Discover Top Posts Tagged with #boeing 307

Broader wings to span the nation... Ad and signage application for Trans World Airlines - 1940.

Howard Hughes Boeing 307 Stratoliner

In 1939, American billionaire, record-setting pilot, engineer, film director, and philanthropist Howard Hughes started making plans for a goodwill flying tour of some of the world’s capitals, and a Stratonliner was just the thing he needed.

He paid a reported $315,000 ($6,551,750 in today's money) for one directly to Boeing, customized it, and started flight tests. But then World War II happened, and all of Hughes’ plans fell apart. The plane sat in a storage for a number of years as the U.S. Army repeatedly tried to claim it for service. To avoid that, Hughes kept it mostly in parts.

In 1949, Hughes decided to part with the Stratoliner, so he gave it a remodel. He invested $400,000 ($8,319,683 in today's money) into further customizing it and turning it into “The Flying Penthouse.”

It lived up to its name: with a redesign by Raymond Loewy and creative input by actress Rita Hayworth, it now featured a bar and a generously-sized lounge, bunk beds in the rear, and a very spacious bathroom.

Houston millionaire Glenn McCarthy bought it on a lease, offering it for celebrity flights to and from Shamrock Hotel under the moniker The Shamrock. When McCarthy defaulted on payments, Hughes got the plane back.

#art #design #flying private #travels #luxury lifestyle #private jet #flying palace #business jet #jetsetter #airplane #boeing #history #howard hughes #raymond loewy #stratoliner #rita hayworth #boeing 307

1940 photo of a TWA Boeing 307B Stratoliner

#Boeing #307 #Stratoliner #Boeing 307 #B307 #airliner #passenger plane #commercial aviation #flying #vintage aviation #airplane #plane

Boeing C-75, militarized 307, at an airfield. Five Trans World 307s were impressed into the USAAF. The cabin pressurization was removed to save weight, and the external flap actuators replaced.

SDASM Archives: 01_00091317