Aviation Week And The Boeing 747

On Feb. 1, Boeing will deliver its 1,574th and last 747 to Atlas Air.

Boeing used the recently launched development of the 747 to recruit engineers in this 1966 advertisement in Aviation Week & Space Technology.

Boeing 747 giant jet transport takes form in the Everett, Washington, assembly plant with mating of major fuselage and wing components. Still to be installed are the engine nacelle packages, landing gear and trailing edge flaps.

A rollout day crowd surges around the No. 1 Boeing 747 giant jet—freshly decorated in red, white and blue that replaced the company’s traditional yellow and brown livery—after it emerged from the final assembly facility at Everett, Washington. The Boeing-owned aircraft bears the insignia of the 27 customers for the 747.

Boeing advertisement during the 747’s test-flight phase as it appeared in a September 1969 issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology.

Passengers praise the experience on the new 747 in this 1970 Boeing advertisement in Aviation Week & Space Technology.

A Boeing 747 widebody jet transport modified to a tanker configuration conducts a dry refueling hookup test with a U.S. Air Force/Lockheed SR-71 Mach 3 long-range reconnaissance aircraft on a flight from Edwards AFB, California.

A Boeing 747 backpacking the first NASA/Rockwell space shuttle orbiter cruises at 16,000 ft. over California mountains during initial atmospheric flight testing.

This 1980 advertisement in Aviation Week & Space Technology touted the many options airlines had for configuring the 747’s spacious two-deck cabin.

A Boeing 747-400 soars over clouds covering the Puget Sound area of Washington state during its first flight. The latest derivative of the widebody jet family is powered by Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines—one of three powerplants being offered with the 747-400. The very-long-range transport is distinguished by 6-ft. wingtip extensions and 6-ft.-long winglets.

A 2005 ad for the freighter version of the 747-400 in Aviation Week & Space Technology.

A December 2006 Lufthansa advertisement in Aviation Week & Space Technology celebrates the German airline’s role as the launch customer for the 747-8, which extended 747-family production into the 2020s.

Boeing has brought more fuel-efficient engines, a stretched fuselage, a high-lift wing and new systems on the 747-8 to extend the brand into its fifth decade. But Boeing is keeping the new airplane’s handling and flight deck close to those of its predecessor so -400 pilots can make an easy transition.

Captured from a Canadair CF-5D chase airplane seconds after release from Cosmic Girl, Virgin Orbit’s 747-400 carrier aircraft, the space company’s liquid-fueled LauncherOne vehicle is pictured already accelerating on its way into polar orbit.