The first 747 rolled out of the Everett assembly building in Washington State on September 30, 1968. A special hangar was built for its construction. By volume, it remains the biggest building ever made.
The plane was set to re-define air travel, with its ability to carry more people than previous aircraft, and played a major part in making long-haul journeys more affordable….
Pan Am was the first airline to receive a 747, and Pat Nixon, the First Lady of the United States, christened the aircraft Clipper Vector. The 747 entered service on January 22, 1970, on Pan Am’s scheduled flight from New York to London.
It also shared some historic highs. The 747 was often used to transport space shuttles, and here it is seen in 1978 giving the Enterprise a piggyback.
In 1984 a youthful Richard Branson launched his airline with a 747 flight from Gatwick to Newark.
The aircraft has been redesigned several times. Variants were launched in 1979 (747-100B), 1982 (747SP), 1983 (747-300), 1989 (747-400), 2006 (747 LCF), and 2011 (747-8, pictured).
The Boeing 747, launched more than 40 years ago, is one of the most influential and admired passenger aircraft ever to be built.
However the original “jumbo jet”, which has flown many millions of people in its decades of service, may finally be falling from favour. British Airways will take delivery of its first Airbus A380 “superjumbo” in July, and this week announced plans to buy 18 Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Both aircraft are quieter and more fuel efficient than the 747, which BA is now looking to phase out over the next few years.
source::::The Telegraph UK…
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