Article: First Boeing 747
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 93
Article: First Boeing 747
Nice overview of the features of the first model and an update on the problems in getting it refurbished.
"We climb the narrow, trademark spiral staircase and in "the hump" find the plane's lone creature-comfort space — a workers lounge resplendent with ashtray-equipped sofas upholstered in faded burnt-orange fabric that could be straight off the set of "Mad Men." Steps away is the surprisingly cramped cockpit, with its bewildering banks of analog gauges and dials, manual flight controls, heavy-duty metal switches and full-on engineering station — all now aeronautical relics."
http://seattletimes.com/html/pacific...47plane09.html
"We climb the narrow, trademark spiral staircase and in "the hump" find the plane's lone creature-comfort space — a workers lounge resplendent with ashtray-equipped sofas upholstered in faded burnt-orange fabric that could be straight off the set of "Mad Men." Steps away is the surprisingly cramped cockpit, with its bewildering banks of analog gauges and dials, manual flight controls, heavy-duty metal switches and full-on engineering station — all now aeronautical relics."
http://seattletimes.com/html/pacific...47plane09.html
#2
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Dalat, Vietnam
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I remember walking through one of the first Pan Am 747's that was put on display for the public at Honolulu International in '69 - it looked so big at the time.
#6
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"We climb the narrow, trademark spiral staircase and in "the hump" find the plane's lone creature-comfort space — a workers lounge resplendent with ashtray-equipped sofas upholstered in faded burnt-orange fabric that could be straight off the set of "Mad Men." Steps away is the surprisingly cramped cockpit, with its bewildering banks of analog gauges and dials, manual flight controls, heavy-duty metal switches and full-on engineering station — all now aeronautical relics."
#7
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If British Airways had been aware of how this plane was allowed to rot, I can't imagine they would have loaned the Museum of Flight a Concorde, as they did.
#9
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: YYZ
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July, 1969, Mrs. bj-21 and I were on our honeymoon in S. Fla. Driving down Bicayne Blvd. towards the downtown Miami area one afternoon we noticed a very large aircraft flying very low and slow over Biscayne Bay. It was our first sighting of a B747, and we were amazed. She had Pan Am markings on her and she made several slow passes over the bay, and we stopped to watch that beautiful bird fly by. Now many years (and many, many flights later), it's sad to see them slowly leaving the fleets. Hopefully some of the major airlines will order the new B747-8 as replacements.
bj-21.
bj-21.
#10
Join Date: Jul 2003
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To be fair to SMoF, most of the rot took place before they got it. I don't know how long it sat abandoned next to the tower at BFI but it was several years.
#11
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They're hardly racing to do so. Not only because it's the last variant on a planform conceived 45 years ago, but because the topography of world airline networks has changed so much since then. With few exceptions, the future belongs to smaller, lighter, faster planes plying so-called long, thin routes. The VLA market opportunity is very limited and the A380 was first mover. The A380 will probably never feature significantly at more than a dozen superhub airports worldwide.
#12
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: YYZ
Programs: AC, AA, UA, BA, Hilton
Posts: 2,907
They're hardly racing to do so. Not only because it's the last variant on a planform conceived 45 years ago, but because the topography of world airline networks has changed so much since then. With few exceptions, the future belongs to smaller, lighter, faster planes plying so-called long, thin routes. The VLA market opportunity is very limited and the A380 was first mover. The A380 will probably never feature significantly at more than a dozen superhub airports worldwide.
Our first flight on a B747 (that appeared to be brand new, right out of the box) was an EI flight from JFK-SNN in 1971. I've often wondered if that particular aircraft was later the ill-fated plane that became TWA 800, as I believe that the one that went down off Long Island (according to reports I read at the time) started its life flying in '71 with the EI logo.
Time will tell...but I hope the new model makes it!
bj-21.