Swan song for the B747...

[birdguy 3,943]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-boeing-747/end-of-the-runway-for-747-jumbo-as-boeing-placed-final-part-orders-idUSKBN2442O8

The Roswell Airport (KROW) is a boneyard for cycled out airliners.  We have a word not allowed load of B747s out there waiting to be junked.

Soon they will be gone from the skies.  But in some places in the world the venerable DC-3 is still a workhorse from Alaska to Antarctica.

Noel

[HighBypass 2,339]

Not sure for how long, but the QOTS will soldier on as a freighter for a while.. 

[scianoir 610]

18 hours ago, birdguy said:

We have a word not allowed load of B747s out there waiting to be junked.

Soon they will be gone from the skies. 

Sadly this virus seems to be spelling the end of passenger 747 ops, although hopefully the few newer passenger 747-8s in operation by Lufthansa and one or two other airlines might continue although I fear even they could be in jeopardy if this drags on.

My first flight in a 747 was in the early 70s when I won a return flight from Dublin to Shannon donated by Aer Lingus as a prize to an aircraft enthusiasts group quiz! In those days, Shannon was Ireland’s only designated transatlantic gateway which gave rise to the somewhat ludicrous necessity of the first leg of all transatlantic flights from Dublin being operated as a domestic flight to Shannon and vice versa on the return flight! As the distance between the airports was just around 100nm, the flight which was usually flown at 15,000ft took just 15-20 minutes, possibly amongst the shortest scheduled 747 flights in the world. Indeed as runway 24/06 in EINN was in almost direct alignment with 24/06 (now closed) in EIDW the flight was frequently made with only the slightest changes in heading! In peak season between 747s and 707s there could be around 6 return flights a day on these operations and, as there were usually many empty seats on the domestic legs which could be had very cheaply, I subsequently used these flights quite a few times for weekend trips from Dublin back to my home which was very near Shannon.

In later years I managed to fly on 747s of Aer Lingus, Pan Am, United, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic on many transatlantic journeys. Indeed in the good old days before it became necessary to lock the cockpit doors, as I knew a number of the captains on both Aer Lingus and Virgin, I was lucky enough to be able to experience take offs and landings from the jump seat of the 747 at quite a few airports including JFK, MIA and LGW.

As one of my daughters worked in Florida for quite a few years we used to fly almost annually from LGW to MCO with Virgin which was always operated by their 747s and I had hoped to be able to make one more flight on that route before they retired them but now alas it seems that opportunity has disappeared. As I am quite tall, I usually paid the extra for a Premium Economy seat just to have the extra legroom on that relatively long flight which usually meant being in the nice upper deck cabin which was an added treat. 

Prior to my last flight on a 747, I can remember waiting in the departure lounge at a MCO to board our return flight home and looking out and upwards at the upper deck of the nose of our 747 which looked as if it was trying to peer in the airport windows at us! It reminded me of a scene from one of those spoof airliner disaster movies (Airplane, I think) where a 747 was ‘looking’ in the windows of a departure lounge and I was about to take a photograph of it as I sat there but I got distracted and it never happened as soon after we were called to board - I now regret not grabbing that photo opportunity which looks very unlikely to happen again. To me, although fanciful, those memories of the 747 nose ‘peering’ in the windows of the airport terminal are an iconic image of an iconic airliner - sadly one that perhaps is going to be increasingly rare in our new world.

Bill

[overspeed3 410]

The first time I flew on a 747 was on a  People Express Airlines back in 1980, a low budget carrier back then, from NYC to LA.  On the the trip back to NYC, I flew another 747 on the red-eye.  There were about 4 passengers on the whole plane, including myself.  One of the the stewardesses (as they were known then) sat down next to a male passenger for about an hour, making time...   

 

[Chock 17,769]

Probably still be around for a good while as cargo aeroplanes since that is a much more lucrative way to operate an airliner than trying to fill one with passengers who have got used to expecting tickets for next to nothing.

Last time I worked on a 747 was on stand 27 at EGCC when we were servicing repatriation flights following the collapse of Thomas Cook. I was aware that they were being phased out of course, so I took every opportunity to go on the thing. Can't say I'll miss the precarious clamber onto the nose gear of the 747 in order to be able to plug in the FEP, but I will miss seeing the things come on stand, as, like the very long 600 versions of the A340 which were also being used for that repatriation role and are becoming a similarly rare sight, they are an impressive presence on the ramp.

[Dominique_K 10,138]

First time of many that I flew one,was in ‘74 on a flight to Bangkok. It was a relatively new aircraft then. Still a curiosity. 

In these days, there was no direct flight from Paris, we had stopovers in Tel Aviv and Karachi.

When you land in Tel Aviv, you usually land straight from the sea. Did that many times. Not on this flight, the 741 flew towards the Judea hills and made a very sharp and low turn over the dry hills towards the sea. I was very impressed to be in that monster of a plane turning so tight, so low and so slow.

Can’t recall my last one, I did a lot of 320, 330 and 777 in the last decade.I suppose that the phasing out was a progressive process.

Edited July 5, 2020 by Dominique_K

[rmeier 473]

My most memorable flight on the B744 was on arrival into YVR (Air Canada) in April 2000. It was a domestic flight from YYZ. On final into Vancouver (I’m guessing about 5-7 nm from the threshold, based on my view of Lulu Island from the port side), the flight crew made a last minute runway change from 26R to 26L (landing 26L was more common back in those days for domestic flights with the terminal configuration). I remember being amazed at how that big airplane effortlessly made that runway approach transition so close to landing.

[The Flight Level 2,113]

Still remember my one and only 747 flight! My honeymoon flight from Vancouver to Hawaii!

[Mace 1,904]

I flew on a 744 in 2002 from KORD to EDDF.  There were not many people on board, maybe a quarter of its total capacity.  That might have been due to the post-9-11 thing or just the norms of a mid-week flight at that time.  Anyway, I will never forget being able to lay across the center section of seats to catch some Z's.   That may be a thing of the past as well.

[scianoir 610]

2 hours ago, Dominique_K said:

Not on this flight, the 741 flew towards the Judea hills and made a very sharp and low turn over the dry hills towards the sea. I was very impressed to be in that monster of a plane turning so tight, so low and so slow.

Sounds a bit like the final approach to runway 13 at Kai Tak. Unfortunately I never had the thrill of experiencing that as my only trip to Hong Kong was a few months after Kai Tak closed and, although a left turn over the Tsing Ma Bridge on long finals to RW25R gave a great view of Hong Kong harbour, I’m sure it was nothing like as exciting as that famous Checkerboard approach. Still, with the great Fly Tampa scenery and a decent 747 add-on we can still at least experience it in our simulators.

Bill

[Dominique_K 10,138]

14 minutes ago, scianoir said:

Sounds a bit like the final approach to runway 13 at Kai Tak.

The Kai Tak approach over Kow Loon was impressive but never did it in a 747. 

Edited July 5, 2020 by Dominique_K

[n4gix 4,947]

Sadly, I never got to fly on a 747 at all, and now I never will. 😐

[JRMurray 214]

My first and only flight on a 747 was on a United flight from Seattle to Narita in 1987. The -400 hadn't come into service yet, so my flight was probably on a 747-200. After having flown in smaller jets (DC-9s, for example), I remember marvelling at just how big and wide the 747 was.

Edited July 5, 2020 by JRMurray
Added year

[birdguy 3,943]

I never flew in 747 but I've been inside one and got view that I'll bet few of you have ever been.

The president of the Roswell Little Theater and I went out to the hangar where they were scrapping cycled out airliners.  He was looking for airliner seats for the theater but they were too expensive for their limited budget.

But our host asked us if we had ever seen a gutted out B747.  He took us out to the ramp and we entered through a ladder in the nose wheel well.

That aircraft had every bulkhead and panel removed so we could see all the way back from the cockpit to the tail section.  It looks a lot larger from the inside with everything stripped out than it does from the outside.

Noel

[Matthew Kane 1,343]

When they launched the 747 they never thought it would be produced into the early 2020's, it was meant to be a short term solution for passengers that could be easily converted into a freighter as they were also developing supersonic air travel at that time, which never happened.

I flew on the Air Canada 747-200 and on the Air New Zealand 747-400 quite a few times. I will miss them

Edited July 5, 2020 by Matthew Kane