Posted on 08/22/2016 11:57:32 AM PDT by djf
I was just talking to my neighbor who has a son that works in Everett.
He says the last 747 is expected to come off the line in late September, this year!
In my mind, this is just about the last thing I would recommend. Take a hiatus if you need one. But don't spend all your gumption on the 787.
Stick to planes that WORK! Like the 737...
Thoughts?
Dunno that much about these things, but it seems the 747 had an absence of substantive complaints which itself says a lot about it.
Presumably, if they had the orders to keep the line running, they would.
With that logic not only would we have had 747's to begin with, we'd still be flying around in DC-3's.
The 747 will always be the Queen of the Sky to this frequent traveler.
What’s wrong with the 787? I’ve flown all over Asia on them. Awesome planes, those.
You can’t tell McDonnell Douglas,ahem Boeing, anything. They know it all.
He may be referring to the last “all-aluminum” 747 ... the carbon-fiber version (747-8) appears to remain in production.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_747-8
My father worked in Everett before being transfered to AWACS at Boeing field. The 747 is quite a plane, but it is a rather old design.
Nothing lasts forever. Except, of course, The B52. :-)
Remember Puff, the Magic Dragon?
What other jumbo jet can fly from Sydney, AU to Dallas, TX?
It was my understanding that the 747 was the only jumbo that could make it that far -— one of the longest commercial flights around!
Who needs to fly when you have personal teleportation devices that can take you anywhere in the world?
What? Y’all don’t have one yet?
A year or so ago I think I read, with sadness, that the 747 was on it’s way out, only to learn later that was not quite the true. I hope this time is no different, although at some point the Jumbo will have to give up the ghost (so to speak).
I have a special place in my heart for the 737 as well.
Nothing against the other Boeing aircraft - they are all outstanding.
I remember the first time I saw the space shuttle on the back of a 747 and thought “No way they can do that... No way!”
But they did it with plenty to spare!
Have to agree, the 787 is a wonderful aircraft.
Agreed. The 747 is always a welcome sight to see above. Now it has become quite the workhorse for cargo. I assume we will see her for another generation.
Well, I think that ugly bloated 380 can do that.
But it will never be as awesome as the 747. And 40 years too late.
It also will never do freight. Not with that stupid slouching design forcing the cockpit on the first level, in the way of front entry.
I remember going up to JFK the second week of PAA 747 service
Still think it the best sight in the air almost 50 years later
Took many slides of it over the years
The 747-8I (passenger) and 747-8F (freighter) versions are still technically in production, but are currently being produced at a rate of 1/2 of an aircraft per month. At that snail's pace, Boeing will exhaust it's backlog of orders in 2019.
One of the last 747-8s to roll off the assembly line, if not the very last, will be replacement aircraft for Air Force One.
I never had a chance to fly in one. All my flying was domestic. And even Hawaii was the tri-engines before Alaska started flying it.
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