Eastern Air Lines  Boeing 720  N8702E         (c/n  18156)

                                       

                                          In 1961 Eastern ordered 15 of the smaller Boeing 720 for its shorter stage routes, but realized they
                                          were still too big.  It then worked with Boeing and United Air Lines in specifying what was to become
                                          the model 727, and worked out a deal with Boeing that would allow them to "trade in" the 720s.
                                          By this time Capt Eddie Rickenbacker had relinquished the reigns at the airline after more than twenty
                                          years, and his place was taken by Malcolm A. McIntyre, the ex-Under Secretary of  the Air Force.
                                          Mcintyre introduced the concept of the "Air Shuttle"  between New York, Philadelphia and Wash-
                                          ington, D.C. (shades of Ludington Airlines some thirty years prior).   The 720s were used on this
                                          service until the 727 came along.  The airline was not doing well at this stage and was heavily in debt.
                                          In fact, it had not even paid off its DC-7Bs by the time it had to order pure jets if it was to stay
                                          competitive. As an aside, Eastern's flight engineers struck the airline in June 1962 and it lasted until
                                          September of that year.     The most junior pilots were retrained as pilot engineers and replaced
                                          the engineers that refused to come back to work.     This also settled the crew issue with the jets
                                         .To satisfy the pilot's and the flight engineer's unions.the jets had been flown with a four man crew
                                          in the cockpit up until then.  Although the airline was able to weather this particular financial storm
                                          it succumbed, of course, later on to bankruptcy.   In the mid 1960s many EAL aircraft were painted
                                          in the experimental livery seen in the shot immediately below from the Mike Sparkman collection. 
                                          When Floyd Hall took over the presidency this scheme became short lived and the two tone blue
                                          'hockey stick' livery was adopted.  For the record the lighter blue was termed 'Caribbean' and the
                                          darker 'Ionosphere'.    The photo at the foot of the page taken by Bob Garrard at Port Columbus
                                          International, Ohio, in April 1970 exemplifies this ultimate livery nicely.  Shortly after this shot was
                                          taken N8714E was traded in for a late model 727.

                                                 Boeing 720-025  N8701E     (c/n  18155)                                        

                                      

                                           Boeing 720-025  N8714E     (c/n  18243)