Celebrating a Legend: The Boeing 747 (40th anniversary)
Ajeet February 1st, 2010
Arguably the best passenger aircraft ever, the first Boeing 747 was delivered to Pan Am 40 years ago. It was the largest airliner flying until the Airbus 380. ‘Jumbo Jet’, ‘Super Jet’, ’Mega Top’ and ‘Mega Ark’ were some of the superlatives used to describe this revolutionary jet. Since the first flight in January 1970, it has transported thousands of tonnes of passenger and cargo loads all over the world. The latest variant, the B747-400 is still widely in use today, and offers one of the most comfortable of flying experiences.
Here’s a classic video covering the first flight of this legend (the video is in 2 parts). Enjoy!
I must be careful with using too much past tense in this story, coz its not over yet! Even as i write, the good folks at Boeing are already embarking on the next chapter -- the B747-800. You can immerse in the whole saga from the beginning at Flight Global’s coverage of the 40th anniversary at this link:
http://www.flightglobal.com/page/747-40th-Anniversary/747-40th-Anniversary-Evolution/
I had the honour of visiting the very first B747-100, at Seattle’s Museum of Flight. Here’s a picture of RA001:
