In December 2022, the last Boeing 747 it left the factory, and is now in the hands of its owners. Yesterday it was completed the long-awaited delivery of the final unit of the mythical aircraft, which will henceforth bear the livery of Atlas Aira cargo airline that today claims to be the main operator of the Queen of Heaven.
The delivery of the last 747 took place at the Boeing factory in Everett, Washington, before thousands of guests. Among many, the members of the team in charge of designing and manufacturing the first Jumbo, which came off the production line in 1967, said. Baptized as The Incrediblesthe opportunity was taken to honor them while the shiny unit 1,574 was handed over to its new owners.
John Dietrich, president and CEO of Atlas Air, highlighted Boeing’s commitment to more than five decades of 747 production, noting that the aircraft still has a lot to give despite the cessation of its manufacture. “We are honored to continue our long history of flying this iconic aircraft for all of our customers. Atlas Air was founded more than 30 years ago with a single converted 747-200 freighter. Since then, we have traveled the world operating almost every type of 747 fleet,” he added.
The last Boeing 747 in history corresponds to the variant 747-8F; that is, its model of larger loads. It measures 76.25 meters long and has a wingspan of 68.5 meters. It uses four General Electric GEnx-2B67 turbofan engines and can carry more than 133 tons of cargo. Its cruising speed is around 900 kilometers per hour and its autonomy is above 14,000 kilometers.
Boeing says goodbye to the 747 for good
The delivery of the last Boeing 747 puts an end to the history of the Queen of the Skies as a production aircraft. But active units still have a lot to offer, especially in the freight forwarding sector. In fact, it is estimated that newer aircraft in the 747-8 line, like the one Atlas Air received yesterday, they will be able to fly without major inconvenience until well into the 2050s.
Despite this, it is clear that the closure of the manufacturing of the Boeing 747 marks a before and after in the aviation industry. It is that the Jumbo not only changed the passenger transport industry by introducing the concept of a cabin with double aisle, but also demonstrated a remarkable versatility to be adapted to many other projects. Several of which had nothing to do with their original use.
Among the most notorious cases are the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, modified variants to fly Space Shuttle orbiters between missions; the VC-25 to the orders of the Government of the United States, popularly known as Air Force Oneand until E-4Bone of the “doomsday planes”, prepared to survive a nuclear holocaust.
But we can’t forget either SOFIAa Boeing 747 that was under the orders of NASA as an airborne astronomical observatory, nor the crazy project that tried to turn the Jumbo into a flying aircraft carrier during the Cold War.
With the delivery of the last unit manufactured in history to Atlas Air, the Boeing 747 begins a new stage. In the years to come, He will only have to continue expanding his myth.