Boeing 707 lb (57.8 kN) with water injection. Maximum takeoff weight was 247,000 lb and first flight was on December 20, 1957. Major orders were the launch order for 20 707-121 aircraft by Pan Am and an American Airlines order for 30 707-123 aircraft. The first revenue flight was on October 26, 1958; 56 were built, plus seven short-bodied −138s; the last −120 was delivered to Western in May 1960. The 707-138 was a −120 with a fuselage 10 ft shorter than the others, with 5 ft (three frames) removed ahead and behind the wing, giving increased range. Maximum takeoff weight was
Boeing 707 707 would be profitable was far from certain. At the time, Boeing was making nearly all of its money from military contracts: Its last passenger transport, the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, had netted the company a $15 million loss before it was purchased by the Air Force as the KC-97 Stratofreighter. In a demonstration flight over Lake Washington outside Seattle, on August 7, 1955, test pilot Tex Johnston performed a barrel roll in the 367-80 prototype. The 132-inch (3.35 m) wide fuselage of the Dash 80 was large enough for four-abreast (two-plus-two) seating like the Stratocruiser. Answering customers' demands and under