The 1954 Comet disasters near Elba revealed the hidden mechanics of metal fatigue and permanently transformed how every pressurized airliner is designed and certified.
TaildraggerOn August 6, 1955, Boeing test pilot Tex Johnston barrel-rolled a 100,000-pound prototype jet over Lake Washington - and in doing so, sold the airplane that launched the jet age.
TaildraggerOn August 7, 1955, test pilot Tex Johnston barrel rolled Boeing's 707 prototype over Lake Washington - and sold the jet age.
TaildraggerHow test pilot Tex Johnston barrel-rolled the Boeing Dash 80 over Lake Washington in 1955 and sold the world on jets.
TaildraggerHow Boeing test pilot Tex Johnston barrel-rolled the $16 million Dash 80 prototype over Seattle in 1955 and sold the world on the jet age.
TaildraggerRadio Hangar explores Tex Johnston, the Dash Eighty, and the Barrel Roll Over Lake Washington That Sold the World on the Jet Airliner.
TaildraggerRadio Hangar explores Tex Johnston Rolls the Dash Eighty, the Day Boeing's Chief Test Pilot Barrel-Rolled a Jet Transport Over Lake Washington to Sell the Jet Age.
TaildraggerThe de Havilland Comet launched the jet age on July 27, 1949, then its square windows revealed the deadly lesson of metal fatigue.
TaildraggerOn August 7, 1955, Boeing test pilot Tex Johnston rolled a prototype jet airliner twice over Lake Washington, executing one of the most consequential demonstrations in aviation history.
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