Renton  1965-1967  -    Page 2 - 707
 		Bob Bogash
Bob Bogash

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In the well known story, Renton was the Birthplace of the first 707 - known as the Dash 80 - which rolled out in 1954.  In the years that followed many hundreds would leave that same factory as the 707 launched Boeing back into the airliner business, and launched the World into the Jet Age.


You can read the whole story in my 707 History piece, reprinted in about 15 magazines - like the Northwest Airlines pilot magazine shown here - click here to read it.

       

In 1959, at age 15, I used to hang out at the White Plains, NY airport (KHPN.)  Later, in 1964, I learned to fly there and soloed from that field.  Yep, the Blue Angeles came to HPN and yes, that's me - trusty camera in hand (1959).  They were flying Grumman F9F-7 Cougars.


707s were just being delivered to their first customers and it was an exciting day when, hanging out at the approach end of Runway 16, I caught this early (see the short fin) Pan Am 707 making practice ILS approaches.  Geez, not a bad pic, eh?  That was 65 years ago....



And here, in May 1959, when I saw my first jet (!!!) close up - an American 707 at Idlewild.  Another short fin.

Starting in 1965, camera in hand, I roamed the Renton Flight Lines capturing airplanes in dozens of liveries.  Once they left Seattle, seeing these airplanes would require a world of traveling.

In the early 1960s, before the 727 appeared, straight-pipe 720s (Eastern) and Turbofan 720Bs filled the Pre-flight line.  Eastern and United - for the sake of performance, noise and economics, should have switched to the "B" models - as did American, Northwest, TWA - but never did.  It was the 720B that brought airlines like Northwest into the Boeing fold, resulting in switches to the 707 from the DC-8. 720s were dogs; 720B's were rocket ships!







Really need to start this 707 Collection with the Kick-off Customer!


High speed taxi at Renton just prior to First Flight.
A guy like me runs around with N-Numbers rolling around in his head all the time.
A lifetime's worth of N-Numbers.
I'm pretty sure I worked on this airplane - N435PA - for several weeks and have the pictures to prove it - but can't lay my hands on them readily at present.
I was involved in the design and installation of the Fifth Pod engine carry kit and have pictures of the airplane doing Certification flying with the Fifth Pod installed.
Stand by.
On 17 Feb 1979, this Boeing 707 cargo plane sustained substantial damage in a mid-air collision with a Northrop F-5 fighter plane operated by the Republic of China Air Force.
The F-5 ripped off part of the Boeing's vertical stabilizer, causing the structure to lift, and the rear pressure bulkhead to fail. The freighter landed safely, but the F-5 crashed.


On 31 Jan 1972, my wife Dot and I flew on this aircraft from Montreal to Athens



Painting seemed to be an "ongoing" activity, so your could find "rare birds" of all types with partial paint jobs and missing Titles and Logos
Like this B-Cal 707 in 3 different stages of undress.






written off in landing accident Manaus, Brazil 26 Nov 1992

or this Seaboard World




Bob Woodling Photo










Destroyed in a hangar fire 7 Sep 1968









UAA became Egyptair



Some airlines had different titles on each side of their aircraft.
Like South African Airways.
Note the stacked-up engineless 727s










Never heard of MSA?
Before Malaysian Airlines and Singapore Airlines, there was a joint company called Malaysian-Singapore Airlines, that eventually split in two.




This airplane was destined for "Executive Jet Airline"


Photo taken in August 1967, Executive Jet was an early Leasing company.
The airplane was later leased to a number of operators over its lifetime, including TransAvia, Caledonian (later B. Cal), and Monarch.




First Flight was 1 Nov 1967.


OK - Story Time!
Sorry - I can't help myself.....
Ask an Old Man a Question, and he tells you a Story.

My life crossed paths with this airplane in 1968.
I was flying the Line with Seaboard (where I was the Boeing Rep) on a 707 Freighter from NY-JFK to Europe.  Our first stop was Prestwick, Scotland where I had planned to get off for the weekend.  But it was a crummy, rainy day.  I checked the weather at the next stop which was Amsterdam, and the weather there was sunny.  So I stayed on the airplane and got off in AMS instead.  Talk about a free-spirit traveler - had a 707, was young, single, and wandered around Europe on weekends as I saw fit.  It was 31 Aug 1968.

I took a bus (story all by itself - due to language problems, the driver drove the busload of passengers miles off his route to deliver me to my hotel - it was easier than directing me to the correct bus - the passengers all applauded when I got off) which was downtown next to the main post office.  The hotel was die Port van Cleve.

I checked in cold turkey with no reservation and went up to my room.  I remember the key was on a big 3 lb cast iron ball - to discourage you from walking off with it I guess (or walk around with it as well.)  The hotel was very strange with "half-floors" and short little room doors.  I entered my room and threw my overnite bag on the bed - when the phone rang - a strange (for me) clunky European phone on the wall.  I answered it figuring it was the front desk calling about something related to my check-in.

Instead it was a maintenance guy from Trans-Avia Holland Airline.  He told me they were having a problem with a 707 and could I come out to the airport (which I had just left at great complication) to help them fix the airplane.  Well, I could have dropped my false teeth.  There was nobody in the whole world that knew that I, Bob Bogash, was in Amsterdam or that I had just checked into this hotel.  Literally.  Only ME... and God....  knew where I was!!!  My arrival in AMS was just due to a quirk in the weather in Scotland.

Well, I went back out to the airport and spent the afternoon helping them fix their airplane (even though they were a second tier operator (at the time.)  Second Tiers didn't get as royal a treatment as direct buy customers.  But, I did get a nice picture of their airplane - which it turned out was the very same Executive Jet lease airplane I had been tracking in Renton (see photos above.)


 I asked how in the Hell could they have ever tracked me down -nobody knew I was in AMS.  They said when they had trouble with the airplane, they went over to Seaboard Maintenance to see if they could help them out and they said "Hey, a Boeing guy just arrived - maybe he can help you!"  And the hotel?  Seaboard had helped me place a call to the hotel and so suggested they give a try.

A Boeing Field Rep cannot hide.  Or get a day off.....

 




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