VH-EBE. Boeing 707-138. c/n 17700-59.
Rolled off the Boeing production line at Renton as a 707-138 - July 2, 1959 First flown - August 13, 1959 Entered onto Australian Aircraft Register as VH-EBE - September 4, 1959 Registered to Qantas Empire Airways Ltd Accepted by Qantas at Seattle - September 17, 1959 Departed Seattle on delivery flight - September 17, 1959 Aircraft was named 'City of Perth' Operated a proving flight to London via the Middle East - October 9 to 24, 1959 Operated the inuagural Sydney-London service via the Kangaroo Route - October 27, 1959 Route: Sydney-Darwin-Singapore-Bangkok-Calcutta-Karachi-Bahrain-Cairo-Rome-London Aircraft was under the command of Captain R. Bruce
Established a flight record from San Francisco to New York of 4 hours 33 minutes - June 1, 1960 Flight crew: Capt A.A.E. Yates, M. Bamman, L. Richardson; F/O R.S. Bee, W. Court; F/E G. Bacon Departed Sydney with Australian Olympic Team for Rome - August 18, 1960 Departed Sydney on returned to Boeing for conversion to 707-138B standard - October 18, 1961 Accepted by Qantas at completion of conversion at Seattle - November 30, 1961 Arrived Sydney at conclusion of delivery flight - December 4, 1961 New 'V-Jet' livery applied to fin & rudder at Sydney - December 5 to 7, 1961 Re-entered service on Sydney-London via Kangaroo Route - December 8, 1961 Operated inaugural Sydney-Perth-London service - February 1, 1962 Operated the first direct Brisbane-Singapore service - April 6, 1962 Operated inaugural Sydney-Christchurch service - taking 2 hours 19 minutes - February 17, 1963 This was the first Boeing 707 to visit New Zealand Established a record flight time - Sydney-Brisbane of 46 minutes - July 19, 1963 Operated its final Qantas service Sydney-San Francisco-Sydney and departed Sydney - February 16, 1968 Withdrawn from use and stored at Sydney Airport Cancelled from Australian Aircraft Register - May 1, 1968 Aircraft had flown 26,203 hours to date Sold to International Aerodyne for lease to Standard Airways - May 15, 1968 Entered onto U.S. Aircraft Register as N793SA Departed Sydney on delivery to Standard - May 15, 1968 Leased to Pacific Western Airlines - July 20, 1969 to May 1, 1971 Entered onto Canadian Aircraft Register as CF-PWW Entered onto U.S. Aircraft Register as N793SA - May 1, 1971 Leased to Alaska Airlines - May 1 to September 30, 1971 Leased to Bahamas World Airlines - November 18, 1971 to August 8, 1974 Entered onto Bahamas Aircraft Register as VP-BDE Sold to National Aircraft Leasing - August 8, 1974 Entered onto U.S. Aircraft Register as N793NA Leased to Aero America - October 1975 Sub-leased to Egyptair - February to April, 1976 Sub-leased to Egyptair - June to October 1977 Withdrawn from use and placed in storage at Boeing Field, Seattle - February 1978 Sold to TAG Air - January 20, 1979 Sold to Boeing for spares to use in KC-135 refurbishment program - April 24, 1983 Registered to Aviation Technical Support Inc, Waco, Texas - June 1983 Cancelled from U.S. Aircraft Register - July 1983 Dismantled by National Aircraft at Tucson, Arizona - 1996 Parts used by company doing structural testing and fuel probe / wiring modifications - circa 2003 Remaining airframe scrapped at Tucson - March 2006 |
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VH-EBE. Qantas Australia's Overseas Airline - at Sydney Airport, October 27, 1959. (Qantas Heritage Collection. 4604-799.) |
VH-EBE. Qantas - the crew of the record breaking flight at New York Airport, June 1960. (Qantas Heritage Collection. 4604-792.) |
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VH-EBE. Qantas Australia's Overseas Airline - in original livery at Sydney Airport, July 1960. (Qantas Heritage Collection. 4604-756.) |
VH-EBE. Qantas Australia's Overseas Airline - in original livery at Sydney Airport, July 1960. (Qantas Heritage Collection. 4604-677.) |
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VH-EBE. Qantas Australia's Overseas Airline - original 'V-Jet' livery at San Francisco Airport, March 1963. (R. N. Smith Collection. 4604-177.) |
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N793SA. Standard - full livery with modified titles at San Francisco Airport, December 1968. (R. N. Smith Collection. 4604-178.) |
N793SA. Standard - full livery with modified titles at San Francisco Airport, December 1968. (R. N. Smith Collection. 4604-179.) |
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VP-BDE. Bahamas World - in the full livery at unknown airport, April 1972. (R. N. Smith Collection. 4604-425.) |
VP-BDE. Bahamas World - in the full livery at unknown airport, August 1972. (R. N. Smith Collection. 4604-322.) |
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N793NA. Aeroamerica - in the full livery at Paris Airport, August 1977. (R. N. Smith Collection. 4604-223.) |
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