September 28 will mark the 50th anniversary of the rollout of what later became known as the Jumbo Jet. A truly magnificent airplane, and it will always be the queen of the skies. The 747 will be missed as it retires but its legacy lives on in spirit.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/2018092 ... -the-world

And still in use and production today...long live the Queen!!

She is truly a beauty and a pleasure to fly on

My own personal story: I have been obsessed both with the 747 and the Pan Am globe since my first trip to LAX as a small child in the early 1970's. The grace and style of something so large grabbed hold and has never let go.

Flash forward to high school and four years of German language, in which I earned an A or A+ every term. I knew my first trip to Europe would one day begin in the German-speaking world, and I knew it would most probably be Frankfurt, their largest airport. When I discovered that Lufthansa flew into LAX with a 747 non-stop, I knew it was meant to be: that flight - and only that flight - would be my grand entrance to Europe!

Long story short: no Europe trip until last summer. But when it did happen, the number one item on my list was getting on a Lufthansa 747-8 to Frankfurt. A surprisingly affordable upgrade to business class meant that yet another item on my bucket list could be checked off: SEATED ON THE UPPER DECK!! And between the fabulous (and very quiet!) 747 and its cabin crew, I didn't ever want to get off the plane.



Longest passenger plane currently flying, at 250 feet, 2 inches.

Despite a lengthy "have flown" list of planes, I have only been on three 747's in my life: a TWA 747-100 (most probably) from LAX to JFK in August, 1987, a United 747-400 from LAX to ORD (N199UA), and the most recent to Frankfurt. But for me, always, the 747 will be the Queen of the Skies. Others may imitate or even do the job more efficiently, but in terms of style, the 747 will always be the standard.

I remember driving out with my dad to what was then just a maintenance facility for TWA at Mid Continent (MCI) and watch the 747 do touch and go's! Thrilling!

Great article!! the last time i flew on a 744 was with UA from SFO-ICN-SFO!! AMAZING AIRCRAFT!!!!!!! it's always a treat seeing a 744...not so much the A380.

Long live the Queen!!!!

Unquestionably one of the best looking birds ever made. I have a 747-8i in Sunrise livery on my desk.

PennPal wrote:

And still in use and production today...long live the Queen!!

Long live the queen!

I love 747s. Economically, they are on the pax end run.

Lightsaber

Antarius wrote:

Unquestionably one of the best looking birds ever made. I have a 747-8i in Sunrise livery on my desk.

Same here - looking at it as I type this.

I have been a 747 fanatic since day one. I was 14 when it entered service and was living near ORD. I remember being awed by the sight of one flying over our house because it was just so much bigger than anything else in those days. They looked like they were almost standing still in comparison to the 727's and 707's because of the size difference. I remember the first time I saw one up close, about 1971 when my dad and I were on the observation deck at ORD. We watched an NW one taxi out and depart - I still can picture it all these years later. First time aboard one was 1973 flying ORD/LAX on CO

28/06/78 G-AWNH LHR-BDA BA
23/07/78 G-AWNL BDA-LHR BA
28/03/82 N652PA LHR-IAD PA
04/04/82 N751PA JFK-LHR PA
23/08/88 N17025 LGW-EWR CO
14/06/93 VR-HOR LHR-HKGX CX
29/06/93 9V-SMN SIN-LHR SQ
07/02/95 G-VJFK LGW-BOS VS
16/02/95 G-VOYG BOS-LGW VS
20/09/95 G-BDXG LGW-BGI BA
30/09/95 G-BDXD BGI-LGW BA
16/02/96 G-VIRG BOS-LGW VS
09/05/00 9V-SMU LHR-SIN SQ
24/05/00 9V-SMN SIN-LHR SQ
08/01/01 G-BNLG SFO-LHR BA
20/09/01 9M-MPE LHR-KUL MS
23/09/01 9M-MPB KUL-PEN MS
07/10/01 9M-MPA KUL-LHR MS
19/03/02 G-CIVN LHR-MIA BA
04/04/02 G-CIVG MIA-LHR BA
28/03/03 G-CIVW LHR-HKG BA
18/08/03 G-BNLW JFK-LHR BA
19/12/03 9V-SMR LHR-SIN SQ
11/01/04 9V-SPF SIN-LHR SQ
27/12/04 D-ABVK FRA-CPT LH
02/03/05 ZS-SBK LHR-CPT SA
07/03/05 ZS-SAW CPT-LHR SA
17/01/06 ZS-SAY CPT-LHR SA
03/05/07 G-BNLZ LHR-MIA BA
06/05/07 G-BNLG MIA-LHR BA
30/12/08 G-BNLL LHR-MIA BA
21/01/08 G-CIVJ LAX-LHR BA
26/12/12 G-BNLG LHR-CPT BA
12/01/13 G-BNLG CPT-LHR BA
10/08/14 G-CIVN LHR-MIA BA
13/12/14 G-CIVK LHR-CPT BA
06/01/15 G-CIVT CPT-LHR BA
12/08/15 G-CIVE LHR-CPT BA
05/09/15 G-CIVN CPT-LHR BA
11/11/15 G-CIVP LHR-CPT BA
17/11/15 G-CIVA CPT-LHR BA
11/01/16 G-CIVD CPT-LHR BA
14/09/16 G-CIVB LHR-CPT BA
10/10/16 G-CIVE CPT-LHR BA
20/11/16 G-CIVO LHR-CPT BA
31/01/17 G-CIVA CPT-LHR BA
09/04/17 G-CIVO CPT-LHR BA
19/04/17 G-BNLN LHR-CPT BA
23/05/17 G-CIVA CPT-LHR BA
06/06/17 G-CIVJ LHR-CPT BA
20/03/18 G-CIVD CPT-LHR BA

51 Boeing 747 flights over 40 years and she never ever let me down

I don't think i've met a single person who didn't know what a 747 was. And that's really impressive.

It still is an amazing machine..Thank god KLM does fly them for a couple of years, 2021 they will be gone.
A masterpiece of engineering, Joe Sutter did a tremendous job designing and building it. He always said that the 747 will last long because the design was right.

Unfortuantly I never flew on a 747 but a couple of years ago i had to load a machine with my truck at Maastricht/Aken airport.There was a mobile crane to lift the machine directly out of the 747 onto my truck.
The truck looke like a dinky toy next to the 747..

It was a 747-400 F and i got the chance to sit in the cockpit..For me as a truckdriver and a big 747 fan it was if I entered heaven.I always remember that moment.

I.ve got the book from Ron Marasco, in the begin era of the 747 Pan Am.s chief engineer of maintenance..
He describes the first year in service as a disaster..So much problems they had with the PW JT9D engines.
His engine teams were battling against each other for the quickest engine change..They had to rebuild more thsn 100 engines in their engine shop..He thought they were better then the PW people..Some nice anekdotes in that book..But everything went ok and the 747 became a huge succes.

The 777 might be the other masterpiece, a marvelous aircraft but the 747 I think was Boeing.s finest hour.

My one and only 747 flight. July 1983 on a Wardair 747-200. YYC-YVR-HNL. We decided to seat ourselves on the upper deck even though we weren't ticketed for it. The FA's didn't care and told us to enjoy the flight!

musman9853 wrote:

I don't think i've met a single person who didn't know what a 747 was. And that's really impressive.

Half of my friends don’t know what a 747 is and only 5 know what a 737 is.

Early September 2001 MIA-LHR on BA. 747-200. 3-3 cabin on the upperdeck... For me to be upstair was the once in a life time!
Still amazing memory and the pilot welcoming us with "surprised supreme, it will be sunny in London".

Not as many 747 flights for me as I'd like but I did do:
1974 - JFK-FRA LH one way - Probably a -200?
1991 - IAD-ZRH SR r/t with a stop in Boston each way -300 and got to ride upstairs in coach for both flights - Only time upstairs, loved it.
2000 - SFO-SYD UA r/t to the Sydney Olympics -400 - managed to bump up to business for only 7500 ff miles
2001 - SFO-NRT UA one way -400
2001 - NRT-SIN UA one way -400
2001 - HKG-SFO UA one way -400
Trying to get an LH -8 flight one of these days.
Long live the Queen!

I haven’t been lucky enough to fly on one yet. But as long as LH keeps up sending the 747 to SEA I’m going to try to pull some strings and fly on one when I graduate from University. I remember so vividly coming up the escalator in Seattle’s S satellite and seeing an NW 742 in the bowling shoe livery. I remember thinking the aircraft was gigantic. Truly the most beautiful airplane aver built. She has many years ahead of her even if in a less mainstream role.

The time of the 747 is done. It is iconic, but so was too the 707. We've gotten over that, and we'll probably get over the 747. The one for me that I find interesting is the refueling tanker 747 aircraft of the Iranian Air Force, extremely unusual and rare. Probably the 747SP as well, another interesting derivative.

However, we can look forward to the future with longer range narrow body aircraft which will offer even better efficiency - how exciting is that?

The 747, a United one is probably taking the cake for the worst flight I've had - combination of ancient fittings inside and indifferent UA service at the time.

For me:

BA 747-136 LHR-JFK (G -AWNE)
Wardair 747-100 YOW-LGW
Qantas 747-238B LHR-KUL (via Belgrade & Bahrain)
BA 747-136 KUL-LHR (via Bahrain)

Nothing will match the effect the B747 had on aviation and the awe the aircraft gives as the Queen of the skies.

Flights for me:

OA 747-200B : ATH-BKK-MEL
OA 747-200B : ATH-BK-SYD-MEL
OA 747-200B : MEL-BKK-ATH
OA 747-200B : ATH-YUL-YYZ
OA 747-200B : YYZ-ATH
QF 747-300 MEL-PER
QF 747-300 PER-MEL

She is the true Queen of the Skies, and no plane flying today can take it away from her.

Unfortunately I've never been able to get the experience of flying on one, but at least I was able to get up close with a couple of MH's 747 prior to its retirement, and of course RA001 at the Museum of Flight.

My first flight was on a TWA 747 (N93104) in March 1970. I have flown on every type of 747 except the - 8, the airlines would include BA/TW/UA/LH/RG/MH/QF/SA/UT/VS/NW.
Some of my best inflight memories were onboard a 747. My worst memory in the air was not on a 747 but, I clearly remember thinking at the time, "I wish this was a 747, we would be safer". The "Queen" is, in my opinion, the finest passenger aircraft Boeing ever made and quite likely the finest anyone has ever made.

shankly wrote:

20/09/01 9M-MPE LHR-KUL MS
23/09/01 9M-MPB KUL-PEN MS
07/10/01 9M-MPA KUL-LHR MS

51 Boeing 747 flights over 40 years and she never ever let me down

Shankly, you probably meant to refer to MH - Malaysia Airlines.

MS is Egyptair.

747 - my favorite of all time.
Next flight is soon, Lufthansa 748, Premium Economy, FRA-PVG in November.

She surely is a beauty.
Many great flights on board the queen, been lucky enough to fly in all cabins but my
most memorable flight was when I was young back in the 90s flying on BA from
LGW-MIA on BDXK.
I visited the cockpit and had a brilliant view of an Alitalia 747 (the special watch scheme)
flying slightly below us also going to MIA.
As we were taxiing to the terminal I also had a great view of the Her touching down.

To me though nothing will beat its menacing look as you look at her head on either on the ground
or on approach, she has fantastic presence.

Bo)am

The 747-400 is my favorite plane. Love the streched upper deck and wingtips.
It will be a sad day when the 747’s are gone.

cv990Coronado wrote:

My first flight was on a TWA 747 (N93104) in March 1970. I have flown on every type of 747 except the - 8, the airlines would include BA/TW/UA/LH/RG/MH/QF/SA/UT/VS/NW.
Some of my best inflight memories were onboard a 747. My worst memory in the air was not on a 747 but, I clearly remember thinking at the time, "I wish this was a 747, we would be safer". The "Queen" is, in my opinion, the finest passenger aircraft Boeing ever made and quite likely the finest anyone has ever made.

My most sincere apologies I didn't include PA ! Another great memory was twice flying at FL45 in an SP and a 200B. I think that was the service ceiling for the 200 but maybe the SP could go higher.

Only have been on 744 twice. First was on 9V-SMU, the 1000th B747 made. Flew on her in 2010 SIN-MEL, planned my trip to include SQ B772ER, B744, A380 and A333 return to try all their active fleet except A345. On return journey, A380 was subbed by another B744 (9V-SPN) which SQ recently pulled out of desert storage to cover their A380 grounding. It was blessings in disguise. However everything was falling apart inside.

Heart skipped a beat when I saw her sheer size and beauty parked at gate during boarding.

A week after my flight with 9V-SMU, she was retired and converted to cargo. That was a close one.

My list. Most occurred when I was a 'poor' student.
KU101/2 LHR JFK 1989 742
BA ?? LHR PHL 1990 744
CI ?? AMS BKK 1990 74sp
BA 11/12 LHR SIN 1991 744
BA ?? LHR DXB 2008 744
All economy. Would have been more on BA, but since it's standards nose dived and I can fly direct from MAN or connect, I seek other carriers first.

Simply the best civilian aircraft
ever made, Boeing’s finest achievement

Epic

It is easy to forget that the 747 is still in production and will probably be flying for 30 or more years thanks to its exceptional freight carrying ability. The freight market is picking up at the right time to keep the production line open.

factsonly wrote:

Shankly, you probably meant to refer to MH - Malaysia Airlines.

MS is Egyptair.

I did! Thanks for the correction. Bit of confirmation bias on my part, me being old enough to remember Malaysia as Malaysian Airline System (MAS)

As an aside that KUL-PEN flight was my shortest 747 flight, around 30 minutes from memory and the departure from KUL was epic in what was a ridiculously lighty loaded aircraft

Newer, flashier, lighter (and let's face it, more boring!) aircraft have come ... bigger versions of older twins, even hard to tell apart for enthusiasts ... but there's only ever one greatest, no matter what supplants it in the fleets of today.

Nothing makes the heart beat a little faster, nothing looks better than it on takeoff, nothing is more distinctive, no other commercial airliner was born of a bigger or braver commercial risk, no other aircraft has the number of firsts that it has (first widebody, first big fan engine, and a few more besides). IT IS the greatest of them all.

Long live the 747!

shankly wrote:

factsonly wrote:

Shankly, you probably meant to refer to MH - Malaysia Airlines.

MS is Egyptair.

I did! Thanks for the correction. Bit of confirmation bias on my part, me being old enough to remember Malaysia as Malaysian Airline System (MAS)

As an aside that KUL-PEN flight was my shortest 747 flight, around 30 minutes from memory and the departure from KUL was epic in what was a ridiculously lighty loaded aircraft

Flew several times from Dublin to Shannon, back in the '90s and '90s; 120 miles, 25 minutes. Aer Lingus used to offer day trips for groups - £16 (quite a sum back then, in recession hit Ireland!), down on the 747, back on the train! What an experience.

Long live the Queen! The most majestic airplane to grace the skies, it truly transformed commercial aviation beyond what any other aircraft has accomplished before or since. My first flight was on Pan Am in 1972, and I'll never forget my astonishment when we boarded, the interior was huge! I've been fortunate to fly on many others since, including in business class upstairs. My only regret is never having been able to sit in the very first row in 1st Class (or any row in the front section) to see how close to a forward view you can get from the first window.

The B747 my all time favourite aircraft as it is with many others on a.net and we're fortunate enough to see them still in service with British Airways and to witness the many movements at LHR which are still a pleasure to see.

One thing that really surprises me after reading the posts on this thread is that some of a particular age of 50 years plus having never flown on the ''Queen of the skies'' before or only a really limited amount of flights, that has honestly surprised me.

I've flown on the B741/B742/B743/B744 many times but I'm not going to list all of the flights that I've undertaken on the aircraft.

Flyingdevil737 wrote:

musman9853 wrote:

I don't think i've met a single person who didn't know what a 747 was. And that's really impressive.

Half of my friends don’t know what a 747 is and only 5 know what a 737 is.

You need new friends

You also need to just use one user account (or at least only one per thread). Makes me nostalgic for the days when you had to pay for membership

ER757 wrote:

Flyingdevil737 wrote:

musman9853 wrote:

I don't think i've met a single person who didn't know what a 747 was. And that's really impressive.

Half of my friends don’t know what a 747 is and only 5 know what a 737 is.

You need new friends

You also need to just use one user account (or at least only one per thread). Makes me nostalgic for the days when you had to pay for membership

I Couldn't agree with you more

I was going to actually comment myself in that what he needs is more friends well at least 6 and those 5 that know what a B737 could then inform that other friend.

Considering that the B747 or 'Jumbo Jet even ' has been around for 50 years and that absolute millions of passengers have flown on the aircraft, has been in films and advertising, etc and also the fact that it's used as an example for measuring size in many media outlets I'm surprised that your 'few' friends are unaware of the B747!

Obviously those friends of yours have absolutely no interest in aviation or even traveling to not know what a B747 is

There are so many impressive
aspects of this aircraft, to me
the most significant is how
Boeing got it ‘right’


The original -100 series had a maximum take off weight around
700,000 pounds, temperamental
engines, transatlantic or very weight restricted pacific NW- TYO
range


But the superb engineering and built in growth margins allowed
Weight increases through various
different models over the years to
987,000 pounds,an increase of more than the
Mgtow of a 757-300 !


With these higher weights and improved engines it’s performance
and efficiency grew exponentially all the way to the -8 models of today

It was way ahead of its time and
really too big for the market at first


But Boeing knew what they were doing, they had done their market
research, were planning decades ahead and backed it up with superb, rugged and redundant engineering


They got the cabin size just right, this was so important and allowed
great flexibility as a passenger or
Combi / Full freighter aircraft


The payload, high cruising speed and range have been invaluable


They did this while creating one of the best looking aircraft ever built

But there’s just one word for me that describes the queen of the
skies

Grandeur

I've been lucky enough to fly on the 100 (United), 300 (Qantas), 400 (Qantas, Thai, British Airways) and the 400ER (Qantas). Just missing the SP, 200 and the 8.

Having a think about it, the 747 has been responsible for a lot of firsts for me. First long haul flight was on the United 747-400 SYD-LAX, which is also my first international economy class experience. My first premium economy experience was on the 747-400 also, British Airways World Traveller Plus LHR-JFK. First international business class was on the 747-400, upper deck on Qantas SYD-HKG. And my very first time in first class internationally was on a BA 747-400 in 2A BKK-SYD.

Fantastic aircraft!

Can anyone name each airline, left to right?


I'm thinking the orange one is National

I have been lucky enough to have flown on the 741, 742, 743, 744, 747SP, and a 74M. Airlines included Braniff, TWA, PanAm, British, KLM, Air France, Lufthansa, Japan, and Swiss Air. Lucky to get seat 1A in First on British from LHR to JNB one time, while traveling on a coach non-revenue ticket. Only the -8 remains to fill my dance card.

Once on a Braniff non revenue ferry flight, I was able to sit in the co-pilot's seat in flight for a few minutes. That was the 1970s - couldn't do that today.

Half a century later she is still a beauty, and still turning heads. The Queen of the Skies.

727LOVER wrote:

Can anyone name each airline, left to right?

From the following thread: https://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=579439&p=8776017&hilit=747+launch+airlines+747+rollout#p8776017

1. ?
2. JAL
3. KLM
4. Air India
5. Alitalia
6. Iberia
7. Lufthansa
8. SAS
9. Air Canada
10. SOUTH AFRICAN Airways
11. Continental
12. UNITED
13. PanAm
14. QANTAS
15. BOAC
16. PanAm
17. Braniff
18. Eastern
19. Delta
20. National
21. TWA
22. Northwest
23. American
24. Air France
25. Aer Lingus
26. EL AL

global2: My only regret is never having been able to sit in the very first row in 1st Class (or any row in the front section) to see how close to a forward view you can get from the first window.


You're right.....it is a different experience....back in the 80s I got to travel on seat 1K on a flight from BOM to JFK via ORY and LHR...….over 20 hours in that seat....it was a great experience.....in that row, you get the feeling that the plane is moving sideways when taxiing, because of the curvature up front.....very weird feeling....

I've also flown on the upper deck, and at the back of the plane as well as mid section......742, 743 and 744......AI, BA and LH.....so got to experience the 747 in all possible ways.....

Hope to experience the 748i some day.....

My only flight on the 747 was on a Lufthansa 747-400 to Frankfurt. Best flight I have ever been on.

I was a 747 pilot.......my bucket list....

I was 4 years old and still remember the rollout. Father was a Delta pilot and Delta ordered some! I rode on one in 1973. Delta 747 ATL-DAL-SFO-ATL in a day with my mom for my birthday. I checked out on the 747-400 on my birthday March 2015 as first officer and did my Last 747 flight on my birthday in March 2017. 30 of the easiest and best landings. I was one of 7 Delta F/Os who got to go fly the NW 747s after the merger. THE BEST CREWS, FLIGHT ATTENDANTS and training program I ever flew with for those 2 years of glory. I have flown Boeing Lockheed, Douglas and bus and by far, they all are second to the B747.

Boeing built its replacement with the 777-8/9/10, No problem moving forward but it’s great looking back.

If you have never fllew(pilot) or flown on/in a 747, sell your sole to do so.

Cheers.

Been lucky enough to have flown on 3 747's - all in 1995

1st one was QF's first 'Wunala Dreaming' 747-400 for a SYD-HKG (Kai Tak) flight.
2nd one was a SQ 747-400 for a LHR-SIN flight. I remember being so excited to have personal IFE screens in economy for this flight - this was the flight that gave me both a love for aircraft and a love of Muriel's Wedding (which I watched about 4 times on the flight as homesickness set in haha).
3rd one was a SQ 747-200 for a SIN-ADL flight (back when it was a triangular SIN-ADL-MEL-SIN route)

Interesting video of “The First Flight of the Boeing 747 Superjet”.

https://youtu.be/bR_mQ-24XJg