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I saw an incredible documentary on the Boeing 707 the other night on Discovery wings. The most impressive part was to see the footage of the Dash 80 as it became a legend in Boeing's hometown of Seattle when test pilot Alvin "Tex" Johnston turned a simple fly-over into a double barrel-roll over Lake Washington during the 1955 hydroplane races. The daring feat was viewed by thousands of astonished spectators and dozens of shocked Boeing executives, and vividly displayed the superior strength and performance of the new jet.
The footage was incredible. It was shot from the ground as this huge 707 came roaring over the lake only to do a barrel roll!  :o    :o

I had never heard of this before and was happy to see this documentary on test pilot Alvin "Tex" Johnson!

Has anybody else heard about this?

To read more click here:
Cool picture out the window while upside down!

http://www.historylink.org/output.cfm?file_id=390


Dave  8)

I'll bet that's Ozzy's dad!

I've seen that same documentary, Dave.  (Probably, anyway.  It was on Discovery Wings.)

Very impressive maneuver, IMO.

And I agree, the dude is somehow related to Ozzy.

impressive indeed:)

I didn't realise I had relatives in the US

 Yep, I have watched that segment about 30 times already (maybe a bit of an exaggeration) but its as great the last time as the first.  I dont believe anyone knew he was gonna do it either.  The son (I was there when history was made) was pretty proud of his Dad.  If you dont have Discovery Wings channel, ya gotta get it, its worth it.  The historical, present day and future flight information they have on, makes me watch it continually and they run it over and over in case you miss something.  Even "Learn to Fly" on there

Splash

That's where I remember seeing it. It was a segment between a show and they called it, "Eyewitness to History". As you said Splash, He sure was proud of his Dad. He heard all the execs and onlookers saying, "who is that guy flying that plane,?" and he said, "That's my Dad". He did not realize what an incredible event this was until he heard everybody talking about his dad. It was kind of touching!

Dave