It Was the Golden Age of Air Travel
The film “The 707 Astrojet” was produced in 1961 by American Airlines and Pratt & Whitney Aircraft to introduce the flying public to their turbofan-powered Boeing 707 in American Airlines Astrojet colors. The film explains the unique aspects of the 707 and the experiences a passenger aboard one of the new jets would be likely to have. As you might expect, the principles behind the newly fitted Pratt & Whitney JT3D-1 turbofan engines are explained succinctly and understandably. Thanks to YouTuber PeriscopeFilm for uploading this time capsule film from a simpler age.
The Luxurious Astrojet
American Airlines flew 707s between 1959 and 1981. The 707 was AA’s first jet-powered equipment. The Astrojet livery was actually fairly short-lived, but the polish and paint job has been used on at least one Boeing 757 and a couple of Boeing 737 “retro-jets” in the years since the original Astrojet livery was replaced beginning in the late 1960s. Tragically on March 1st 1962, American Airlines Flight 1, a Boeing 707-123B Astrojet (registration N7506A) bound for Los Angeles (LAX), crashed due to mechanical failure two minutes after takeoff from Idlewild Airport (now John F Kennedy JFK) in New York with the loss of all on board.
![Boeing 707 astrojet.](https://avgeekery.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Boeing-707-123-N7501A-American-Airlines-Astrojet-Flagship-Michigan.jpg)