Taking one of the greatest risks in business history, then Boeing President William Allen gave the go-ahead to invest $13 million of the company's own money on developing a jet transport prototype. With no orders or customer commitments, Boeing spent the equivalent of all its post-World War II profit to develop the Dash 80. Explaining that decision in 1954, then company President Bill Allen simply said it was time somebody "got jet transport off of paper and into the air." The Model 367-80 airplane demonstrated the advantages jet engines offered over propeller-driven engines, and propelled commercial aviation into the jet age. The Dash 80 was able to win over both the U.S. Air Force and the airlines, leading to the KC-135 Stratotanker and the world's first successful commercial jet transport, the 707.