Astrojet

It was in the late 1950's when jet aviation began making it's mark on commercial aviation. The de Havilland Comet had been around for years, and... more

by Alex Esguerra

Title

Astrojet

Artist

Alex Esguerra

Medium

Photograph - Color Photograph

Description

It was in the late 1950's when jet aviation began making it's mark on commercial aviation. The de Havilland Comet had been around for years, and planes such as the DC-8 and Convair 880 were entering service. The Boeing 707 was another one of these aeronautical wonders to come onto the scene. Widely regarded as the first jetliner to become commercially successful, it forever changed the way the majority of the world traveled.

American Airlines were amongst many airlines to add it to their fleet, and for good reasons. At the time incredibly fast, able to fly high over the weather, and tougher than most detractors wanted to believe, it was a game-changer plane that left the old propliners in the dust. "Non-Stop" and "Rather Quickly" were terms that suddenly could be applied to a advertisement, and the public was quick to lean preference in the direction of planes like the 707. In honor of their then-incredibly-futuristic capabilities, American dubbed their 4-engined aerial wonders "Astrojets".

Four decades later, American's 707s may have been since long-retired, but their spirit still lives on in one "retrojet". N951AA, the fiftieth 737NG that the airline added to their fleet, was delivered in the 1960's "Astrojet" livery, and despite some worries to the contrary, continues to wear it proudly some fifteen years later! Considering the 737 is quite the success story herself, it is a fitting plane to wear the paint-of-honor for the company that helped to usher in the Jet Age.

Uploaded

December 31st, 2015