[volkman10]

The Last Boeing 747 ever made Is a 747-8 Freighter Model- John Travolta attends delivery.





Since its introduction, it grew to become one of the most successful commercial and cargo aircraft ever, with exactly 1,547 examples made and sent all over the world to carry people and merchandise.

As it happens with all things in life, production of the 747 came to an end, and the last one of the family was just delivered this week to Atlas Air Worldwide, the largest operator of the plane. We’re talking about a 747-8 Freighter variant, which was handed over as part of a mammoth ceremony attended by thousands, including some of the Incredibles who originally helped Boeing come up with the aircraft and... John Travolta.


Link

[Venkatesh]

Atlas Air Takes Delivery of Boeing’s Final 747 Production Aircraft.

747-8F Aircraft Placed Under a Long-Term Agreement Operating for Apex Logistics, a Kuehne+Nagel Company

John Travolta says "I earned my wings and experienced the most well thought out aircraft ever built. I thank every engineer, every mechanic and every support person who contributed to building the 747s. You are awesome"



Press Release

Purchase, N.Y., January 31, 2023 – Atlas Air, Inc., a subsidiary of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: AAWW) today announced it has taken delivery of the final 747 ever to be produced by Boeing. The delivery of this aircraft is the last of four new Boeing 747-8 Freighters Atlas ordered in January 2021. Atlas Air will operate this aircraft for Apex Logistics, a Kuehne+Nagel company, under a long-term agreement.

“Our company’s history and success are directly linked to the 747 platform, and we are honored to continue our long history of flying this iconic aircraft for our customers around the world,” said John Dietrich, President and Chief Executive Officer, Atlas Air Worldwide. “Atlas Air was founded over 30 years ago with a single 747-200 converted freighter. Since then, we have spanned the globe operating the 747 into well over 800 airports in over 170 countries with nearly every series of the aircraft, including Boeing’s 747 Large Cargo Freighter for the transport of 787 Dreamliner parts.”

Mr. Dietrich added: “We’ve carried everything on the 747 from race cars to racehorses, from rocket parts to satellites, electronics, overnight express shipments – and various forms of perishables like fresh flowers, vegetables and fish. The 747 has also been critical to carrying life-saving goods like medicine, vaccines and personal protective equipment during the pandemic and other times of need. And we are proud to serve the U.S. military as the largest provider of their airlift – carrying both troops and cargo – and the 747 is the backbone of this critical work.

“We are pleased to operate this aircraft on behalf of Apex Logistics, a Kuehne+Nagel company. This is the second 747-8F delivery as part of our long-term strategic partnership with Kuehne+Nagel, which is reflective of our deep commitment to provide additional capacity for the expansion of their air cargo network.”

Mr. Dietrich concluded: “As the world’s largest operator of 747 freighters, Atlas is especially proud to take the last 747 ever to be built. We are grateful to Boeing for their shared commitment to safety, quality, innovation and the environment, and for their partnership to ensure the continued success of the 747 program as we operate the aircraft for decades to come.”

Atlas’ investment in these new aircraft supports the Company’s longstanding commitment to environmental stewardship. The 747-8 platform features an advanced design and engines, offering a 16% improvement in fuel use and CO2 emissions per tonne and a 30% smaller noise footprint compared to the previous generation of aircraft. The 747-8 is well renowned for its tremendous payload capacity and range, as well as its unique nose-loading capability.

Atlas designed a custom split livery for this special aircraft, with the Atlas Air logo on the right side and tail of the aircraft, and the Apex Logistics logo on the left side. To honor the legacy of the “Queen of the Skies,” a special decal is included to the right of the nose featuring Joe Sutter, considered by Boeing to be the “Father of the 747.”

“The names we chose for the last two iconic aircraft fit their legacy – ‘Inspire.’ and ‘Empower.’,” said Yngve Ruud, Member of the Management Board of Kuehne+Nagel, responsible for Air Logistics. “We are looking forward to see the last 747-8F aircraft taking off to fulfill the versatile needs of our customers around the world with unmatched capability.”

“In 2001 when Apex was founded, our guiding principle was to empower employees with the common goal of offering customers flexible and reliable solutions to their logistics needs,” said Tony Song, Group Chief Executive Officer. “Twenty years later, as part of Kuehne+Nagel Group, we are proud to introduce ‘Empower.’, the newest and most exciting addition to Apex Logistics. This aircraft will reinforce our ability to provide strategic solutions and unique alternatives, with passion. Together with our Apex Logistics colleagues, we are delighted to celebrate this very special occasion with Kuehne+Nagel, Atlas Air and Boeing.”

“This monumental day is a testament to the generations of Boeing employees who brought to life the airplane that ‘shrank the world,’ and revolutionized travel and air cargo as the first widebody,” said Stan Deal, President and Chief Executive Officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “It is fitting to deliver this final 747-8 Freighter to the largest operator of the 747, Atlas Air, where the ‘Queen’ will continue to inspire and empower innovation in air cargo.”

[Venkatesh]

Final Boeing 747 in production

https://youtu.be/8dkWBKpJ0DM

The final 747 took off this morning to join Atlas Air's fleet - Link









Here's the flight plan that Atlas Air’s pilots took for the final 747 delivery.

Along with the model name, you'll see a crown as a nod to the iconic Queen Of The Skies - Link



Atlas Air’s newest Boeing 747 has touched down CVG Airport.







Link

[myavu]

Originally Posted by Venkatesh

Here's the flight plan that Atlas Air’s pilots took for the final 747 delivery.

Along with the model name, you'll see a crown as a nod to the iconic Queen Of The Skies - Link

The production of the Boeing 747, also known as the Queen of Skies, has come to an end after 53 years. The last of these commercial planes was delivered to Atlas Air on Tuesday. Following this, giving tribute to itself, the plane was noticed writing its name in the sky by flight tracking websites. Besides writing its name, the plane also drew a crown around it, referring to its popular nickname as the Queen of Skies. The feat performed by the aircraft and its pilot was captured, tracked, recorded, and also shared on social media by Flightaware.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1620881990047399936

[fhdowntheline]

Just watched Sam Chui's video of the rollout of the last 747. I simply love how Boeing celebrated the legacy of its engineering marvel. I wish Science and Engineering get to the forefront of aviation again, and take the next steps towards the future of flying, in a more public way. This whole business of politically correct optimized development for financial and carbon efficiency has reduced commercial aviation to a very "run of the mill" activity.
I really miss the decades of the 50s/60s/early 70s where everyone was bold, daring, perhaps overconfident (all technologically speaking) , but I would take that any day over worrying whether my next tweet or email does or does not contain the appropriate "tone", "words" and "perception".

[Amukherjea]

I miss the days when cockpit door was not bullet proof and locked.
I flew the 747- 200 300 and -400 for about 12 years all told.
Met such wonderful variety of people during the long lazy cruise on the routes to USA.
And everybody had a story or anecdote to tell about the jumbo jet.
As an aside the engines that I have flown with varied from 46000lbs to 56000lbs.
One variant had water injection for increasing the max thrust during seriously heavy take offs.
We did Mumbai Rome taking off late morning and it always required water injection.
And the injection system had knack of failing just as you got airborne over the western express highway.
I have counted the number of clothes drying on the Santacruz West terraces as scraping past tv Arials.
Does anybody remember the old Yagi array for DD 1?
The -400s reduced the workload so much that flight engineers became redundant.
Even the pilot workload had reduced.
I miss the jumbo.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Amukherjea

I flew the 747- 200 300 and -400 for about 12 years all told. .

Just wondering, how did the transition from the -200 to the -300 go? Did they have the same type rating?

Thanks
Jeroen

[Amukherjea]

Hi they had different engines P&W vs GE. So we did the tech differences course and performance for 5 working days followed by a route check.
The 300s were slightly trickier to land as they were always heavier.
But the crz speed was .85 vs .84 for dash 200s
And we flew Long range cruise speeds till that fell below the constant number .86 for 400 .85 for 300 and .84 for 200s.
The longer upper fuselage gave lesser drag on the 300 and 400s. Also the winglets made a lot of difference in the drag numbers.
It would be evident what airline I was with.
And feel very sad that they unceremoniously dumped the 744s without a proper farewell.

Also I am friends withe the person who built the sim in an actual fuselage ex VT EFU.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Amukherjea

And we flew Long range cruise speeds till that fell below the constant number .86 for 400 .85 for 300 and .84 for 200s.

I believe the LRC was mostly used on the -200 and -300 as you would not require an auto throttle (Steam gauge flying ) but still get max air range? At least that is how I read the various discussion I have seen on LRC.

KLM used to fly its -400 mostly ECON as far as I know and as I can tell from their AOMs. which I happen to have.

Originally Posted by Amukherjea

Also I am friends withe the person who built the sim in an actual fuselage ex VT EFU.

I think we have a common friend and he is just texting me! I have flown his simulator. Very very impressive!! Whenever I visited Mumbai I would always check with him and if he was available and not travelling we would spend an evening together having a nice dinner, talking about planes etc. Good memories!

Give F my regards if you see him!

Jeroen

[Amukherjea]

Absolutely. Actually I was also texting him and exchanging information.
Will write about the LRC policies but I think that is for some other forum.

The thing about 4 jet engined airplane is the sense of safety. Once on a BOM LHR flight lost one engine short of Tehran due oil pump shsft shearing off. No drama just came down by 4000 ft to 3 engined cruise level changed over to Long range power setting and carried on to Heathrow.
We lost about 4 minutes time and burnt about 1000kgs extra on a total planned consumption of 90000kgs.

That's Jumbo jet for you.

Passengers were not aware that anything was amiss till I announced nearing London that their further connection to NYC maybe affected.

On a different note can somebody tell me which car should I buy replacing my 5 year old Tiguan?

[mpksuhas]

Just the formality, those who fly in and out of Mumbai airport would have seen the AirIndia 747 on storage there. It was being discussed earlier too that they were to be sold and AI does not have any plan to re-introduce them in service.

Now it seems the sale has formally got over as per the article below.

https://livefromalounge.com/air-india-747s-sold/

Now, on the website of Skytech AIC, it is reported that the four aircraft have been sold.

Air India’s 747 have been sold. This is the end of the Boeing 747 program with Air India, as Boeing has already closed down the program. The new owner will most likely part out the aircraft and reuse the components on other aircraft that may require them

[B747fan]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Just the formality, those who fly in and out of Mumbai airport would have seen the AirIndia 747 on storage there. It was being discussed earlier too that they were to be sold and AI does not have any plan to re-introduce them in service.

Now it seems the sale has formally got over as per the article below.

https://livefromalounge.com/air-india-747s-sold/

The 4 747s have been purchased by AerSale. All of them will be made airworthy and then flown out for part out and scrap, at least that's what the plan for now. The news about 2 of them getting converted to freighters is inaccurate, as confirmed by some internal sources. The conversion programme shut down 10 years ago.

The first one, N940AS (erstwhile VT-EVA) is scheduled to fly out of Mumbai on Monday, the 22nd at 1005hrs for Seattle's Paine Field airport. The rest will undergo some basic maintenance(as all of them haven't flown since 2020-2021) and follow suit.


I will be going to spot it, and will share photos on this thread.

[B747fan]

Originally Posted by B747fan

The first one, N940AS (erstwhile VT-EVA) is scheduled to fly out of Mumbai on Monday, the 22nd at 1005hrs for Seattle's Paine Field airport. The rest will undergo some basic maintenance(as all of them haven't flown since 2020-2021) and follow suit.


I will be going to spot it, and will share photos on this thread.

And it has gone. The first of 4 has departed BOM, and it was quite a magnificent yet sad sight, and there were a lot of planespotters who had gathered to spot it. The pilots also ensured to do a final good bye wave!

[debugboy]

Originally Posted by B747fan

And it has gone. The first of 4 has departed BOM, and it was quite a magnificent yet sad sight, and there were a lot of planespotters who had gathered to spot it. The pilots also ensured to do a final good bye wave!

Do we have any tentative timeline of when the remaining 3 747 will leave? Also, are all of them in BOM? I recall seeing only 2 during my few flights last year out of BOM.

On a side note, probably not feasible, but is it possible to travel on these ferry flights?

[B747fan]

Originally Posted by debugboy

Do we have any tentative timeline of when the remaining 3 747 will leave? Also, are all of them in BOM? I recall seeing only 2 during my few flights last year out of BOM.

On a side note, probably not feasible, but is it possible to travel on these ferry flights?

I have been told by the engineer at AIESL to not expect the next one to leave for at least the next 3 months. All of them are indeed in BOM. When I last landed here on 15th of April, 3 of them were near the AI Hangar (this includes the one that flew), and one was at the remote bay near Terminal 2. Photos attached below.

These ferry flights were operated by Nomadic Aviation, who got a special ferry license, so I don't think it is possible to fly on one, especially due to the risks involved.(Keep in mind the first one flew after 3 years under storage, the others have been stored for even longer) I tried to get airside access just to see it takeoff but even that didn't work...

If anyone here could just help me in getting to see one in person would be great



VT-ESO, nicknamed "Khajuraho", MSN 27165, 1993 manufactured. 74,564 flight hours and 15,651 flight cycles. Last flown September 2020.



VT-EVA, nicknamed "Agra", now N940AS which flew this Monday, on the left, was MSN 28094, manufactured in 1996, and had 63,120 flight hours and 13,021 flight cycles before it took its ferry flight. Last flown in March 2021 before flying this week.

VT-ESP, nicknamed "Ajanta", MSN 27214 is soon on the right. Manufactured in 1994, has 76,236 flight hours and 15,818 flight cycles. Last flown in February 2020.



Last but not the least, VT-EVB, nicknamed "Velha Goa", the last brand new Boeing 747 ever delivered to Air India, sistership to EVA. Also manufactured in 1996, and MSN 28095. Has 66,694 flight hours and 13,709 flight cycles. Last flown in February 2020. Currently lacks 2 engines, might be getting an overhaul done.

Not sure if I mentioned this but an interesting fact is that VT-EVA(now N940AS) and VT-ESO were mainly used as Air India One, and there are special modifications on them, including both CRT and LCD displays in the cockpit, usually airlines have either the CRTs(the factory option) or LCD(Retrofit), and also these have some extra wiring and EMF protection as well!

VT-EVA has now ended up in Roswell, where it will be most likely scrapped, and the rest will follow soon, marking the end of an era.