Gotta Love The 747

Yep! Saw one for almost 11 hours from the inside looking out....
JFK, to FRA.
and if you think seeing the landing from the outside is great.....
Just wait till you see it from the inside!

heh heh!.................. heh.

 

I see a few Virgin Airways 747s approaching for landing from my house every once in a while I'm outside. Last time I was in a 744 was back in 2000. Got a chance to go to the upper deck and get a view of the cockpit. It was incredible.

 

I hope that I'm not getting boring with my comments. I was one of those who are now called " The Incredibles". I worked on the 747 from 1967 till 1971 and saw the first flight after spending many days and nights getting Number One out the door. It was a monumental effort but it produced a magnificant airplane. I spoke with Jack Waddel who made the first flight as pilot and he said that it was a ridiculously easy airplane to fly and to land. It does everything well and will continue to do so for a long time. The 747-8 has improved the airplane by modernizing the aerodynamics and by using new engine technology. It will be a Mach.86 to .88 airplane with better seat / mile cost than anything going. The 747 Dream Lifter is going to be a force in large cargo freight too so the airplane will be another one of those 50 year phenomenons like the B-52 and KC-135 , both of which I worked on in 1950 and 1954. We knew then that those airplanes were something very special. The 707 was an exciting pioneering program but it lacked the portentiousness of the 747 program which really completed the job that the 707 started. I worked on all but the 737 and it's enjoyable to sit back and think about all that from 57 years ago. And now I can even look back on the historic changes that we brought about in the computerization of airplane design with the 777 that was done "all on the screen".

 

AviationWeek has a series of photos of the assembly of the 747-100 from the 1960's.

https://aviationweek.com/commercial-aviation/photos-boeing-747-100-assembly-line-1969#slide-0-field_images-1286601

 

I remember watching takeoffs from the old parking area (closed since 9/11) along the south Perimeter Road at MIA, right next to what was then runway 9R (today, simply runway 9). I remember seeing a 747 accelerating up the runway towards my position and thinking that such a massive object could not possibly fly. But it rotated just before reaching me and lifted off just past me and I watched it gracefully climb out. None of the other jets was anywhere near being as impressive.

 

I know I've posted this video before, but I just love it. I admit that if I had been standing at that fence, I'd have been getting a little worried too. I've gotta get down to St. Maarten sometime.

 

"Video unavailable
"Watch this video on YouTube.
"Playback on other websites has been
disabled by the video owner."

Sorry!

 

If you select the line that says "Watch this video on YouTube", it will do just that!

 

I have flown across the Pacific over 300 times on --- the 747. I believe I have flown on every configuration, even SP's and Combi's (EVA flew 747 Combi configurations from Hong Kong to Taipei). I've flown the latest dash 8 version on Lufthansa from Hong Kong to Frankfurt. Without question, the best of the bunch.

And the irony is my first job out of college was in the 747 factory in Everett.

Today I fly on 777's and Dreamliners. I like the Dreamliner but it's not "the queen of the skies" to me.

 

Thanks!

 

Those were the days...

 

You're correct, Jim. It has never changed since I saw the first take off so many years ago. What was it, 1970? February? There was still snow in patches around the runway and I was in the cold on top of the hangar on the "civilian side". We listened to the entire test flight including the right hand inboard flap jumping out of its flap track causing a lowed bump. Jack Wadell landed it gently and said that " It was the easiest flying airplane that he ever flew." Dates aren't my best skill now but I'll never forget the long frantic hours spent at the Everett plant to get the airplane out the door.

 

Loud bump!

 

The 747 at 50.

https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/boeing-747-celebrates-50th-birthday-a-history-in-pictures#gs.m94j6Ys

I bet I have flown a 747 into the old airport HK airport in Kowloon more than 100 times. You could look out the window and see people looking at you from their apartments as you flew by.

No this photo is not a plane crash. It was daily life before July 1st, 1997.

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

It's incredible that NO ONE IS LOOKING UP AT THAT 747!

 

In those days they came by every few minutes --all day long.

Because of the single runway at the airport, airlines used the 747 to shuffle in and out as many people as they could from all over the world.

 

It's amazing that with all that could have gone wrong, Kai Tak never had a really serious crash. I guess for the best view, the seat to have on one of those aircraft would have been a right-side window seat!

 

My very first flight into Kai Tak the pilot got on the intercom and told people not to worry and explained what was about to happen. Ironically, I never remember another warning from any other pilot after. Yes, the right side would let you see what people in Kowloon were cooking for dinner that evening.

 

Simply amazing. Kai Tak was an airport which demanded respect and of course skills and knowledge! The picture above is stunning. The B747-200 remains my favourite commercial plane until now.