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  1. Back to Air Transport

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Best Commercial Aviation Covers Of All Time

McDonnell 119 Turbojet Utility Aircraft

Turbojet engine pods on the McDonnell 119 utility jet transport will be somewhat smaller on the production model, which will be powered by P&W JT12 engines. The prototype 119, in the flight-test phase,was powered by four Westinghouse J34s. The aircraft was a contender in the U.S. Air Force UCX competition.

See the March 2, 1959, cover 

President Coolidge Decorating Col. Lindbergh With the Distinguished Flying Cross

In an editorial in this issue, Aviation Week wrote about Col. Charles Lindbergh's flight from New York to Paris, calling it the "greatest stimulus that aviation has received since the War."

Lindbergh said he "only blazed the trail."  He showed the world it could be done but much hard work and experimentation would be needed before regular transatlantic air service could become an actuality.  

See the June 20, 1927, cover 

TWA Super G Constellation

The Trans World Airlines Super G Constellation flies over the tip of Manhattan Island on the first leg of an overseas flight.

See the April 16, 1956, cover

Boeing Adapts Production 707 to Jet Age

The first production Boeing 707-120 jet transport was designed to carry 124 first-class or 150 tourist-class passengers. The maximum payload was 42,700 lb. 

See the Jan. 20, 1958, cover

Jet Race Tightens With DC-8 Rollout

The target date for the first flight of the Douglas DC-8 turbojet transport was May 15, 1958. This issue includes the first of a two-part series on the economics, performance and design of the aircraft. 

See the April 21, 1958, cover 

Convair 880 Turbojet Transport

The flight and ground testing of Convair 880 turbojet transport was well underway in 1959; the aircraft attained a speed of Mach 0.8 at 30,000 ft. on its fourth flight.

See the March 16, 1959, cover

GE's Aft-Fan-Powered Caravelle Makes First Flight

General Electric's Sud Aviation Caravelle made its first flight in January 1961, powered by two GE CJ-805-23C aft-fan engines rated at 16,100 lb. each, which would power the production Caravelle VII.

See the Jan. 16, 1961, cover 

Pratt & Whitney JT8D-1 Turbofan Engine

The first development JT8D-1 turbofan is pictured positioned in a test cell at the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Div. of the United Aircraft plant in East Hartford, Connecticut.

See the June 19, 1961, cover 

Boeing 727 Rollout

The first Boeing 727 was rolled out at the company's Renton, Washington, facility in late 1962.

See the Dec. 10, 1962, cover 

First Boeing 737 Jet Transport

The first Boeing 737 short-medium-haul jet was being readied for its first flight, which took place early in 1967.

See the Nov. 14, 1966, cover

U.S. air hostesses posed beside the Anglo-French Concorde supersonic transport mockup at the Paris Air Show in 1967.

See the Aug. 28, 1967, cover 

Rolls-Royce RB-211 Turbofan

The first of 12 Rolls-Royce RB.211 advanced technology bypass turbofan engines for the Lockheed L-1011 airbus started test runs on a stand at Derby, England, in September 1968.

See the Sept. 16, 1968, cover 

First Boeing 747 Giant Jet Transport

On rollout day in October 1968, a crowd surged around the No.1 Boeing 747 giant jet—freshly decorated in red, white and blue livery that replaced the company's traditional yellow and brown—after it emerged from the final assembly facility in Seattle, Washington.

See the Oct. 28, 1968, cover 

First Concorde Takeoff

Spectators lined the fence to watch the Anglo-French Concorde supersonic transport prototype 001 take off from Toulouse-Blagnac Airport on its first flight, March 2, 1969.

See the March 17, 1969, cover

McDonnell Douglas DC-10

See the September 14, 1970, cover 

Lockheed L-1011 First Flight

The Lockheed Aircraft Corp. L-1011 TriStar flies near Palmdale, California, during its first flight in November 1970.

See the Nov. 30, 1970, cover 

Pan American's 'Going Great Girls' Promote Its 747 Service

A Pan American World Airways Boeing 747 takes off from Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport.   

See the Jan. 11, 1971, cover

Airbus A-300B First Flight

European Airbus Industries A-300B pictured in slow-speed flight over southern France during its first flight. 

See the Nov. 20, 1972 cover

Pan American Boeing 747SP

The third Boeing 747SP off the production line was the second airplane delivered to Pan American World Airways.

See the Feb. 16, 1976, cover

Gulf Air Crew With Lockheed L-1011

Gulf Air cabin crew—a mix of Arabic and European crew members—stand in front of Gulf Air's first Lockheed L-1011-100 TriStar. 

See the Feb. 23, 1976, cover

Braniff Boeing 747SP

The first of four Boeing 747SPs ordered by Branniff International Airways flies over central Washington.

See the Dec. 31, 1979, cover

First Flight of No.1 Boeing 767

The No.1 Boeing 767 medium-range aircraft flies over Puget Sound during its first flight. 

See the Oct. 12, 1981, cover 

Boeing 757 and 767 in Flight

A Boeing 757 and a 767 fly in formation.

See the Aug. 30, 1982, cover 

No.1 Boeing 737-300 First Flight

The No.1 Boeing 737-300 pictured on its first flight.

See the March 19, 1984, cover

Airbus A320 First Flight

The Airbus Industrie A320-100 opened its first flight-test program with a 3-hr., 23-min. test flight from the company's facilities in Toulouse.

See the March 16, 1987, cover 

McDonnell Douglas UHB Demonstrator Tests GE Prototype Unducted Fan Engine

A McDonnell Douglas UHB demonstrator aircraft undergoes flight testing at Edwards AFB, California. The demonstrator aircraft is an MD-80 transport.

See the Aug.3, 1987, cover 

Boeing 777 First Flight

The first Boeing 777 and Northrop T-38 chase plane fly in formation midway through the 777's 3-hr., 48-min. first flight.

See the June 20, 1994, cover 

Supersonics and Hypersonics: The Road Ahead

A technical configuration high-speed civil transport is taking shape in the NASA-industry High-Speed Research program. 

See the Oct. 13, 1997, cover 

GE90: Raising the Bar for ETOPS

Boeing's first 777-300ER flight-test aircraft and GE's 747 propulsion testbed fly in formation over Washington state.

See the May 5, 2003, cover 

Flying the Embraer 170

Brazilia's Embraer is nearing certification of its family of regional jets. Editor-in-Chief David M. North performed an evaluation flight of the Embraer 170.

See the May 19, 2003, cover 

A380 Takes Flight

The AIrbus A380 flies near the Pryenees with its 22-wheel landing gear extended. 

See the May 2, 2005, cover 

Pilot-Report: Flying The High-Tech Twin

The Boeing 787 flies past Mount Rainier in Washington state. 

See the Dec. 10, 2012, cover 

C Series Flies—Now Bombardier Must Deliver

Bombardier's C Series test aircraft FTV1 makes its first flight from Mirabel, near Montreal. 

See the Sept. 23, 2013, cover 

Fixing Global Flight Tracking After MH370

In the wake of the vanishing of a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, aviation is working to make global flight tracking a reality.

See the Aug. 4, 2014, cover 

Rolling Out the Mitsubishi Regional Jet

The first MRJ flight test aircraft pictured during its unveiling in Nagoya, Japan. 

See the Oct. 27, 2014, cover 

Inside Leap's Certification

Two versions of CFM's Leap engine—the Leap 1A for the Airbus A320neo (foreground) and the -1B for Boeing's 737 MAX—fly beneath the wings of two Boeing 747 flying testbeds over the Mojave Desert, California. 

See the Nov. 23, 2015, cover 

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From the entirety of Aviation Week's 100-year archive, our editors have selected the covers featured in this gallery as among the most striking depicting events in Commercial Aviation. See what makes each cover 'memorable' and click here to vote for your favorite.

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