End of an ERA part 5

This is the final part of the 5 blog series. Make sure to read the previous parts of it.

1. Part 1
2. Part 2
3. Part 3
4. Part 4

Boeing 747 has already left its mark on the industry. A plane built in the 60s with is still competitive in the 21st century. Now the world doesn’t want four-engine aircraft anymore. But the future generation of aircraft will some-or-the another way, inspired by it.

It was given the nickname “Queen Of The Skies” which was very correct. It is by far the most recognisable aircraft on the planet. It created the “golden era of travel”, with all the luxury with we can’t find today.

747 had many sub-variant. So to identify which variant it is the aircraft naming of the variant of an aircraft is as follows:

The first number in the variant number is the short of variant for example 1 for 100, 2 -200, and so on. The last two number represent the engine variant, like 747-121 means 747-100 with engine variant 21.

You can still find many on museum display in many museums or on display at airports : (Serial Number/ MSN* and these are arranged according to their MSN)

• 20235/001 – 747-121 registered as N7470, nicknamed the city of Everett, the prototype is displayed at the Museum of Flight, Seattle, Washington, USA.
• 19896/019 – 747-132(SF) registered as N481EV is displayed at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, McMinnville, Oregon, USA.
• 19651/025 – 747-121 registered as N747GE is displayed at the Prime Air & Space Museum, Tucson, Arizona, USA.
• 19778/027 – 747-151 registered as N601US’s nose is displayed at National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C., USA.
• 20107/086 – 747-123 registered as N905NA nicknamed Piggyback, a NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, is displayed at the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
• 20269/150 – 747-123 registered as G-AWNG’s nose is displayed at Hiller Aviation Museum, San Carlos, Califonia, USA.
• 20239/160 – 747-244B registered as ZS-SAN nicknamed Lembombo, is displayed at South African Airways Museum Society, Rand Airport Johannesburg, South Africa.
• 20541/200 – 747-128 registered as F-BPVJ is displayed at Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace ( Air and Space Museum) , Paris, France (Concorde is also displayed here)
• 20770/213 – 747-2B5B registered as HL7463 at Jeongseok Aviation Center, Jeju, South Korea.
• 21134/288 – 747SP-44 registered as ZS-SPC at South African Airways Museum Society, Rand Airport, Johannesburg, South Africa.
• 21549/336 – 747-206B registered as PH-BUK at the Aviodrome, Lelystad, The Netherlands.
• 22145/410 – 747-238B registered as VH-EBQ is displayed at the Qantas Founders Outback Museum, Longreach, Queensland, Australia.
• 23719/696 – 747-451 registered as N661US is displayed at Delta Flight Museum, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. N661US was the first 747-400 in service.
• 24354/731 – 747-438 registered as VH-OJA is displayed at Shellharbour Airport,

The serial number is like a licence number given to the aircraft and MSN ( Manufacturer’s Serial Number) is the number of the aircraft of the type, for example, 001 means the first aircraft, 002 means second so on.

You will still find the ‘Queen of the Skies’ in cargo service. Its design enabled it to function as a commercial as well as cargo aircraft.

Here is a tribute video for the amazing Queen Of The Skies.