On Oct. 28, 1957, the first of the new turbojet planes, the Boeing 707, rolled out. This plane, destined for Pan American Airlines, is scheduled to begin flight tests in Feb. 1958. Next in line is the first Lockheed Electra turboprop transport. Scheduled to come off the line in 1958 are the Douglas DC-8 and Convair 440 turbojets. The last two and the 707 will have top speeds of about 600 mph and will span the United States coast-to-coast in a little over four hours.
There was a marked slowdown in the number of new jet transports ordered during 1957, partly because the bulk of the orders had been placed the previous year. However, at the end of the year, the orders for new jets included: 44 Convair 440′s; 123 Douglas DC-8′s; 144 Lockheed Electras; and 151 Boeing 707′s.
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