The Last Boeing 747 Airplane Leaves Assembly Line at Everett Factory
After 53 years and more than 1,570 planes, the last Boeing 747 left the company’s widebody factory earlier this week in advance of its delivery to Atlas Air in early 2023.
A once-groundbreaking jumbo jet, the 747 has played a key role in Boeing’s history. Production of the 747, the world’s first twin-aisle airplane, began in 1967.
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 airplane is a 747-8 Freighter. This model has a revenue payload of 133.1 tons, enough to transport 10,699 solid-gold bars or approximately 19 million ping-pong balls or golf balls.
The passenger versions of the plane could carry between 400 to 500 passengers, at its maximum about twice as many passengers as one of Boeing’s current widebody jets, the 787-8 Dreamliner. But Boeing hasn’t built a passenger version of the 747 since it delivered the last one to Korean Airlines in 2017.
The 747 also serves as Air Force One, as it has since 1990. Two already-assembled planes are undergoing work right now to be transformed into the next generation of the presidential jet.
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Now these planes are old and new ones are coming out, they are more comfortable. less chance of barotrauma. The last plane is the beginning of the end.