The 747: A Legend of Aviation
Sam and Nevis were two kids living in the city of Los Angeles. They had a large
backyard, which was mainly used to rest on Sundays. Later, as they were young
aviation geeks, it became a base for them to watch planes fly here and there.
Since they were pretty close to LAX Airport, they could clearly see what aircraft it
was, as well as the airline it belonged to. Their father worked as the co-head chief
executive of Delta Air Lines, which had recently added a new hub at LAX.
Every day, they would take a camera to click a photo whenever their favourite
aircraft- the Boeing 747- would come. As a result, their family camera got filled up
with multiple 747 photos!
One day, Sam asked his elder brother “How did the 747 became such a legend? I
hear it’s old, dates back to the ‘70s. But I can’t imagine, how did technology give
birth to this massive giant? And I see a lot of potential in it, but still, the global
market is neglecting it. Why?
“See, the 747 is old, just like what you said. You also asked a good question, as its
predecessor has multiple variants still under production, including the notorious
MAX, which sent Boeing into a disaster. But I’ll tell you, two successful variants of
the 747 were inducted to commercial aviation by two airlines that had ceased
operations ages ago, which means they are very old. The 747 also uses age-old jet
technology, with the exception of the Dash 8, which can be called as a close
relative of the Dreamliner in terms of technology. Another reason is that the 747
is more popular in cargo. The A380F, the proposed freight version of the Airbus
A380* never came, so it became the largest cargo aircraft ever. It could store tons
of weight, gallons of water and even the entire Ontario Zoo*. Lufthansa is an
exception, for it is currently the largest operator ever. The only two US operators
of the Boeing 747 today are only cargo operators. Delta, American, and United*
bashed away their jumbos the previous decade*. Only 5 passenger operators-
Rossiya, Lufthansa, Korean Air, Asiana Airlines and Air China- still operate 747s
and Rossiya and Asiana have already made plans to bash off their jumbo by the
end of this decade”, was Nevis’ reply.
Once, their family went on a holiday trip to New York- and continued on to India.
At JFK, on their India trip, they spotted a rare Dash 400 of Air India. The best part
of that was that it was their plane to India and they were sleeping on the hump!
That was one of their best memories of the past decade. But after that, rarely
they ever got another chance to board the Jumbojet. One exception was their
visit to Frankfürt am Main to meet their uncle. That trip, they got to fly a Dash 8,
however, they thought the Air India flight was better, still they were happy that
they were on a 747- and again, the hump!
Whatever sudden happens ever, if someone would spot the Wright Flyer in
operation again, if the Clipper returned, if the Comet returned, if the Dash 100
returned, if the MAX wins over the 747, “All is well with the 747”
Sam made an acrostic poem in his school about the 747, here it is
B ouncing off the factory in 1974
O ff to the skies with Pan Am*
E quipped with a hump
I gnited the minds of Aviation Geeks
N orthwest* introduced the Dash 400
G oing away from the skies, it had
7 00+ operators
4 5 years and it’s a
7 0’s legend
*1 Currently, the world’s largest passenger aircraft
*2 A fictional zoo
*3 Three of the major American airlines
*4 The 2010’s
*5/6 The two defunct airlines mentioned by Nevis that introduced two successful
variants of the 747
