Model Description
Herpa 1/200th scale 573528 Douglas Aircraft Company Douglas DC-7 – Prototype Painting. Available to pre-order at Flying Tigers.
The DC-7 was built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1953 to 1958 and was the last piston-engined passenger aircraft manufactured by Douglas. A total of 338 examples were built, which were converted into cargo planes or firefighting planes in later years, which meant that many aircraft found a new use after the introduction of jet aircraft in passenger traffic. The last DC-7 was finally retired in 2020. Douglas began development after American Airlines requested a passenger plane that could connect the U.S. East and West coasts without a stopover. Based on the DC-6, the DC-7 retained the same wingspan, lengthened the fuselage by one meter and used the 18-cylinder Wright R-3350 engine with 3,250 hp. The prototype with the registration N301AA, which already revealed the future owner of the aircraft, flew for the first time in May 1953. The first DC-7 was delivered to American Airlines in November of the same year and was equipped with first-class seats for 65 passengers. Nonstop service between New York and Los Angeles began on November 29, 1953. The flight time was about eight hours, a significant improvement compared to the average of ten to eleven hours required by its direct predecessor, the DC-6, including a refueling stop. This also illustrates how far aviation had developed: at the end of the 1940s, a DC-3 needed up to 17 hours, including three refueling stops, to complete the transcontinental journey. N301AA remained with Douglas for further testing until the spring of 1954, when it was also delivered to American Airlines as a flagship Texas.
RRP £94.00
