Young among others.
- But my heart keeps calling me backwards as I get on the seven oh seven. ("Jet Airliner" written by Paul Pena and recorded by The Steve Miller Band)
- It's the only way to fly, Boeing Boeing seven oh seven ("Boeing Boeing 707" written and recorded by Roger Miller)
- Seven oh seven mockingbirds they flying in the sky ("People Call Me Country" written and recorded by Digby Richards)
Pre-selection - TC November 2013
As usual, the preselection contains a mix of songs intended to be interesting, competitive, or representative, listed in alphabetical order.
THE CONTESTANTS
(1) - Alela Diane - "Hazel Street"
(2) - Dessa - "I'm Going Down"
(3) - Future Bible Heroes - "How Very Strange"
(4) - Mavis Staples - "Jesus Wept"
(5) - Megadeth - "A House Divided"
(6) - Mikky Ekko - "Kids" By Request
(7) - Miley Cyrus - "We Can't Stop" By Request
(8) - Mood Rings - "The Line"
(2) - Dessa - "I'm Going Down"
(3) - Future Bible Heroes - "How Very Strange"
(4) - Mavis Staples - "Jesus Wept"
(5) - Megadeth - "A House Divided"
(6) - Mikky Ekko - "Kids" By Request
(7) - Miley Cyrus - "We Can't Stop" By Request
(8) - Mood Rings - "The Line"
(9) - oOoOO - "Mouchette"
(10) - Pacific Air - "Move" By Request
(11) - Relient K - "Sweeter"
(12) - Ricky Martin - "Come With Me" By Request
(13) - Stone Gossard - "Moonlander"
The pre-selection songs on YouTube
(1) - Alela Diane - "Hazel Street"
(2) - Dessa - "I'm Going Down"
(3) - Future Bible Heroes - "How Very Strange"
(4) - Mavis Staples - "Jesus Wept"
(5) - Megadeth - "A House Divided"
(6) - Mikky Ekko - "Kids" By Request
(7) - Miley Cyrus - "We Can't Stop" By Request
(8) - Mood Rings - "The Line"
(9) - oOoOO - "Mouchette"
(10) - Pacific Air - "Move" By Request
(11) - Relient K - "Sweeter"
(12) - Ricky Martin - "Come With Me" By Request
(13) - Stone Gossard - "Moonlander"
The voting format is the same as in the Countdown International, 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and 0
points: the highest number of points for the song you like best, the
lowest number of points to the song you like least. Just send a message
or post a comment with your votes.
If you have enough free time, go ahead and write the reasons that you like and dislike particular songs, or parts of songs (but only if you want to).
Suggestions for future pre-selections are also very welcome.
