Boeing 367-80: The Aerobatic Maneuver That Launches a Titan

The early 1950s is an exciting time in the airline business, and - more specifically - the airliner business.

Airliner manufacturers are developing new planes that fly faster, farther, and with more passengers and cargo, but from England a new airliner sound is being heard - the high, shrill scream of jet engines.

Most airlines are reluctant to embrace the new jet technology, both because it’s unlike the proven airliners they’re currently flying, but also because they’ve spent enormous sums of money buying those older planes, and are years away from paying them off.

But U.S. aircraft companies are gaining experience with jet engine technology through military programs, and are seeking ways to apply that learning to a new generation of airliners powered by jets.

Let's look at how one of those companies - Boeing of Seattle - makes the decision to move into a technologically advanced jet airliner family, and the role that a dramatic aerobatics maneuver in a very public setting has on that work.

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