Captured on film at the moment the nose wheel lifted off the runway, the first DC-8 jetliner took off on its maiden flight May 30, 1958, from the Long Beach, CA., Municipal Airport. The flight started a 15-month test program leading to airline service beginning in September 1959 and continuing today with DC-8s making more than 270 scheduled airline flights a day, to 140 cities in 58 countries.