Scale : 1/100
Wing Span : 15.5"
Length : 15.38"
Code : KB367T

The Dash 80 is considered to have been the prototype for the KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refuelling tanker and the Boeing 707 airliner. It was built in less than two years from project launch in 1952 to rollout on May 14, 1954 for a cost of US$16 million. This was at the time an enormous risk for the Boeing Company, since they had no committed customers for the project.

The -80 fuselage was wide enough for five-abreast seating; two on one side of the aisle and three on the other. However, by the time the Boeing company committed to production, the decision had been made to design the production model 707 as a six-abreast design, with a larger-diameter fuselage 148 in, based on feedback from airline officials who had studied the prototype. This decision did not unduly delay introduction of the production model since the -80 had been largely handbuilt, and thus little production tooling had been created for its manufacture.

The Dash 80 was rolled out of the factory on May 15, 1954, just two years after the project was approved, and 18 months after construction had started. The 367-80 then undertook a series of taxi trials and although the port landing gear collapsed on May 22 causing damage to the airframe which was quickly repaired, the maiden flight took place on July 15, 1954.

After the arrival of the first production 707 in 1957, the Dash 80 was adapted into a general experimental aircraft and used by Boeing to test a variety of new technologies and systems. One of its most important tasks during the late 1950s was to test systems for the new Boeing 727. These tests required the fitting of a fifth engine on the rear fuselage to simulate the 727's third engine.

Other tests included experiments with different airfoil shapes and a number of high lift devices such as blown flaps in which compressed air bled from the engines is directed over the flaps to increase lift during takeoff and landing.