Douglas DC-7C
By the 1950s, transcontinental flights across the United States had become much easier than they had been 20 years before--instead of six or seven stops for fuel, airlines now regularly made just one with their Douglas DC-6s or Lockheed Constellations. It was still not enough for Cyrus "C.R." Smith of American Airlines, however: he wanted an airliner that could fly nonstop. Given FAA regulations that limited crew flight time to eight hours, the new design would need to be able to make that trip in exactly that time.
Douglas was approached by Smith, but only agreed to try when Smith placed an order for 25 DC-7 aircraft before the new airliner was even designed. Douglas used the tried and true DC-6 as a basis, giving the new design a three foot increase for more passenger and fuel capacity. The DC-6 used Pratt and Whitney R-2800 Double Wasps for propulsion, but to make the DC-7 faster, Douglas used Wright's more powerful R-3350 Duplex Cyclone. Testing went smoothly enough: the prototype flew in May 1953 and American put their first DC-7 into revenue service in November of that year. As advertised, the DC-7 made the trip nonstop in just under eight hours.
Though American could now boast of nonstop flights from New York to Los Angeles, DC-7 crews reported problems early in the new airliner's service. To make the trip in under eight hours' time, the engines had to be redlined, causing several failures and subsequent diversions.
Douglas responded with the DC-7B, which introduced yet more powerful engines and more fuel in extended engine nacelles; this brought the DC-7 to the attention of Pan American, which could now fly DC-7Bs nonstop across the Atlantic from New York to Paris. Flying back was problematic, since the DC-7s would have to fly back against the wind, so Douglas developed the DC-7C, which increased the wingspan by ten feet and lengthened the fuselage by an additional three. This not only gave the DC-7C plenty of fuel for transatlantic flights, it now made "Great Circle" transpolar flights possible, and reduced transpacific flight fuel stops to just one. For this reason, Douglas billed the DC-7C as the "Seven Seas."
With the DC-7C, Douglas and its customers now had a reliable transatlantic aircraft, but for the DC-7, technology had left it behind. The DC-7 had entered service just after the deHavilland Comet jet airliner, and the DC-7C was quickly superseded by Boeing's jet 707 and Douglas' own jet DC-8. Continued engine issues meant that the DC-7 would be retired from many airline fleets even before the older but more reliable DC-6, and the secondary airline market did not really need the longer range (and higher operating costs) of the DC-7. As a result, only 338 were built, and comparatively few survived to the modern era. At least 17 are known to still exist, and a few are still flying as cargo aircraft, either in South America or in northern Canada; a few were also converted to firefighting aircraft, though again the DC-6 was preferred in that role.
Tucked in among all the modern aircraft either awaiting new owners or the scrapper's torch is this DC-7C, N777EA. It is Phoenix Goodyear Airport's longest resident, having been there since 1976, the year it last flew. It also has the distinction as being the last DC-7 ever built.
Originally built for KLM in 1958, it made an incredibly long delivery flight for its time, from Los Angeles to Paris nonstop. It was not with KLM for long before being sold to Interpublic Inc. in 1962. Interpublic had the interior completely redone in a plush executive layout, and it was used by the company, though occasionally it was also lended to Lady Bird Johnson for ski trips from Texas to Wyoming, prior to her husband Lyndon becoming President in 1963. It was sold off in 1967, and went through several oil companies, culminating in the Pyramid Oil Company, which bought N777EA in 1973. The aircraft was grounded at Phoenix Goodyear in February 1976, though it was kept in flyable condition.
And there it has remained. Rumors swirl around this aircraft: the interior is still kept up and is intact; that the owner of the Pyramid Oil Company intended to use it to fly Christian missionaries, but the project never came to fruition; the owners keep it ready to offer it to no less than Jesus Christ when He returns in the Second Coming as a personal transport.
Whatever the case, N777EA remains at Phoenix Goodyear, slowly fading in the Arizona sun. If it is well-maintained otherwise (and it certainly looks it, despite the faded exterior), it would be one of the last flyable DC-7s, and priceless to warbird and classic aircraft enthusiasts. Seeing it was certainly a surprise to me in June 2020.
Douglas DC-7C
By the 1950s, transcontinental flights across the United States had become much easier than they had been 20 years before--instead of six or seven stops for fuel, airlines now regularly made just one with their Douglas DC-6s or Lockheed Constellations. It was still not enough for Cyrus "C.R." Smith of American Airlines, however: he wanted an airliner that could fly nonstop. Given FAA regulations that limited crew flight time to eight hours, the new design would need to be able to make that trip in exactly that time.
Douglas was approached by Smith, but only agreed to try when Smith placed an order for 25 DC-7 aircraft before the new airliner was even designed. Douglas used the tried and true DC-6 as a basis, giving the new design a three foot increase for more passenger and fuel capacity. The DC-6 used Pratt and Whitney R-2800 Double Wasps for propulsion, but to make the DC-7 faster, Douglas used Wright's more powerful R-3350 Duplex Cyclone. Testing went smoothly enough: the prototype flew in May 1953 and American put their first DC-7 into revenue service in November of that year. As advertised, the DC-7 made the trip nonstop in just under eight hours.
Though American could now boast of nonstop flights from New York to Los Angeles, DC-7 crews reported problems early in the new airliner's service. To make the trip in under eight hours' time, the engines had to be redlined, causing several failures and subsequent diversions.
Douglas responded with the DC-7B, which introduced yet more powerful engines and more fuel in extended engine nacelles; this brought the DC-7 to the attention of Pan American, which could now fly DC-7Bs nonstop across the Atlantic from New York to Paris. Flying back was problematic, since the DC-7s would have to fly back against the wind, so Douglas developed the DC-7C, which increased the wingspan by ten feet and lengthened the fuselage by an additional three. This not only gave the DC-7C plenty of fuel for transatlantic flights, it now made "Great Circle" transpolar flights possible, and reduced transpacific flight fuel stops to just one. For this reason, Douglas billed the DC-7C as the "Seven Seas."
With the DC-7C, Douglas and its customers now had a reliable transatlantic aircraft, but for the DC-7, technology had left it behind. The DC-7 had entered service just after the deHavilland Comet jet airliner, and the DC-7C was quickly superseded by Boeing's jet 707 and Douglas' own jet DC-8. Continued engine issues meant that the DC-7 would be retired from many airline fleets even before the older but more reliable DC-6, and the secondary airline market did not really need the longer range (and higher operating costs) of the DC-7. As a result, only 338 were built, and comparatively few survived to the modern era. At least 17 are known to still exist, and a few are still flying as cargo aircraft, either in South America or in northern Canada; a few were also converted to firefighting aircraft, though again the DC-6 was preferred in that role.
Tucked in among all the modern aircraft either awaiting new owners or the scrapper's torch is this DC-7C, N777EA. It is Phoenix Goodyear Airport's longest resident, having been there since 1976, the year it last flew. It also has the distinction as being the last DC-7 ever built.
Originally built for KLM in 1958, it made an incredibly long delivery flight for its time, from Los Angeles to Paris nonstop. It was not with KLM for long before being sold to Interpublic Inc. in 1962. Interpublic had the interior completely redone in a plush executive layout, and it was used by the company, though occasionally it was also lended to Lady Bird Johnson for ski trips from Texas to Wyoming, prior to her husband Lyndon becoming President in 1963. It was sold off in 1967, and went through several oil companies, culminating in the Pyramid Oil Company, which bought N777EA in 1973. The aircraft was grounded at Phoenix Goodyear in February 1976, though it was kept in flyable condition.
And there it has remained. Rumors swirl around this aircraft: the interior is still kept up and is intact; that the owner of the Pyramid Oil Company intended to use it to fly Christian missionaries, but the project never came to fruition; the owners keep it ready to offer it to no less than Jesus Christ when He returns in the Second Coming as a personal transport.
Whatever the case, N777EA remains at Phoenix Goodyear, slowly fading in the Arizona sun. If it is well-maintained otherwise (and it certainly looks it, despite the faded exterior), it would be one of the last flyable DC-7s, and priceless to warbird and classic aircraft enthusiasts. Seeing it was certainly a surprise to me in June 2020.