Boeing 707 center section tanks. Its first flight was on January 11, 1958; 69 turbojet 707-320s were delivered through January 1963, the first passengers being carried (by Pan Am) in August 1959. The 707-420 was identical to the −320, but fitted with Rolls-Royce Conway 508 (RCo.12) turbofans (or by-pass turbojets as Rolls-Royce called them) of 18,000 lb (79 kN) thrust each. The first announced customer was Lufthansa. BOAC's controversial order was announced six months later, but the British carrier got the first service-ready aircraft off the production line. The British Air Registration Board refused to give the aircraft a certificate of airworthiness,
Boeing 707 thus, when Pan American purchased the 747-100, it had the model number 747-121. In the 1980s, the USAF acquired around 250 used 707s to provide replacement turbofan engines for the KC-135E Stratotanker program. The 707 is no longer operated by major airlines. American actor John Travolta owned an ex-Qantas 707-138B, with the registration "N707JT." In May 2017, he donated the plane to the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society near Wollongong, Australia. The plane will be flown to Illawarra Regional Airport, where HARS is based, once repairs to ensure safe flying condition have been completed. Boeing As of September 2015, the 707