You’re gonna need a bigger Boeing: Why air giant built the 747
Thousands of people gathered to watch Boeing’s newest airliner, the largest ever, slowly emerge from the giant factory that had to be built to make it.
The aircraft – the Boeing 747 – was twice the size of its predecessor, and with its extraordinarily long range, it was to rewrite the international travel rule book for years to come.
The 1960s was a decade of massive social change: the Vietnam war, the civil rights movement and the tensions of the Cold War. But, with the race to the Moon, there were extraordinary scientific advances that came with it.
It was also the decade when air travel went from being the preserve of the wealthy to something much more accessible. The arrival of the 747 was to push that process further still.
The idea for a plane the size of the 747 came from the airline Pan Am. Faced with growing numbers of passengers on more and more planes, airports were becoming congested. Pan Am’s solution was a bigger plane to deal with increased demand – which would keep airport congestion and running costs down.
But before Boeing could build the 747, it had to build a factory big enough. The 747 was so big – 231ft nose to tail and with a wingspan of 195ft – that it couldn’t be built in any of Boeing’s existing facilities.
The resulting factory, at Everett, 30 miles north of Seattle, is still the biggest enclosed building in the world.
Boeing, though, was burning through cash. To help fund the 747 project it borrowed from no fewer than seven banks. By the time the plane was ready, it owed a record $1.2 billion.
After the rollout in September 1968, the next milestone came in February 1969. Test pilots Jack Waddell and Brien Wygle took the 747 on its maiden flight, which was a huge success.
On January 15, 1970, Pan Am’s first 747 was officially christened by US First Lady Pat Nixon. The airline’s 747s began flying between New York and London, one week later.
More and more airlines added 747s to their fleets. Throughout the 1970s and ’80s the 747’s distinctive humped shape became a byword for long-haul luxury. Its cabins were spacious, and the plane even had a spiral staircase to access the upper deck. Some airlines took advantage of the 747’s size to bring previously unthought of levels of luxury. American Airlines 747s had a piano bar in economy class in the ’70s; Continental’s models had a lounge with sofas.
Different versions followed – a slightly smaller one, several long range variants, a cargo-only plane. Maximum seating capacity rose from 550 to 660.
But progress overtook the 747 too. When it was designed, no twin-engined airliner was allowed to fly further than 60 minutes from the nearest airport, in case there was a problem with an engine. Now, twin-engined jets fly as much as five hours from the nearest airport, making them suitable for long-haul travel – but at much lower cost to the airline.
What became of that first 747? It is the star exhibit at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, where it towers over the other aircraft in the open air display lot. The aircraft made 12,000 test flights for Boeing and has recently undergone a full restoration, refitting the original 1968 equipment including early computers, linoleumcovered tables, orange sofas and chairs with ashtrays. It is a relic from a bygone era.