Pretty sure I flew a DC-8 at some point, but I don't think I've ever flown on a 707. I do remember seeing plenty of 707's landing in MIA in the late 80's / early 90's though (during family vacations.) The family we stayed with lived right under the approach path to MIA and those 707's were still quite popular with Central and South American airlines back then.

Yes, and the (late) landing too!! Finish of a three week vacation, first TATL, in July, 1968, that had first started with a NY Airways helicopter from the Wall St. Heliport on the East River, then an Iberia DC-8 flight from JFK to Madrid. Returning from LHR to JFK on a TWA B707, during the ATC slowdown at JFK, we started circling over Boston on the way into NY, and after about an hour the captain came on to say that because of the ATC union's slowdown at JFK and the large backup of aircraft waiting to land there, if we did not get clearance within the next half hour to continue on to JFK, we'd have to land in Boston to refuel and then continue to NY. Finally got the go ahead, and made it into JFK almost two hours late.

First class on a Braniff DC-8 by way of a cancelled Eastern Airlines flight from Miami to NY, had me get a call from EA on the afternoon that I was supposed to fly back to NY, and I insisted that I had to get to NY that day, as I had to be back at work in NYC early the following morning. Nothing else available on EA for me, but they were able to get me on the late Braniff flight from South America (from the EA Y to Braniff F) that had made a scheduled stop in MIA before continuing on to NY. Remembered that it was a dark green DC-8 (Braniff had painted all their planes in different colors) and although I was in F, with big, comfortable seats, there was no full meal service for me as it was very late in the evening. But I really enjoyed that Coca-Cola in the large leather F seat for the two and a half hour flight.

bj-21.

Had a few takeoffs in 707s and a couple in KC-135s. Don't remember anything that unusual, but I wouldn't have known any better at the time. Did get to visit the boomer's position in the 135. With another ROTC cadet with his hand on the control, the boomer told him to move the refueling boom all the way to one side. Then told him to move it as fast as he could to the other side. I believe the next thing the boomer said was "You can hear the pilot cussing from here." This was a long time ago

Varig (Brazil) and Transbrasil flew the 707 on domestic flights such as Recife/Natal with some segments being as short 30 minutes.

It was amazing to feel the thrust of those engines as the 707 got high enough to start the descent.

the CV-880's typical operational range was about 2000-2500 miles, so it would not have appeared on either JFK-FCO or MIL-JFK (in the US, Delta's longest routes were LAX/LAS/SFO<-->ATL at approx 2000 miles; TWA ran LAX<-->CVG at about the same distance)

its fuselage was short enough that you probably wouldn't notice any torsional (twisting) flex when seated at the back

I remember the B727 takeoff! Slow to roll, loud, trailing smoke, and shallow climb to altitude. I also remember being at the parking lot underneath the departure path. You had to cover your ears and almost had to duck.

The Whisper Jet!

well, compared to its predecessors (707, DC-8, CV-880), it was much more like "whisper" inside since the engines were at the back rather than under the wings ... I think the advertising phrase was an attempt to convey that passengers in the front of the jet could actually carry on a conversation in a whisper

Hmm, the last time I definitely flew on a 707 was 38 years ago, an old BA example. Might have flown on another a year or two later but unsure. Last DC-8 was an AC one in 1982.

As far a 707s go, didn't the early ones have turbojets (exhaust looked somewhat like big star-shaped cookie cutters) and later ones have low-bypass turbofans? Same with DC-8s with the last UA examples having been re-engined with CFM56s? Never got to fly in one of those super-stretch DC-8s. Don't think I flew a turbojet-powered version of either.

Last civilian 707s I saw as in ASU around 1995-96. Sad examples rotting away...

yes, the initial 707s (model numbers -120, -220, and -320) were powered by the "straight-pipe" P&W JT3C and JT4A turbojets; the -420 had the Rolls-Royce Conway engines ... the JT3D turbofans came along a few years into production (model numbers with "B" and "C" suffixes); many early models were retrofitted

the DC-8-10, -20, and -30 also had the JT3C or JT4A engines; the -40 was a Conway-powered variant ... the -50 as well as the -60 stretch aircraft were delivered with JT3D turbofans; all the CFM56-powered -70 series were conversions