<<Could you provide some more, many details, on that only engine for half an hour flight ? >>
Not too many details since it was 1967. Boeing test airplane was a 707, the first one produced.4 engines under the wings. Low hours and well maintained. They kept it for years. Passenger area was fitted with many large water tanks to adjust the center of gravity and total weight.
On the flight we flew around Puget Sound with Nos 2, 3,and 4 at idle RPM and full power on #1. To correct
for the unequal thrust, the pilot held a gentle left bank -maybe 9 or 10 degrees. Flew level around 3500 feet altitude in lazy broad circles. Dont recall the gross weight or fuel load- it was not my test.
If we had actually lost an engine and pod , the correction needed would have been about the same as the
idling engines just produced enough thrust to overcome the normal nacelle drag.
I think it was also the same day we made three fully automatic landings at Sea Tac with no pilot touching the
controls. This would permit a plane to land with zero visibility in an emergency. It was approved for use in England, on their airplanes but never here in the US.
In the post-flight meeting I told the Chief there was no way I wanted to land at night while knowing nobody was at the controls. It was tense enough doing it in the daytime With the computer controlling on the approach, we would drop 10 ft,level off, drop 10 ft, level off. The loop tightened up and was much smoother near the runway so its a near-normal touchdown and straight as an arrow down the centerline.(g)
At that time the airlines wanted to eliminate the required third crewman to save money, and an automatic system may have justified that
Sorry I cant remember more
Sig
No1 707 was the airplane in which Tex Johnson, cautious pilot that he is, made a slow roll over Lake Washington on its first flight. I once spent a week with Tex and his crew making a presentation to some "'AF brass" at San Berdo in the week before Christmas. Did we live it up?. H@LL no, that fast mover had us working 4 hours per night in his hotel room discussing flight plans and we went back to Seattle on Dec 23d with orders to
revise the entire presentation by January 2 nd.
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