God save ‘the queen of the skies’
Stories and history of the magnificent Boeing B747.
Production of the Boeing B747, aka the ‘Jumbo Jet’ and also honoured as the ‘queen of the skies’, is coming to an end, though it’ll continue to fly its majestic circles in the sky for a few more years, of course. From 2023 it will even greet passers-by from the facade of a building in Seattle.
The Boeing B747 proved how photogenic it was when it entered Lufthansa Cargo’s fleet on 19 April 1972. It was snapped on the tarmac at the time, encircled by Volkswagen ‘Beetle’ cars. Some consider the 747 the most beautiful aircraft in history. No one denies its versatility.
The future of four-engined aeroplanes is restricted, in the face of ever-more limited resources. Boeing said that the last four Jumbo Jets out of more than 1,500 built will be made and handed over to Atlas Air this year. In April UPS, for example, took delivery of what will be its last of 41 aircraft of the type. It has 28 Boeing B747-8Fs and 13 Boeing B747-400Fs in its fleet.
The sheer size of the US aircraft manufacturer’s 747 production hall in Everett WA (USA) is also impressive (see also page 17 of ITJ 49-52 / 2013). Now the nearby metropolis of Seattle, whose 184 m ‘Space Needle’ landmark already characterises its cityscape, is set to come up with another architectonic highlight related to the Boeing B747.
Fuselage between twin towers
Parts of a Boeing B747-400 that flew for United Airlines until 2014 are now being hauled to Seattle by truck from the Californian aeroplane graveyard in Victorville. The real estate developer Westbank is planning to suspend this 747 between two skyscrapers in the trendy Seattle neighbourhood of South Lake Union.
The fuselage will form part of a gallery in a block of flats at 1200 Stewart, Seattle. The polished body of the giant bird (now with clipped wings) won’t only be a piece of art, however. The developer will make the interior a usable workspace that it hopes will “create an equally inspiring environment” as the 747 itself.