Douglas DC-8-11 N8008D takes of from Long Beach Airport, 10:10 a.m., 30 May 1958 with Arnold G. Heimerdinger commanding, co-pilot William M. Magruder and systems engineer Paul H. Patten. The heavy dark exhaust smoke is a result of water injection. (Los Angeles Public Library)
The aircraft climbed to 11,000 feet and conducted a series of maneuvers and systems checks. It was then flown over to Edwards Air Force Base where all the flight tests were carried out. The first flight was 2 hours, 10 minutes.
Douglas DC-8 - The Birth of a Jet from AeroSavvy on Vimeo.
"YOUR COLT OUGHT to be a champion. He's got the breeding", smiled my horseman friend, as we stood at Long Beach together remarking on the lines of the number one DC-8.
He had put his finger on the character of the giant jet transport-more than a quarter of a century of great ancestors behind it-the family of DCs that had done more to open up the world than any vehicle in history; the DC-3 that authored the era of piston transports, the DC-4 that first tied together "one world"; the pressurized DC-6s that lifted commerce above the weather; the DC-7s that first introduced true transoceanic range; and now this swept-wing miracle to mark another epoch of the air age. What a happy heritage it had.
A man has a right to be proud of a part in such a progression, I had thought to myself after my friend's remark. But think of the responsibility too. Millions and millions of people will be riding this plane all over the face of the earth for the next two decades. It will be modified and given new ratios of power from time to time, just as were its predecessors. That it be inherently "right" is partly my responsibility. It's a thought to make a man sober. So when the first DC-8 lifted off the runway at Long Beach, Calif., last May 30 on its maiden flight, I knew I was carrying the basket with the golden eggs- and with $250,000,000 invested in the program to follow. It was by far the greatest thrill of my life!" More here.
