The DC8 was an aeroplane manufactured by Douglas from 1958 till 1972. It is often hard to identify the DC8 from its competitor the Boeing 707. The 707 is often regarded as the first commercially successful jet airliner selling 1010 planes compared to 556 of the DC8. In 1967 Douglas merged with McDonald to become McDonald Douglass with the DC8 ending production in 1972. Boeing’s 707 continued in production until the late 70’s and paved the way for Boeing to become the worlds largest aircraft manufacturer. While the DC8 is often forgotten about when you talk about the pioneers of the jet age it is interesting to note that around 200 remain in service mainly to cargo airlines, compared to just 80 707’s which is a decent percentage when you look at production numbers. Today not much is left of the McDonald Douglass company after merging with Boeing in 1997 with a derivative of the DC9 known as the 717 ceasing production in 2006.