1958 DC-8 Tested

On May 30th, the first prototype DC-8 made its maiden flight. The plane powered by 4 Pratt & Whitney Turbojets flew for 2 hours and 7 minutes. The DC-8 entered commercials service on September 18th 1959 one year after the 707. Sales of the DC-8 lagged behind those of the 707 primarily since Beoing offered a number of different configuration of the 707 while the DC-8 was initially sold in only one configuration. Douglas sold a total of 556 DC-8 planes.