Today turned out to be an interesting adventure.  I was invited to lunch with some friends at Cutter Aviation today and got a chance to go inside a Boeing 707 Corporate Jet… actually, this bad boy:

I was actually pretty surprised to see it on the ramp.  For those of you who are not so aviation-oriented, the 707 was the first real jet airliner and those that remain flying are some of the oldest passenger jets in the skies.  A 707 derivative, the KC-135, is a re-engined 707 still used as an aerial refueler by the USAF and ANG.

So this plane, N88ZL, is a real-honest-to-god-kerosene-burning-honkin-retro-rocket outfitted with a full executive interior.  It’s got the original Pratt & Whitney JT3D engines… without hushkits!  I didn’t get to see it take off, but I am sure the denizens of the Phoenix metro heard it for about 30 minutes after taking off… these things are LOUD. 

I was really surprised on the interior.  It had three stateroom bedrooms, a dining room, a full galley, a living room, and two full bathrooms with showers… had lots of room to say the least.  However, it’s decoration was a bit a dated… something like a high class late 70’s look.  I guess when you burn a quarter of a million dollars in gas in a month, it might be hard to have some cash left over for some paint and spackle.

Evidently this particular plane sees service all over the world… I did a search for the N-Number and there are photos from Europe, Africa, Asia and North America.  Somewhere in it’s travels it fell on some bad luck it seems

 

Oops, off-roading in a speedbird… not exactly stellar there ol’ chap! This was taken by someone at Hamilton, Ontario… evidently Jon Bon Jovi was a passenger on this adventure.

I wish I could have taken some of my own photos… perhaps next time.

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