Boeing 747 from the Flight Deck

The final 747—a 747-8 model—left the production line for its inaugural flight on February 1 this year. The crew traced a unique pattern in the sky: a queen’s crown underlaid by the numbers “7-4-7.”

Julie Boatman

Friday, November 17, 2023 at 02:17 PM ET

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The Boeing 747-400 freighter in final assembly in the Everett Factory. [Courtesy of Boeing] K63934

Key Takeaways:

The final Boeing 747 has departed the production line, marked by a unique tribute flight, yet the aircraft is anticipated to remain in active service for decades.
Current and former test pilots, Curt Gottshall and Kirk Vining, deeply connected to the 747, commend its remarkably gentle handling and maneuverability despite its massive size.
Pilots highlight the distinction between deliberately pushing the aircraft's limits in flight testing versus carefully avoiding such scenarios in routine operations.
The article also fondly recalls the critical role of flight engineers in earlier 747 models, whose profound mechanical expertise was essential for operations, a function largely replaced by modern technology.

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Pilots have long held a deep connection to the airplane that Joe Sutter and his team built. I for one devoured the legendary engineer’s book, 747: Creating the World’s First Jumbo Jet and Other Adventures, and witnessed from afar the genius woven into that airplane. I would have loved to have talked with Sutter, or Jack Waddell, Boeing’s chief test pilot who took the first 747 on its initial flight on February 9, 1969.