This year, on 9 February 2019, Boeing 747 will celebrate 50 years since the first flight. On 9 February 1969, the first Boeing 747-100 took off on its first flight from Seattle's Boeing base. At that time, Boeing 747-100 was the largest passenger plane that mankind saw.
The success story of the Boeing 747 family of aircraft began in the mid-60 years, when Boeing developed a wide-body aircraft in response to the growing needs of commercial aviation.
Boeing 747, 50 years since the first flight
After about four years of planning and development, attended by Lufthansa engineers, the jumbo jet, built from about six million individual parts, was ready to take off.
Lufthansa was the second largest air carrier in the world and the first in Europe to receive a Boeing 747 aircraft. The model debuted with Pan Am at 22 January 1970. And Lufthansa received the Boeing 747-130 (D-ABYA) aircraft at 9 March 1970.
Boeing 747 was about 70 meters long and wingspan about 60 meters. The vertical stabilizer had a height of 19 meters, larger than a building with 5 floors. The propulsion was provided by 4 engines. And the transport capacity varies from 365 of passengers (Lufthansa) to 440 of passengers in a single class.
Boeing 747-100 on the first 2 / 2 flight
The name "Jumbo Jet" was given by the American press, and later the plane was also known as "Queen of the Skies".
But the Boeing 747 family also had cargo models. Lufthansa received the first Boeing 747-230F, also known as the "smiling Boeing", in March 1972. The aircraft was also nicknamed the "Beetle swallower" because it could carry up to 72 Volkswagen Beetles.
Happy Birthday, Jumbo!