The last Boeing 747 has left the company’s widebody factory in advance of its delivery to Atlas Air in early 2023.
“For more than half a century, tens of thousands of dedicated Boeing employees have designed and built this magnificent airplane that has truly changed the world. We are proud that this plane will continue to fly across the globe for years to come,” said Kim Smith, Boeing Vice President and general manager, 747 and 767 Programs.
The 747 has played a key role in Boeing’s history of aerospace leadership.
- Production of the 747, the world’s first twin-aisle airliner, began in 1967 and spanned 54 years, during which a total of 1,574 airliners were built.
- At 250 ft 2 in (76.2 m), the 747-8 is the longest commercial aircraft in service. At typical cruising speeds, the 747-8 travels roughly the length of three FIFA soccer fields or NFL football fields, per second.
- The final airliner is a 747-8 Freighter. This model has a revenue payload of 133.1 tonnes, enough to transport 10,699 solid-gold bars or approximately 19 million ping-pong balls or golf balls.
I would love to see 19m ping pong balls. Or let mr beast put 1 billion orbeeze in a 747 or some other crazy comparison statistic that companies promote.
Last of the big 4 engine jets. It makes sense for commercial service to do point to point travel rather than hub and spoke service, people want to fly to and from the airport closest to there home directly.
“Last of the big 4 engine jets”- hhm, don’t tell the good people at Airbus (the A380) 😀
The last A380s were delivered in December 2021
The last A380 was in production last year!!
They stopped making the A380 in December 2021.
Klonkie,
The last ever A380 was built 18 months ago:
Ahh, I get it Farouk, my apologies ,We are discussing “still in production” My error, thanks for pointing this out.
“133.1 tonnes … approximately 19 million ping-pong balls or golf balls.”
Because those two weigh the same. I didn’t know that and I’d have estimated 50 million ping-pong balls or 3 million golf balls, but a quick search shows so many websites have repeated the Boeing’s statistic that it must be true.
You’re quite right, the PGA say a regulation golf ball weighs around 47grams, the WTTA say a ping pong ball weighs around 3g.
Their figures are also way off…
19 million golf balls would weigh somewhere of the order of 890 tonnes. 19 million ping pong balls around 57 Tonnes.
OK guys and girls, I am off to weigh both, now where did I put my 19 million ping pong balls?
Seems that Boeing’s woes continue…
as the last 747 is produced, the US Army finally picks the Bell 280 Valour tiltrotor over the Sikorsky–Boeing Defiant as the replacement to the Black Hawk.
Very interesting to see contextual analogies of scale/speed NOT related to the size of Wales.
‘3 football pitches per second’ would normally expressed in the media as ‘0.19 Wales per Tom Jones song’.
A fabulous airplane and it is being withdrawn by many airlines too soon! I once occupied the entire business class cabin on a 400 with not another soul, I felt very privileged. A brilliant design and one that should be redeveloped to meet increased flights that are bound to come once the World gets around its current problems. Goodbye, good friend.
Twinjets are far more efficient and economical than a 50+ year but there will a need for 747 freighters as their cargo capacity will keep them for a long time to come
On holiday near Seattle in 1969 we drove past a line of 12 or so 747’s awaiting delivery. As an 11 year old boy I was so excited to see these behemoths!
53 year production life span . A true contender for the greatest aircraft ever built right alongside theDC3 -IMHO
Still remember my first flight from London to Toronto in 1978 on a 747.
Strangely enough I was telling my grandson how different the expirence of long haul flights was back then.
One movie using a drop down projecter throwing a pale picture onto the bulkhead and those horrible acoustic tube headphones which were so uncomfortable in your ears.
I believe the 380 production has ceased. Now which brave manufacturer is going to come up with a dedicated freighter to match the Queen of the Sky.?
Why do you call it final boyeing 747 ?
What about next production ?
I travelled just once on a 747, in Upper Class on Virgin Atlantic returning from the US to the UK. Got the middle seat in the downstairs nose section. Quirky Virgin style luxury all the way! Happy memories !