Final 747 painted, and ready for delivery

[Onebadcad]

A great icon has finished its production.

The last 747, a -8F is the 1574th built of a production run that has spanned 55 years.

There will be others, but never another!!

I only flew in one twice, Miami to Gatwick and the return flight.
It was a Virgin flight, I think they did 3-4-3, instead of more common 2-5-2, they had an extra fare in every row.

ARTICLE https://www.airlineratings.com/news/...-for-delivery/

[DJ_Critterus]

I got to fly to and from S. Korea business class in a 747 a couple of times. Man that was nice to be an upper class peon for a bit. MAkes me wonder what all went on in 1st class.

[Rob]

Never had a chance to fly on a 747 but did fly on an A380 and that things was a beast. Korean Air. Very comfortable and the service was fantastic.

[VITE1]

I flew on them several times. Mainly from LHR to SIN. Given the size of the plane the 12 hour flights were amde much nicer than on some of th smaller planes I had flown.

[MadInNc]

Flew one once, from St Louis to Chicago on TWA. To longer to board and deplane than the flight was. Must have been moving equipment for an international launch

[Onebadcad]

Originally Posted by Rob

Never had a chance to fly on a 747 but did fly on an A380 and that things was a beast. Korean Air. Very comfortable and the service was fantastic.

Asian Airlines have always been known for exemplary in-filght service.

Flew on more than a few of them, very thankful a dood told me that behind the back kitchen on all Asian airline planes is the massage room, free to all.
On a long flight to Singapore I went back there twice for my happy ending, was free, but I tipped them a couple bucks being the cheap bastard that I am.

[Aerovette]

I was only in one one time. On a field trip for school in about the 5th or 6th grade we got to walk through one.

[Onebadcad]

Good read: https://sites.northwestern.edu/747anniversary/

A snippet:

Development on the 747 program began in in the mid-1960s, with Boeing seeking to develop a commercial airplane that supported more efficient operations by carrying more passengers and cargo than already-existing aircraft.

The first order for the 747 began with a December 1965 conversation between Boeing President William Allen and Pan Am President Juan Trippe, and was said to have gone something like this:

Trippe: If you’ll build it, I’ll buy it.

Allen: If you buy it, I’ll build it.

The order was finalized in April 1966, with Trippe agreeing to buy 25 airplanes for Pan Am at $20 million each.

At the height of the project in 1968, some 20,000 Boeing employees were at work on the project. The 747 debuted on its first test flight on February 9, 1969.

On launch day, twenty-six flight attendants representing each of the airlines that had ordered the 747 posed in front of the aircraft in Boeing’s 747 assembly building in Everett, Washington. Over the next ten months an extensive flight test program followed, involving five airplanes and over 1,400 hours of flying. The 747 was certified by the FAA for commercial passenger service on December 30, 1969.

The 747 entered service with Pan Am on January 22, 1970. Following are timetables, menus, safety cards, and annual reports from some early operators of the jumbo jet, listed in order of each airline’s first 747 flight.

[Onebadcad]

Originally Posted by Ill Duce

Only pissants fly commercial

I flew private recently, as a guest, very nice, no terminal time, you pull up to the plane and leave in less than 10 minutes.

I try to fly less each year, as PITA when you figure you spend up to three additional hours plus air time for drving to airport, parking and waiting in the terminal; and the occassional fisticuffs with those tsa buttwipes.

With that said, I cannot justify $6,000+/hr, and that was with a 1/16 fractional ownership on a $25+M jet, it was an eight-seater with 6-foot ceiling height.

[Mick]

Originally Posted by DJ_Critterus

I got to fly to and from S. Korea business class in a 747 a couple of times. Man that was nice to be an upper class peon for a bit. MAkes me wonder what all went on in 1st class.

My last trip to the UAE was on Lufthansa, business class. Lufthansa business class is the WORST in the business, it's basically coach with a little more legroom. Newark to Frankfurt, and Frankfurt to Dubai, all on a 747, it was like being in the cattle car again, just quadruple the price.

On the way home, they made a mistake booking my Dubai to Frankfurt leg, and had me in a First Class seat in the upper deck. The seat was huge, went totally flat as a bed that was wide enough I could even roll over. Service was good too! Frankfurt to Newark, I was back in the cattle car.

[Onebadcad]

Originally Posted by Rob

Never had a chance to fly on a 747 but did fly on an A380 and that things was a beast. Korean Air. Very comfortable and the service was fantastic.

Emirates 380s are configured so that you can get a walled suite, with a fully laid-out seat, that is as comfortable as a single bed.
I believe the price from JFK to Dubai is around $20K--not sure if happy ending is included.

[Shrike6]

The first flight on a 747 was so early, it still had the piano bar upstairs. The stewardess let me sneak up there for a quick look around. That was also when stewardesses had to meet physical standards, and some uniform skirts were pretty short.

[Onebadcad]

Originally Posted by Ill Duce

Jet Suite X came up with a great idea of using 30 seat Embraer’s to offer the private flying experience without the high prices. They operate out of FBO’s so there’s no need to deal with TSA lines and you can literally show up 15 minutes before your flight.

I have viewed their site, their business model is very innovative, and the pricing was much less than I thought.

Good niche, as you can fly cheaper than first-class and eliminate the 3+ hours of BS time when flying commercial.

I hope it catches on and they add more flights and airports, as of now I have to drive about 40 miles south, which is 2+ hours, to MIA, which kills the time savings advantage.

I live 15 miles aways from Fort Lauderdale Executive which is ideal, and should have been the airport selection for South Florida, as no one, NO ONE, wants to drive to MIA, unless they have 2 hours to kill. FLL would have been a better choice than MIA, as MIA is very restrictive for those living in Palm Beach County.

[theandies]

Flew to Korea in business class. My seat was in the hump.

Toured the '47 that carried the Space Shuttle when it landed, with the Shuttle on its back at our Air Force Base. I've got pictures, you know, real prints somewhere. I need to dig them out and scan'em.

Worked on many 747's in my A&P mechanic days. We called them whales.
Wife (girlfriend at the time) flew to Seattle and toured the assembly plant. Impressive to say the least.

The 747 will always be Queen of the Sky.

[theandies]

Originally Posted by Ill Duce

Crazy to think that Boeing bet the farm on the 747 since all the B-52’s were completed a decade earlier and they had nothing to fall back on if it failed.

Boeing was developing the SST with government money at the time and yes Boeing bet the farm developing the 747 at the same time on their dime. In hindsight they made the right investment as the government pulled the plug on the SST. It helped that Juan Trippe of Pan Am said if Boeing would build it he would buy it. The thing that almost broke the whole program was the development problems with the then new gigantic high bypass jet engines that are common today.

[Chemtrails99]

The original first delivered to Pan Am 747 ended it's days at the former Norton AFB in San Bernardino. Some "investor" bought it and let it sit on the ramp for an extended length of time. Probably a scam as they were trying to raise money to do something with it. Out of nowhere, the engines and some of the control serfaces disappeared and rumor had it they were stripped off and sold to pay off debts. Whoever stripped it alos doomed it, because they didn't tie it back down, and it got blown across the ramp and into a building during a Santa Ana. A huge hole got knocked in the nose and clearly a lot of airframe damage shown by the wrinkling of sheet metal. Another year later somebody reduced it to a pile of scrap- just when the world got wind that it was the #1 plane shipped. Never had a chance at being preserved....

[04 commemorative]

First time I flew was on a 747

[Norm]

Was a passenger in a few, flew from Manila to Taiwan, then boarded one of the older model short bodies, headed to SF, when it took off, just barely into the air, the plane shook so bad for about 30 second, TV screen fell off the bulkead, upper compartment baggage doors fell open, stuff started falling out..............thought I was goner, didn't crap my pants but came damn close.........

[snide]

Back in '86, I flew from YEG to AMS on a 747. Rode up front in the big seats.