Lufthansa 747-8i D-ABYP, the 1500th 747, in the 40-22 a few minutes before being rolled out of the factory.
Line 1500 rolled out of the factory.
Across the bridge to the flightline.
Air China 747-8i line 1499 has been on the flightline since rollout on April 8, tonight it was moved back inside the 40-22.
United Airlines 787-8 line 186 was moved out of the 40-24 to the paint hangar tonight. Jetstar Airways line 189 is next.
ANA JA829A on the 40-51 apron.
Arke 787 PH-TFK on the flightline.
Nice, memorable pix today. While numbers 1499 and 1500 of the 747 line are nothing close to the 8000 the frames from the 737 line a few miles South, it is impressive for such a heavy. Congratulations, Boeing!!
ReplyDeleteThe days of the 4-burner large format airframe are over, though a few will survive as freighters for another generation. On the bright side, Boeing has made a fortune with this airplane. The other one, from that French 'start-up' has made an impact to be sure, but it is ugly and it will never see 15500 units sold. When the newest of the French monsters is retired, there will still be 747s in regular freight service. Bank on it! Why? The 74 has a more-than-proven track record and Boeing is building original freighters. The French freighter is but a bad dream as the basic structure won't take the loads. French pax-to-freighter conversions are all but impossible; heck their basic wing structures seems to fail with light pax loads! The B747-8F is built for those loads.
While the 747 line may never see 1600 airframes, it will out-fly the Frenchie for another 40-50 years! When a carrier needs a Freight Wagon for those huge, regular long haul loads, who you gonna call? Pierre wazisname or Bill Boeing and Mr. Sutton! As a wondering teen, I saw City of Everett's first take off. I'd like to see the model's last flight as well, but I won't live that long. (OK, as a very small kid, I also saw the first 707 and B-52 flights take off. I had this Dad who worked for the company and you can guess the rest.) Multiple examples of the 707's basic airframe and an impressive number of B-52s still fly. Ever wonder why? I have to wonder... are there ANY current B-52 airplane commanders who are older than their airplanes? I doubt it. And someone thought that the USAF might by Pierre's airplane to replace the KC-135? You've got to be kidding!
-No Fly Zone