Click here to view: Highlights in the History of Aviation and Aerospace - The Past, The Present, and The Future:
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RIP.
I love the plane you built.
Consider that some of the world’s most successful planes and spacecraft like the 747, the Saturn V moon rocket and the SR-71 were products not of computers, but of slide rules and top engineers.
Thanks for the ping...I read his book a few months back “747: Creating the World’s First Jumbo Jet and Other Adventures from a Life in Aviation” and it was highly entertaining and informative.
I highly recommend it.
Some designs seem almost timeless and the 747 is surely one of them.
I wonder who designed the DC-3? The 707?
RIP
GReatest jet commercial craft ever.
Mom still wishes she could ride one.
“Sutter also made the pivotal decision to place the engines beneath the wing “where they belonged” rather than at the tail.”
His best decision ever.
The three rear engines of the 727 was a horrible design.
RIP
First flew on one in 1976, last was a 400 model in 1996. Spent a lot of hours on them over the years, remarkable aircraft.
IIRC I flew from Detroit to Seoul non-stop, takeoff weight was around 650,000 lbs, 14.5 hour flight.
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Notice anything peculiar about these aircraft? Points to anybody (else) who knows what's going on here.
I had got promoted and needed to fly from DC to the West Coast in 1970.
My new boss’s secretary made reservations for me. She and my new boss said it was like sitting in a theatre and having the theatre take off.
They were right, and it was an incredible round trip flight.
Later, we relocated to the west coast, and my family flew out in a 747. My wife and kids ages 4 and 3 @ that time, and they still remember that flight in 1971.
Since, then air flights have become like cattle hauling with us as the cattle. TSA has made air travel even worse.
one of the greats. RIP
I needed that guy to make improvements in my fleet of 747’s that I’m going to own after I win the lottery and build an empire that will need them.
Although I've flown the A380 a few times (a nice aircraft to be sure) the 747 always has been,and always *will* be,the Queen of the Skies.
I watched this documentary:
http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/shows/747-the-jumbo-revolution/0/3407070
Mr. Sutter is interviewed and the early development of the plane was quite interesting. Boeing was approached by Pan Am to build a ocean liner that would fly. Sutter had his idea but Boeing would not allow him to take part in the presentations because they were afraid he would be too abrasive. He pushed for the current design (Pan Am wanted a multi deck design) and he finally walked into one of the meetings and used a string to show Pan Am how wide the plane would be and the cost savings. Pan Am liked it.
President Trump will be flying the 747-8, the newest version of the tried and true 747 Platform if he is Reelected in 2020.
The new Plane is supposed to be delivered to the Air Force in 2018 but may not be in service until 2020 or later..
The two current AF-1 747-200’s are due to be retired then.
Apparently, Obama wore them out.
RIP.