A very large aircraft and a very large building
On 30 September 1967, at a new factory in Everett, Washington, the Boeing Company showed the public its first Boeing 747. The aircraft was far larger than any airliner then in service, and the building in which it was assembled was itself said to be the largest by volume in the world. Boeing had built the plant specifically for the new airliner, on a site north of Seattle, because its existing factories could not handle an aircraft of this size.
The ceremony was a rollout, not a flight. The aircraft was brought out of the factory so that customers, officials and the press could see it, but it would not leave the ground for more than sixteen months.
How the jumbo jet began
The 747 grew out of a change in how airlines expected to grow. In the mid-1960s, air travel was increasing quickly, and airports were becoming crowded. Carriers wanted more seats on each flight. Pan American World Airways, led by its president Juan Trippe, pushed Boeing for a much bigger aircraft, and in 1966 it placed an order for a fleet of 747s, an order that gave Boeing the confidence to proceed. The order was reportedly worth several hundred million dollars at the time.
The engineering team was led by Joe Sutter. Boeing and its suppliers worked under a tight schedule, and the company’s workers on the project were nicknamed the Incredibles, a story often told because of how fast the project moved. The company was in effect staking a large part of its future on the aircraft, since the development cost was large compared with its resources.
Why the design looks the way it does
The 747’s most distinctive feature is its raised cockpit, which sits above the main cabin in a hump. This was not just a styling choice. Boeing expected that supersonic airliners, such as the Concorde airliner then under development, might take over passenger flying in the following decades, and that large subsonic aircraft would ultimately be used mainly for freight. The designers therefore arranged the cockpit above the cabin so that the nose could hinge upward and allow cargo to be loaded from the front. The space behind the cockpit later became a lounge or extra seating.
That expectation proved wrong in one respect: the supersonic airliner never displaced the large subsonic jet. The 747 stayed predominantly a passenger aircraft for decades, and a freighter version also became widely used.
Powered by four Pratt & Whitney JT9D engines, the aircraft had a wide body with two aisles and a capacity roughly double that of the earlier Boeing 707 or more. Seat counts varied by airline layout, and figures from about 350 to well above 400 were typical.
The rollout day
The rollout drew representatives of many airlines, from the United States and elsewhere, along with officials and guests. Flags associated with airlines that had ordered the aircraft were displayed, and the aircraft was brought out for display. The event, held in the autumn of 1967, was widely reported as a sign of how air travel would change.
The prototype that appeared was named City of Everett. It was not yet in finished flying condition. Considerable testing remained: flight testing, engine development problems and certification.
From rollout to service
The first flight took place on 9 February 1969. Engine difficulties and a long certification programme followed, and the 747 entered commercial service with Pan Am on 22 January 1970 on the route between New York and London. The start of service was delayed a little by a problem with an aircraft’s engines and by the need for ground handling and boarding adjustments at airports.
The jumbo jet soon proved its value to airlines. It carried more passengers per flight and lowered the cost per seat on long routes. Over time it helped make intercontinental travel affordable for many more people, and the American economy and the international tourism industry both adjusted to the change.
Why it matters in a year of flight
The rollout stands alongside the Concorde unveiling in December of the same year as a reminder that the late 1960s were a period of big bets in aviation. One was a large, economical subsonic airliner for mass travel. The other was a fast, expensive supersonic one for a few. In the end the 747 was the more commercially influential aircraft, and the production line at Everett ran for more than fifty years, with the last 747 delivered in the early 2020s.
The September 1967 ceremony was only the start, but it announced to the world that an era of mass long-distance air travel was close.