(Updated): This year is the 40th anniversary of the 747, an undeniebly fantastic accomplishment of engineering! But now that it is reaching middle aged and gaining that middle aged spread while the sprightly A380 has come along to supplant it, do you think it is relevent looking into the future?What are your past memories of flying in the old dog?

Here is a picture of the roll out ceremony from our archives

Here are some articles written about the aircraft at the time.

Another one here too

Here is Flight's aircraft profile of the 747

Plus a blog from Left Field

Updated links:

Boeing 747 40 years old (Flightblog)

Really interesting article from the BBC on making of a flying giant

 The Boeing 747 was also voted Flight's 100 Greatest in last year's vote

Absolutely blooming relevant today; and for another 40 years possibly! Unlike some glitzy motorcar marketeers, you don't have to keep changing the basic proven shape to appeal to buyers or passengers. Just keep upgrading the equipment fit and powerplants and leave the well-proven concept alone. However, I would, in due course, extend the upper deck further back and try to blend it somewhat. Perhaps with a lower ceiling for shorter passengers who could be offered a discount? Might also avoid the Bloated Whale look that a certain other Very Large Aircraft has. The Blended Wing concept shows promise of course, but how do you evacuate the passengers in a timely and legal manner? Which reminds me....whatever happened to Smokehoods for pax.????????

Do please excuse me Dear Reader, if I use the contrivance of replying to my own previous Post re. "Is the B-747 still relevant after 40 years?" With larger and larger aircraft coming on line, and continuing "unease" about cabin evac. from multi-decks in event of major smoke situation following a quite survivable lowish-energy event, why have we not been hearing about simple, easy-to-don smokehoods being supplied to pax?

I recall much research being undertaken on them decades ago. What has happened??????

"......and is there Honey still for Tea?"

40 years.....wow how time fly's ........and there are still around 40 of the old classic 747-100 and 747SP active

Source ACAS database

Sure it is!! considering that Boeing is working ona 747-8 project, it is surely still up to these times ... & extending more the upper deck is something I thought too ...

She is the Queen Of The Sies, after all !!  I love the Jumbo!

THE BIPLANE AIRLINER WILL RETURN in the form of the BI-JUMBO! I can now reveal that I have offered to Boeing a concept that none of their people have yet thought of. To solve the looming problem of ever-increasing wingspan and the airport capacity problems that arise from it, the future very high capacity airliner will look like my completely original idea. (Patent pending). It will also solve the emergency evacuation problem when we are dealing with over 1,000 passengers.

To build the BJ-999, Boeing will use two (2) 747 fuselages with the old wings completely removed. Joining the fuselages will be two 200 foot span mainplanes; one set high, the other low and staggered to the rear so as to minimise biplane interference and to enhance the centre-of-gravity range. The two empennages remain standard, Six big geared turbofans will power the BJ-999 and will be mounted on top of the lower wing. The mainplanes will have a huge fuel capacity for direct London to Auckland (New Zealand..175 deg. East Long.) flights. Along the leading edge of the upper wing will be a walkway so that passengers and crew can stroll from BJ(1) to BJ(2). Windows will be fitted for panoramic views; heated for anti-icing. The aircraft will have two cockpits for redundancy and all the primary flight and engine controls will have back-up wire cables routed to them to enable the machine to be manually handled from either flight deck in the event of severe Terror attacks on the computers. Well, I must sign off now and ready myself for the phone call from Boeing that will no doubt ensue.

Biplanes will again rule the skies!

And Happiness is a sodding great Pratt & Whitney.....

Why stop at a Bi-plane? Maybe a triplane design?

Seriously though, I have ALWAYS been a Boeing man (pardon me if that is not very European of me) and not a great fan of the A380. I am surprised that interest in the 747-8 has been slow with only Lufthansa showing interest in the passenger version. With 787 technologies including a new wing design , new powerplants and use of composite materials AND the ability of the aircraft to operate into most of the existing 747 routes , I am really surprised it hasn't faired well against the A380.

Am somewhat surprised that the Boeing people have not indicated that they are agog with excitement at such a brilliant idea from a humble South Pacific lad. I have been waiting for the call from them to wing my way over to lead the design team. Even packed my bag and included my "Whizzo Boy's Draughting Kit", with spare pencils (3H) and rubbers....I say again, erasers. Is it possible that the Yankee fellahs do not read British aviation sites? Surely they must follow what is happening in Merrie England to avoid the possibility of missing some revolutionary aviation idea? After all, back in the 1930s they could have emulated that airliner masterpiece, the Handley-Page Hannibal, instead of heading down a road to nowhere with tinny machines like the DC-3. Ah well...it will be their loss if they don't email me soon. But I don't really want to leap into bed with that other mob who shall remain nameless. But of course my idea could equally and readily be applied to that B.O.U.U.F.P.S.A.M.

"Happiness is a sodding great Pratt & Whitney....and is there Honey still for Tea?"

The queen is here to stay. She is only 40 years young and life begins at 40. I beleive that when Boeing extended the upper deck on the -300 they found that aerodynaically it is not feasible to extend it further. The way things are going in the industry, medium sized jets are getting larger. This suggests that the 777 will eventually make way to larger jets eventually and this is where the 747 will make its second entrance.

Evolution-wise, I have a vision of the 747 (assuming they don't move on my Biplane variant) with an extended merged upper deck and completely re-engined and reconfigured as regards powerplants. Replace the under-slung units with new unshrouded prop-fans, or whatever they will eventually be termed. Raise the thrust-line and mount them higher and forward...rather like the old Lockheed L-188 Electra. Reduce the cruise Mach number back to about 0.77 to produce huge specific fuel consumption gains. Range will not be problem. The new B-747TP (Turbo-Prop) should carry about 600 bods and heaps of cargo. Feel free to send me a private message Boeing chappies...I am not too busy just now!

"Happiness is a sodding great Pratt & Whitney....and is there Honey still for Tea?" 

There is no birthday cake for Boeing's 747 

Turning 40 is not expected to be a pleasant experience for the Boeing 747 jumbo, which will mark the anniversary of its maiden test flight today with none of the fanfare its arrival stirred in the same year man first landed on the moon.

There will be no public festivities to mark the snowy morning on February 9, 1969 when the jet first took off from Paine Field near Boeing's Everett plant north of Seattle.

"We will be marking it internally," a Boeing spokesman, Tim Bader, told the Herald. Some in the airline industry are now wondering whether these commemorations for the jet that revolutionised long-haul travel in the 1970s - particularly for Australians - may resemble a wake.

Source http://business.smh.com.au/business/forty-years-on-its-all-downhill-for-the-jumbo-20090208-80yw.html

"...Islamic Rep of Iran Air Force     747-100     6..."
Wow, that's a lot of Jumbos for one airforce! 

"...I am really surprised it hasn't faired well against the A380...."
Possibly something to do with the latter being such a brilliant beast ?

"...This suggests that the 777 will eventually make way to larger jets eventually and this is where the 747 will make its second entrance...."
I think that by that time technology will have moved on far enough to warrent something completely new. Probably twin engined and  with similar quantities of carbon fiber as in the 787/A350 types. 

 "...a Boeing spokesman, Tim Bader..."

A very appropriate surname