This week, in the freeware Library, I noticed this (FSX) 747-100 repaint file that had somehow sneaked its way...🙂...to the top of the Top 50 Downloads at Flightsim.com, quite an unlikely event, in the current times of the new SIM...(I call such files, "fighters"...🙂...!). Nonetheless, it goes without saying that freeware SIM files are always a great pleasure, to peruse, on a regular basis, in all our SIMs (because...first of all, they don't cost us anything, and occasionally they can even match payware, in terms of their appeal to our individual taste...). In MSFS, I understand, the same (community-driven) freeware tradition seems to be continuing via the multitude of contributions, although, as of now, their implications and adaptations, are a little different from the earlier SIMs. In any case, as the SIM matures, freeware contributions will play a significant role (that's for sure)...and will also help build a vibrant (SIM) community, that's so essential for long-term growth....! In my case, ages ago, long before any payware had appeared, it's the passion and contributions of such volunteers, that had sustained and nurtured my aviation interests, and had kept me alive in the hobby...!

And, this freeware file, here, happened to be, also, by pure coincidence, related to my earlier B767 post and my (new-found) interest in the "old" Air Canada livery colors. Regarding the plane, the B747-100 variant is somewhat rare to see, around here, or in any payware offerings. On the other hand, the 747-200/400 etc. variants are, justifiably, more common. So, this file naturally caught my attention. The first 747-100s were built with six upper deck windows (three per side - see screenshots) to accommodate upstairs lounge areas (Piano and Bar...?). Later, as airlines began to use the upper deck for premium passenger seating, instead of just lounge space, the -100s were offered with an upper deck with ten windows on either side as an option (please see a couple of -100 images, below, with such window configuration). Some early-100s were also retrofitted with the new window configuration.

BTW, it's interesting to note the number of units of the various 747 variants, produced:

-100 (168)
-100B (The -100 in this post, only 9 were built)
-200 (393)
-300 (81)
-400 (694, As of 2019, nearly half of it, still in service)

For the -300 variant, notice the significant drop in the number. In aviation, there are few things, we know, that are more "unmistakable" than the iconic hump of the Boeing 747, and, it was the (-300) variant that will be always remembered as the one that first gave us this iconic stretched-upper-deck (SUD) feature, carried over (unchanged) next to the -400, and has since continued to this day, into the (latest) 747-8i, which has a further stretched upper-deck (years ago, I had a couple of opportunities to travel in the LH 747-8i, not sure, if they have been now replaced by twin-engine jets...)...

Anyway, please find, below, a few static (on-the-ground) images of Air Canada liveries, as listed below. Also, find, next, a set of (in-flight) images of the (earliest) 1974 livery, of this lot, taking off and landing in Vancouver (CYVR) airport. If you look hard, you may be able to spot the (historic) Pratt & Whitney "Dependable Engines Eagle" Logo on the engines in a few of these shots. [Side Note: These (characteristically shaped) JT9Ds were the first high-bypass engines to power a wide-body airliner (747-100). Just three years later, in 1972, these same engines would also power the A300, heralding the beginning of the Airbus product line, and the world's first twin-aisle, twin-engined aircraft].

Screenshots (in order):

Air Canada 1976 (Montreal Olympics - same as the 1974 paint but notice the Olympics logo at mid-fuselage.)
Air Canada 1982 (AIR CANADA title text color has changed from Black to Red...!)
Air Canada 1988 (See if you can spot the main difference in this 1988 paint from the previous 1982 paint...(answer below)...!)
Air Canada 1998 (This new livery broke tradition with the iconic (earlier) red-and-white color schemes, and added the (dramatic) black tail.)
Air Canada 1974 (This is the oldest livery of the set, in this post, shown with takeoff and landing shots, the paint scheme same as that for the 1976 but without the Olympics logo.)

Hope you enjoy these pictures (eventhough freeware) of the Classic 747-100, which, first flown, in 1969, had started it all for the 747 range, and was not only the original "Jumbo" but was also the first to be called the "Queen of the Skies"...nicknames that have stood the test of time...for more than half-a-century...still living in the current evolutionary forms of 747-8i/8F...! [Answer to question: The black nose is no longer present in this 1988 livery.]

Thanks for your interest...!! Happy flying...!

[Orbx(PNW)/Posky(747-100B-PW-JT9D)/REX]

Edited October 16, 20205 yr by P_7878

Great story and very nice pics, P_7878. The best version for me was the -400, because it was the first one that could fly from South East Asia to Europe non stop. It meant they didn't wake you up, because they had to refuel in the Middle East.

Much appreciated the comments, Bernd..!!

Yes, no doubt, -400 is/was the one...!! Lost track how many times I've travelled in it...including my first oceanic travel on it. I recall getting up in the middle of the night, on that first trip, and wondering, from the gentle "hum" of the engines and the quiet ride.....over mid-Atlantic...if I was, maybe, still, just at home...🙂....And, I'd forgot to slip the blanket over myself, and one of the LH stewardesses had taken it out from the wrapper and placed it over me, while I was asleep....I had to remain loyal to LH since...🙂...

***Wonderful*** Great trip down memory lane with The Queen,