Boeing 707 Douglas competition, Boeing soon realized this would not provide a viable payload, so it widened the fuselage to to allow five-abreast seating and use of the KC-135's tooling. Douglas Aircraft had launched its DC-8 with a fuselage width of . The airlines liked the extra space and six-abreast seating, so Boeing increased the 707's width again to compete, this time to . The first flight of the first-production 707-120 took place on December 20, 1957, and FAA certification followed on September 18, 1958. Both test pilots Joseph John "Tym" Tymczyszyn and James R. Gannett were awarded the first Iven C.
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