![]() ![]() ![]() This, however, offered the widest cabin ever in passenger aircraft at over six meters in diameter, to be flexible enough to put on either seats or two cargo containers side by side. Instead of following initial plans to build two decks above each other, the 747 was equipped with just one main deck. This configuration created a small area behind the cockpit, the famous "hump" of the 747. The cockpit was therefore put above the main deck - as for simple loading a nose that would open upwards was needed. The 747 was supposed to just bridge the gap for the period of time until most intercontinental passengers would fly supersonic anyway, either on Concorde or its US competitor Boeing SST - also called Boeing 2707, abandoned in 1971 - which were under development at the time.Īfter a short period as an airliner, the 747 was supposed to be operated as a freighter. It was clear that the airlines, Pan Am most of all, wanted a much larger aircraft than had ever been built before, a class that was uncharted territory.įor Juan Trippe, the 707 was the benchmark. He had held onto the idea to build a double-deck aircraft for a long time, basically wanting to put two 707 fuselages on top of each other. In the modern digital age of computer design and virtual 3D models that can be created with a few mouse clicks, it's hard to imagine what challenge the engineers on the Boeing 747 design team were facing in the 1960s. The last-ever jumbo jet depicts the "father of the 747," chief engineer Joe Sutter, who passed away in 2016 Image: John Froschauer/AP/dpa/picture alliance "Trippe said in principle: 'If you build it I'll buy it.' And Allen replied: 'I'll build it if you buy it.' There was no contract signed, but that launched the program," Joe Sutter remembered later. It's hard to believe today, that a project putting the sheer existence of both companies at risk, costing billions of dollars, was launched in such an informal way, without any official documents. They agreed on building the world's largest passenger aircraft, just with a handshake. The conception of the 747 has become a legend and myth: In 1965, the two most powerful men in aviation at the time, Boeing boss William "Bill" Allen and Pan Am founder Juan Trippe, came to a gentlemen's agreement during their annual salmon fishing boat trip. The freighter will be operated by Atlas Air for logistics company Kühne & Nagel Image: David Ryder/REUTERS A plane born with a handshake Plane number 1,574 is the last-ever 747 built. It was initially certified for up to 550 passengers and later capable of carrying up to 660 travelers. The 747 was the first airplane dubbed "jumbo jet" because of its wide-body design. The Boeing 747 achieved the biggest quantum leap in the history of commercial aviation, as its predecessor, the Boeing 707, accommodated just up to 189 passengers. Only a small decal near the nose which can open upwards marks this as the final aircraft of the line and depicts the "father of the 747," chief engineer Joe Sutter, who passed away in 2016 as an industry legend. On January 31, 2023, a glamorous era in aviation ends, as almost exactly 54 years after its first flight, production of the Boeing 747 has been stopped and the last aircraft delivery is celebrated. In Seattle, Lombardi tends to shelves full of old drawings, priceless airplane models and 50,000 cans of film on Boeing Image: Boeing Commercial Airplanes/Archiv Spaeth "She is a great symbol for humanity and what we do, she has changed the world, shrunk the globe and democratized air travel," Lombardi told DW in Seattle, a few days before the historical event. ![]() ![]() His voice turns sonorous as he looks back at the largest civil aircraft project of all time. When Boeing's company historian Michael Lombardi talks about the Boeing 747 he strikes an almost sacral tone. ![]()
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