//file author: Nima Shafiee //Prepared on 10/28/2002 //http://www.boeing.com/companyoffices/history/boeing/chr4_jets.html //Boeing's Historical Chronology //File created via cut/paste from site // 1957 Three B-52s, led by Lucky Lady III, fly 24,325 miles around the world in 45 hours, 19 minutes at an average speed of 520 mph. 1958 The U.S. Air Force orders three 707-120s for use by the president and other high-ranking officials. Designated VC-137A, they will be called Air Force One when the president is aboard. 1959 American Airlines starts 707 service from New York to Los Angeles for the first transcontinental jetliner route. 1960 Boeing buys the Vertol Aircraft Corporation of Philadelphia, and its subsidiaries, and forms the Vertol Division of Boeing. 1961 A Boeing Vertol Model 107 helicopter (basis of the Sea Knight) wins a Navy design competition. The Marines order 14. 1962 The last B-52H, the eighth and final version of the intercontinental bomber, rolls out of Wichita, to be delivered to the Air Force Oct. 26. 1963 A 727 completes a 76,000-mile world tour to 26 countries. 1964 Boeing starts building a space center in Kent, Washington. 1965 The last of 820 KC-135 aerial tankers is delivered to the Air Force. 1966 Boeing announces it will build a 490-passenger 747 transport. Construction will begin in June on a new plant to build the huge jets in Everett, Washington. 1967 The Model 737 makes its first flight. 1968 "T" Wilson is elected company president. William M. Allen becomes chairman of the board. 1969 The 747-100 makes its first flight. 1970 The 747 makes its first commercial flight from New York to London for Pan American. 1970 Boeing Computer Services founded. 1971 The federal government cancels funding for the SST. 1972 The first AWACS plane, a modified 707-320B, makes its first flight. 1973 Boeing Vertol wins contracts to build light-rail vehicles for Boston and San Francisco. 1974 NASA awards Boeing a contract to build some components of what will become the Hubble Space Telescope, launched in 1990. 1975 Mariner 10 completes its final flyby of Mercury, nearly 17 months and a billion miles after launch. 1976 A B-52 makes the first test launch of the air-launched cruise missile (ALCM). 1977 A modified 747 is delivered for use as a delivery vehicle for the Space Shuttle. 1978 Boeing is contracted to build the inertial upper stage (IUS) rocket to boost Space Shuttle payloads. 1979 The Chinook CH-47D makes its first flight. 1980 Boeing begins to build an assembly facility for the air-launched cruise missile (ALCM) program in Kent, Washington. 1981 The first NATO AWACS is delivered to West Germany. 1982 The 757-200 makes its first flight. 1983 The FAA announces that the 757 and 767 models share so many common features that a pilot who qualifies in one model is automatically qualified on the other. 1984 Boeing Computer Services gets a contract to provide design software for the Space Shuttle program. 1985 Boeing begins preliminary designs for the International Space Station. 1986 Viking, Sweden's first scientific satellite, is successfully launched aboard a Boeing-built platform. 1987 The E-6A AWACS prototype flies for the first time. 1988 Dual ceremonies celebrate the simultaneous rollout of the 737-400 and the 747-400. 1989 The V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft makes its first flight. 1990 The 737 becomes the world's best-selling jetliner when United Airlines accepts delivery of the 1,832nd 737. 1991 The 1,010th 707 rolls out of the Renton plant, ending a 35-year-old production line. 1992 Phil Condit is appointed president of The Boeing Company. 1993 The 747-400 freighter rolls out. 1994 The 777 twinjet, the newest member of the Boeing jet family, rolls out. 1995 Delivery of the first 777 to United Airlines. 1996 The first Boeing component of the International Space Station successfully completes its final pressure test. 1997 A 777-200 sets a record for flying around the world, eastbound, in 41 hours and 59 minutes. 1998 Boeing changes the name of the MD-95 jetliner to the 717-200.