Boeing 747: The Original Jumbo Jet

[@megaprojects9649]

Get Surfshark VPN at surfshark.deals/mega and enter promo code MEGA for 85% off and 3 extra months for free!

[@stickmann7363]

Lol, "2 weeks ago"

[@damekids]

@@stickmann7363 Yeah, they upload it privatised, make sure everything is good to go, and then set it on a timed release. Tons of youtubers do it.

[@TBomb85]

Also, sometimes ads need final approval before they're allowed to publish... Or, the advertiser only wants say "6 ads, no closer than 2 weeks together) which gets them roughly 3 months of ads.

[@stickmann7363]

@@damekids ohhhh...whoops.

[@Snugglebastad]

Nice video But please do the Airbus a380 :)

[@GeshronTyler1]

One shouldn't forget, that the 747 was designed "old school"- with slide rules, log tables, scientific calculators, and PAPER Blueprints. Practically no computer aided design tools, let alone the kind of computer modeling available today.

[@deadfreightwest5956]

There was a joke, partly tongue-in-cheek, that the blueprints outweighed the finished aircraft.

[@chrisbflory]

1965? Yeah, no scientific calculators and no computer aided drafting. Period.

[@davidfrench1325]

Haha I like what you said.

[@flenz4574]

Not to mention the manual machining, welding, and metal work. Where have these skills gone?

[@GeshronTyler1]

Welding? No, no, RIVETS. BY HAND. No automatic riveting robots...

[@AllenManor]

In the late 1990's I was stranded in a snowstorm at Vancouver Airport, looking out at the 747 that hundreds of passengers were waiting to board. I struck up a conversation with a man sitting next to me to happened to be a Boeing engineer who was a part of the 747's current design team. He pulled out drawings from his briefcase of the plane and started describing the incredible engineering that the 747 had accrued over the decades and continued to accrue. He then told me, "It is my opinion that this plane is the greatest thing man has ever built. It can reliably transport hundreds of people and cargo thousands of miles in record time and in great comfort. It has bridged continents and cultures and has made trade easier. It has improved human lives ways its designers never envisioned. It transformed the world."

[@jeffreypierson2064]

It transformed the world by making intercontinental travel by the public affordable. A middle class kid could pay his own way to Europe for a 2 week tour (my story). A semester abroad was not a one-percenter thing, but an aspiration of the middle class. The internationally well traveled set now could include most college graduates.

[@rrai1999]

@@jeffreypierson2064 It's a one percenter thing these days again :(

[@conorf8091]

@@jeffreypierson2064 don’t need to be middle class to afford a flight ticket buddy...

[@OOZ662]

@@conorf8091 Pretty much do to be able to afford the rest of the trip expenses, though.

[@monetarnie3841]

And it will be one percenter thing eventually. Back to how it was. Travelling only for the rich.

[@Vyppaaa11]

Fun fact, the 747 has a hardpoint on the left wing near the root which can be fitted with a 5th engine. Although the hardpoint has no provisions for making the engine function while in flight, it was a key design feature that allowed airlines to transport replacement engines to their maintenance facilities without the need for a separate cargo flights. BONUS FACT: Virgin Galactic recently used this hardpoint to launch one of their test rockets from under the wing of their retired 747.

[@studinthemaking]

Didn’t know either of those facts

[@Vyppaaa11]

@@studinthemaking I am full of useless knowledge that would only be useful in Simon's videos lol

[@tonyzed6831]

Bonus bonus fact, they reached orbit two weeks ago. Woohoo !!!!

[@jimklein5491]

Suggestion: do the Everett facility. You touched on it but there's so much more to it then just the assembly building. And the logistics of getting all the separate components of an airliner into one place is an impressive feat.

[@CorwinPatrick]

And just the numbers involved with the Paint Building are impressive. I worked at Everett in the 80s until just before the expansion project in the 90s for the 777 line.

[@michaelerickson5623]

@@CorwinPatrick I work there now. Did you ever get into the tunnels under the factory? The expansion (for 777) has a full network that links a number of them so you can get across the factory without having to dodge forklifts. There's also the new Composite Wing center (built where the old brick "flat-tops" used to be) that are where the composite wings for the new 777X are being built, so the Everett factory site is still growing.

[@spottedcrow1126]

Pretty funny, I’m actually watching this video from inside the Everett main factory lol

[@joeruth123]

@@spottedcrow1126 get back to work! Lol

[@kevintemple245]

In 1970 Pan Am was not allowed to fly domestic routes, hence the international flight to London. It was the shortest Pan Am route that could handle the 747 at the time.

[@MrGottaQuestion]

Very important point! I forget "deregulation" of airlines used to actually be a political issue.

[@bbelvito]

As someone who builds the 747 i love this. The plane is truly special and a dream to work on. 11 left to build as of today. hopefully the plane will live on :)

[@J3scribe]

The original P&W turbofans made a sound like no other. Instantly recognizable as a 747. I grew up under the flight path of one of Chicago O'Hare's runways during the 1970s and heard thousands of those marvelous machines fly by overhead. They were an instant favorite of mine.

[@tyleraird6450]

I feel the most interesting feature of the 747-100 was the wing twist that the engineers put into place after the first flight to aid in stability for the passengers and control of the aircraft. They designed this solely out of necessity because of the instability of the flight characteristics originally. Its a feature carried through each version until the wing redesign for the 747-800.

[@pamelamays4186]

Suggestions for future Megaprojects: The construction of the Pentagon. The construction of the first large airports. The Taj Mahal. The construction of Disneyland and Disney World. Las Vegas, from small sleepy desert town to the gambling capital of the world. Greek and Roman temples. Buckingham Palace.

[@ziggy2shus624]

Las Vegas When the incompetent commie boy Castro cut off future billions and billions of US tourist jet travel dollars.....Vegas with legal gambling and jet travel was created. Think how wealthy Cuba would be today if it wasn't for the nutcase Castro. Before jet travel, Vegas was almost totally dependent on visitors driving in from LA.

[@Viper-dn8ix]

I am honestly HERE for more airports to be covered on this channel.

[@dorsk84]

The building of Disney parks is covered in Disney+ imagineering series. It's really indepth.

[@Terri_MacKay]

@@ziggy2shus624 I thought that in 1962 Kennedy imposed a full trade embargo on Cuba and prohibited all Americans from travelling to Cuba. 🤔

[@ziggy2shus624]

@@Terri_MacKay I believe that was due to Castro taking over many US owned businesses without compensation to the owners. Plus, Castro coming out as an extreme communist, when the US was worried about communism taking over the whole world. Castro didn't see the great tourist age coming.

[@kostasastro]

Since we are at the subject of Boeing, Simon you should do a megaproject for the B-29 (especially) and the B-17

[@Flies2FLL]

Boeing took the B-29 fuselage and added a second, wider fuselage on top of it to create the Boeing 367/377 airliners from the '50's. Then, in 1953 they took this figure-8 shaped fuselage cross section, filled in the recesses, and produced an egg shaped fuselage section for their new 367-80 aircraft. The 367-80 had another name: Boeing 707.

[@kellyheath8547]

We peaked at 5 a day out of Renton. Pretty good for a swamp on the edge of a lake.

[@mtylerw]

Mega project suggestion: the catacombs of Paris. Moving millions of corpses in the middle of the night. Definitely a mega project.

[@alpacamybag9103]

Yeah good call, agreed.

[@1986krazy]

Already been done on one of his other channels. Geographics, I think. It's a good watch.

[@lukesherwin4137]

Yep, this was done on Geographics. Super great episode.

[@--enyo--]

Sounds cool.

[@anarchyantz1564]

Already done on Geographics channel. You should subscribe to all (except business blaze) for the full experience.

[@pensepf49]

On March 27, 1977, the deadliest aviation accident in history occurred when KLM Flight 4805 collided on the runway with Pan Am 1736 in heavy fog at Tenerife Airport, resulting in 583 fatalities. Both aircraft were 747s. There were 61 survivors, all from the Pan Am 747. The Pan Am aircraft was the first 747 that entered commercial service

[@jamesgornall5731]

Damn, I didnt know it was the first one. Tenerife disaster was unreal.

[@ziggy2shus624]

I remember when the 747s were introduced and the big advertising gimmick was a piano bar in the airplane.

[@sisenor4091]

I remember the piano 🎹. Right on the second floor. I was like 7 years old, I think. I don’t remember exactly how I got there. Probably going to the bathroom and taking a detour to the stairs.

[@vonkerman8168]

At 6:04 you show a 747, the ‘City of Everett’. That is actually the very first one made, 747-001, same plane shown at 7:45 for the unveiling. It is on display at Boeing’s Museum of Flight at Boeing field, Everett Wa. It was so weird stepping into the first one made vs more recent ones!

[@mountvernon5267]

And that airframe was a testbed for many research projects. If you go on board and walk back to the tail you'll see a setup for mid-air refueling, a leftover from when they were considering using the 747 as a tanker, and for additional development work on Boeing's 'Flying Boom' refueling system. When I was stationed in Germany (1978-1981) one of the guys in my unit flew home to New Jersey for his father's retirement party. He flew over, attended the retirement and dinner, and flew back. His flight back was on a Lufthansa 747, and he was the only passenger, with the entire cabin crew at his disposal (think for a moment about what *that* per-passenger fuel cost must have been!). The aircraft and crew were going from JFK in NY to Frankfurt, and it was an unscheduled repositioning flight where he somehow managed to grab a seat. The relocated him from his assigned seat in the main cabin up to the lounge deck and he and most of the cabin crew had a pretty good overnight party crossing the Atlantic.

[@flatbill2]

Just so happens I'm watching this at the Boeing site in Everett.

[@moose2577]

GET BACK TO WORK! Lol

[@steeljawX]

Any way you can get this to play instead of the really cheesy "pre-flight" instruction video? I feel like I'd learn more every time.

[@flatbill2]

@@moose2577 it's my day off... But had to get a new badge before Monday 🤦

[@jeffreypierson2064]

I was going to laugh about the "Lazy B", but you are on your day off.

[@Chris-cv1ll]

What line? I was on 767 aft assembly until the first layoffs on july 31st...

[@SilvanaDil]

I'll always remember flying on this as a little kid in '71. Our seats were by the wing. The stewardesses gave me and my friend colorform sets, etc. and we played with them on the large floor space in front of our seats.

[@kentucky_official2440]

I think a good project idea would be the us m1a1 main battle tank. Or the other variants.

[@munozcampos]

Good one👌

[@Strothy2]

just do the Leopard 2A7 way better... because you know... it's made from Kruppstahl xD

[@le_travie7724]

Yes tanks.

[@steeljawX]

Honestly, the Leopard and Challenger are better, or rather more interesting projects in my opinion. Reason being that the Abrams for the large part has always been a success. Not the most successful or the absolute best at all areas, but it's done it's job and it's done it well. The Challenger I and Leopard 2 had some. . . . interesting features that ended up changing or not appearing in Challenger II and Leopard 2. I'd include the Leclerc, but the French are so uptight about it that we hardly have any hard data on it.

[@AK-gg5nh]

M1a2 abrams or the new M1a3!

[@applejacks971]

First flight of the 747 "Let's fly across the Atlantic...", and it made it 20 minutes faster. *White Star Line has left the chat*

[@keithmarriott1210]

I had the decided great fortune to command Qantas’ last 747 commercial flight so I viewed with considerable nostalgia your well presented video.....thank you...

[@benjaminmackinnon8448]

West Edmonton Mall. Biggest in the world when it was built. Still has the largest indoor Waterpark in the world, and I think one of the worlds larger indoor roller-coaster

[@My-Pal-Hal]

And the Boeing Everett Plant, Being the largest structure under one roof in the World. Has it's Own Weather 😂 really

[@CB-db1qx]

I've said it once, I'll say it again: US Interstate System!

[@pottierkurt1702]

Why? Just make the roman or even better the mongolian road system. It was way bigger and way more impressive.

[@well_as_an_expert_id_say]

@@pottierkurt1702 But can you land bombers on those brick roads? Jk, they are pretty badass though

[@bizziebone773]

That would b awesome

[@laetrille]

Yes!!

[@laetrille]

@@pottierkurt1702 Impressive for the time maybe but the Interstate system is probably the biggest project ever conceived to date. I love the I-10 :)

[@Naviss]

She will always been the Queen of the skies. Such a gorgeous aircraft. It will be a sad day when she is finally retired. Hopefully AirForce One will keep a couple in the skies for another couple decades.

[@jonglazer9416]

Suggestion: The zeppelin hangar in Akron, Ohio. - It's own weather, indoor skydive practice, connection to roswell and/or the atomic bomb and more.

[@buxeessingh2571]

I was lucky enough to fly one of the first 10 747's on Pan Am flights 1 and 2 in 1970. They gave kids tours of the hump and had models for every parent that requested them. As a youngster, it was just the coolest aircraft ever. I can still recall how mind-blowing that hump was.

[@tncorgi92]

The one time I had a chance to fly on a 747, from Atlanta, they overbooked and I got bumped to a DC-10. Though those are pretty impressive craft as well.

[@wietzepost]

Yes, I don't know what it was about the DC-10, but I enjoyed flying on it more than the 747. Even so, the 747 was great to fly on!

[@KevAlberta]

This was my favorite plane ever since I rode it as a kid. And the as a teen for probably the last time. I wish I savored that moment

[@bartlettdieball2678]

How about doing one on the Very Large Array in New Mexico?

[@Omegatonboom]

Just watch season one of X-Files and you'll be set.

[@matthewbrown2037]

The 747 is just a legend amongst passenger airliners. It's amazing to think that, although its obviously being constantly updated and modified, in line with new technology, it's still basically the same aircraft, and is still in production, although this apparently ceases, just next year in 2022, it's a testament to just how well designed these aircraft were in the first place. It will be a sad day in aviation history, but at 53 years old what an incredible production run it will have had, with many staying in service for a long time to come.

[@CorwinPatrick]

"Special" editions of the 747, and no mention of the version that carried the Space Shuttle?

[@robertc.fisher3214]

the SCA or the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft prob could have an episode of it's own. It was bought through a front company, 2 were actually purchased, and extensively modified for the mission. I actually got to go abord one of the SCA's at Kennedy Space Center and we shot an interview in the cockpit for a project about the space shuttle about 10 years ago. Fun Times.

[@lynnmccurdythehdmmrc2561]

@@robertc.fisher3214 I live in Palmdale, Ca. Just South of Edwards AFB. One of the planes mentioned, is parked at an air-park down the street from us. They couldn't get their hands on a Shuttle for the park, but did the plane that carried the shuttle. It is so big, driving up the 14 frwy from Los Angeles, you can see it from across the valley.

[@robertc.fisher3214]

@@lynnmccurdythehdmmrc2561 They decommissioned one of the SCA's after the last shuttle was delivered and kept another for a high altitude research telescope. There was a press day at Edwards years ago that I missed about that craft.

[@My-Pal-Hal]

@@robertc.fisher3214 You may be referring to "SOFIA". Which is a 747SP ☺

[@robertc.fisher3214]

@@My-Pal-Hal You are correct. The two SCAs are a 747-100-N905NA, the first, and the second which is N911NA is a 747SR which is much longer than the 747SP. N911NA is actually a spare parts donor for SOFIA. N905NA is on display in Houston. I just remember they had mentioned using one of the SCAs for the SOFIA program. This was in 2011 so everything changes.

[@sagardhawan4136]

9:00 That back-up plane later crashed at Tenerife in the worst air crash in the history of aviation.

[@steeljawX]

Simon, here's an underrated and unspoken "megaproject" that you covered, kinda, in a TIFO video. Seatbelts. The whole project Colonel John Stapp did. The whole production of seatbelts is probably very minuscule in the scheme of things, but having a human repeatedly uh. . . . . Rocket-sled-chair-handled couldn't have been on a dollar special. Er, I guess it'd be a quid special for you locally.

[@Aviator27J]

As a lifelong lover of aviation and a licensed pilot, air traffic controller, and dispatcher (and having worked in the airline industry and ATC for a combined 20+ years), I can say that the 747 is among the most beautiful, graceful, and amazing airliners ever. It has beautiful lines that the A380 (the engineering marvel that it is) just doesn't have. Sure, it doesn't fit all markets, it makes sense that airlines are phasing it out, and possibly its time as a passenger aircraft are almost behind it, but not many people counter love and admiration for the P-51 Mustang by saying it's obsolete. The 18 wheeler that is the 747 will always be remembered fondly in the aviation industry!

[@sandy1653]

I'm going to suggest Boeing's Everett facility as the next project.

[@michaelerickson5623]

I got to help the 747-8 happen (I was on a design team considering the viability of this last re-invention)... and yes, it's absolutely a Mega Project. The original airplane came out when I was 13 (I got to watch the roll out ceremony on my grandmothers TV), and helping it make this airplane program last into its 50th year was just amazing. Thanks for the run-down on it's history. You did a good job of it.

[@jb76489]

I’d love to hear some stuff about NATO during the Cold War, war games, plans for if the Soviet Union invaded etc

[@well_as_an_expert_id_say]

Simon you should do a video on the Boeing Everett facility in general, its the largest building in the entire WORLD by volume. It was so massive that clouds would accumulate near the ceiling, before they developed a new cutting edge HVAC system. Would be super, super interesting to us.

[@jphilm]

Sorry, but there is no factory wide HVAC system. Only the office/enclosed areas have conditioned air. As it is the electrical bill is $65k/day.

[@well_as_an_expert_id_say]

@@jphilm I forgive you

[@well_as_an_expert_id_say]

@@jphilm You're 100% wrong as I've found out. There are definitely hvac systems and you really tried to sway me with false information lol nice.

[@jphilm]

@@well_as_an_expert_id_say Never said that there weren't HVAC systems, the factory floor (you know, the largest part of the building's volume) is not air conditioned. science.howstuffworks.com/transport/flight/modern/boeings-everett-facility-is-largest-building-on-earth.htm

[@jphilm]

@@well_as_an_expert_id_say I understand, you're not an expert at google. Feel free to post a link that features the factory's HVAC system www.bbc.com/future/article/20181211-what-its-like-to-work-in-the-biggest-building-in-the-world

[@baksatibi]

Speaking of special variants, worth mentioning the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft which were modified 747-100s that carried the Shuttle Orbiter, NASA's SOFIA, which is a telescope built into a 747SP, and the 747 Supertanker, which is used for firefighting. There were also a number of interesting concepts that were never built.

[@calvinfriend5143]

My great great uncle Frank Albright was in charge of designing the landing gear for the 747. He also was the project engineer on the Vought f4u Corsair

[@dongiovanni4331]

Aw. No mention of the SOFIA telescope. They cut a hole in a 747 to point a massive telescope out of.

[@mrbyzantine0528]

Another missed oppurtunity!

[@simongeard4824]

Yeah, that was my reaction too... maybe not as famous as the VC-25, but SOFIA has to be the coolest thing ever done with a 747. Of course, he didn't mention the Shuttle transport either...

[@mikecowen6507]

Or the 747SP

[@apolloniaaskew9487]

@@mikecowen6507 SOFIA is a 747SP.

[@mikecowen6507]

@@apolloniaaskew9487 Yes! But an SP is not SOFIA

[@arturovolpentesta]

One of my great friends (now deceased), who worked at Boeing, was instrumental in the success of the program intended to transition the 747 into extended cargo purchase contracts . . . likely extending the longevity of the aircraft an additional 20-30 years. I absolutely love the impact the 747 has had on the aircraft industry.

[@Xerethane]

The 747 is amazing and just plain cool. Just the building they made the 747 in might be considered a mega project. At the time of construction it was the largest building in the world and it even started generating cloud formation inside it till they installed a massive air conditioning system

[@deiterhogradish]

I helped build those for 10 years. I made about 100 of them, but some guys on the line had done over 700. It was not easy to put together. A lot of things didn't fit very well due to substructures and parts being made on old tooling, and the vague, sometimes not very precise original drawings. Over the years instructions to shim and/or trim items were added to our work orders to avoid having to contact engineering every time something didn't fit. It was said on the line if you could build a 747, you could work on any other line and find things easier. Being an older design, the 747 was "overbuilt". Today's computer aided design allows to more precisely calculate loads and stresses. Back then, extra strength was added to structures to account for unforeseen loads. As an example, take China Air 006, where a short fuselage 747 went into a dive, pulled 5Gs during recovery, and although the wings were permanently bent upward a few inches, was deemed airworthy after some repairs elsewhere on the craft. The 747 was the last Boeing plane to still have control cables. If you lost your hydraulics, you still had some control of the aircraft. The lubrication on those cables is really stinky, by the way. It's really a safe plane to fly in. Concerning the JAL 123 accident, it was a repair that didn't conform to the engineering instructions that caused the accident, and it was OUR GUYS that did it. Google it, please. They still talk about it on the line. It's still a big deal. And tail strikes are really common on 747s whether you are a Japanese pilot or any other nationality. There were high hopes that airport overcrowding would bring back demand for larger planes on fewer flights, but it didn't materialize in time. Having four engines didn't help, either. But keep in mind the old saying, "The difference between obsolete and state-of-the-art is that obsolete works." Remember that on your next 787 flight. (just kidding) It was a great plane, and made the world smaller for everyone, everywhere. I'm proud to have worked on the program, and every time the new Air Force One is shown on the evening news, I'll point and say, "Hey, I helped build that"!

[@chrislong3938]

I've been fortunate in my life to have flown all over the world on business and all my flights to Asia were on 747s. Singapore Airlines is by far my favorite airline and sitting up in the Big Top in business class is off the scale pampering. Once though, I was heading to Singapore on a Northwest jet and was in the first row downstairs. Tons of leg room in that seat!!! It's also way in front of the nose gear and as the plane taxied out for take-off, when he made a left turn my seat was already past the tarmac and swung out over the grass! It was something I hadn't quite thought about until it happened! Another time I was in Heathrow catching a flight home and it happened to be the day after Iraq invaded Kuwait. It was a BA flight on a brand new -400 and the only time I ever flew over the pole. Now I can say I've seen icebergs! ;-) Great memories of flying in that jet!!! P.S. Our Business Class lounge was over the BA 1st class lounge and lo and behold there was a Concorde parked which taxied out before we boarded our jet. I had no idea that the Concorde had after burning engines which they used to get it taxiing! Talk about LOUD!!! Since then, I've always wondered why they didn't use s tug to taxi the plane out to its runway to save some of the gas! That plane is as loud as an F-4 Phantom!! Stunning plane to see in action and in person!

[@jonadabtheunsightly]

The 747 is the aircraft model everyone has _heard of_, but I would argue that the 737 is more iconic in other ways. It's so common (roughly ten times as common as the 747) that people don't even know its model number; it's just pretty much the one and only model of plane that people think of when they think of a generic "passenger jet", not the glamorous huge 747 but just a regular ordinary workhorse passenger aircraft -- the 737 is the de facto "regular" airplane.

[@AnnicK.Zoloft]

Every single time i have heard a none aviation person talk about airliners without using the word "plane", they said 747, as if it was synonymous. If you show anyone a picture of a 747 they will recognize it as such. If you ask anyone to name an airliner they know, they will say 747. There isnt a single way in which the 73 is more iconic, it being more common does not make it an icon. Thats what you said too, its generic, the 747 is not generic, its the best there is, thats why everyone knows it.

[@jonadabtheunsightly]

@@AnnicK.Zoloft What I mean is, if you ask a hundred thousand random people off the street to each draw an airplane, most of them are going to say "I can't draw" and refuse to try, and most of the ones who do try are going to draw something too simple and stylized to be any specific model of plane; but of the people who do draw a recognizable airplane, most of them are going to draw a 737, a couple of people may draw a 727, and the rest will draw various military planes (the F-15, the F-117, the Fokker Dr.I, the A6M Zero, the A-10, etc.)

[@AnnicK.Zoloft]

@@jonadabtheunsightly If they drew a generic looking twin jet, why would that automatically make it a 737, instead of any other generic looking twin jet? Doesnt make sense to me.

[@brianfleury1084]

I was always impressed by British Air's fleet of 747s. Back in the 1990s (and maybe until today) many European airports were expanding and arriving or departing from the gate most often involved hopping onto a shuttle bus. Getting off the shuttle bus onto the tarmac and looking down a line of a dozen or more identical 747s is an amazing sight.

[@DavidKutzler]

I distinctly remember the first time I ever saw a 747. I was working outside when I saw this gigantic plane make several slow approaches to the Billings, Montana airport, only to pull up and go around. It was later reported by the local news that Billings was being tested as a designated emergency landing site for 747 passenger planes. The Billings runway was built longer than necessary for a small regional airport because there was a Montana Air National Guard unit collocated at the airport, and Billings was the only such runway long enough to accommodate an emergency 747 landing between Seattle and Minneapolis.

[@markmh835]

I had the good fortune several decades ago as a young university student to fly on a 747 for a ridiculously short distance: Chicago to Minneapolis for a quick stop before the plane took off to Asia (Tokyo or Seoul, not sure). I got off in Minneapolis to transfer to a flight to Spokane. The flight was glorious though brief, and I wandered around the plane to see all parts of this "luxury liner of the skies." I will probably never again get to fly on a 747 because my limited overseas travels (Asia and Europe) have all been on 777s. The Queen of the Skies will be missed when she's gone. 😢

[@Chaotic_Pixie]

"If its not Boeing, I'm not going" I actually have that on a tshirt from the Boeing company store. I find it highly amusing to wear it traveling and ending up on an Airbus. Nothing beats the Queen of the Skies though. And you'll still see her flying all over. I love that you mentioned that she sees so much usage as a cargo plane. I'm pretty sure Boeing Everett is still working on cargo versions of her and will be for a while.

[@timsiemssen1148]

As a child, I grew up near the Everett airfield in the 80's and thank you so much for this mega project! It absolutely qualifies. Idea for another mega project. I heard a story about the making of the original lunar Rover. My brother's an electrical engineer and he told me this fascinating story about the making of the batteries for it. He said that can never be recharged without exploding and that the bi-product of making said batteries was so toxic, a spoonful could kill all living organisms in Lake Washington in Seattle. I'd love to know the truth.

[@Boberman286]

Sideprojects idea, canceled warplanes, like the avro arrow

[@SovereignwindVODs]

I dont know who would think planes aren't mega projects. Those things have to meet such tight engineering guidelines just to fly in the first place. Now to be to SAFE while flying? Its so expensive and time consuming and you can't even be 100% sure its safe until its been operating for a while since not all issues are always readily apparent.

[@pbibbles]

I love how you used your 'Evil Ancient Empire Battle March Theme' for the transition into the Variations section of the video. It really spiced it up with an ominous feel for what was to come. Then for the Legacy section you used the somber 'Sad Theme' that foreshadowed the terrible impression it left on the world. Thankfully, for all of us that ever flew on one during its reign, those themes are misplaced. Lol

[@davethetaswegian]

How about doing the de Haviland Comet, the world's first commercial jet airliner.

[@MrLurchsThings]

For so many years, a 747 with the red flying kangaroo on the tail was such an iconic site here in Australia.

[@therealhari__]

YES!!!! MORE PLANES MORE PLANES MORE PLANES MORE PLANES!!!!!

[@russellfitzpatrick503]

One thing to remember though is that when fitting so many passengers into a single large plane the number of fatalities in an accident increases significantly - thinking specifically over the bombed Pan-Am flight over Lockerbie, the Tenerife air-disaster and the Japan Air Lines crash. Equally though, when you consider the vast number of passengers that the aircraft has actually carried over the decades, this proportion may even be less than for other aircraft types

[@tyraqueen2001]

The 747 will always be the Queen of the Skies.

[@Clarkyboy1979]

Keep on with the plane videos Simon, they're brilliant and fascinating. Really hoping to see one on the B2 Spirit stealth bomber!

[@LiamFlebu]

Please make a documentary on the RT-2PM2 Also known as Topol-M (NATO: SS-27 Stalin Sickle B) Russia’s mobile nuclear missiles!

[@4stringmanagmaildcom]

In 1978 I was a 22 year old building my little chunk of the 747, the air conditioning fairing. We were on line number 350 or so. I quickly transferred out of the factory into a technical job. I went on to do 22 years at Boeing and am now a Boeing retiree. Proud to have worked at Boeing before the disastrous merger with Mac D. As has been said before, Mac D bought Boeing with Boeing's money.

[@jeffreypierson2064]

So sad. Stonecipher bragged that he had changed an engineering firm into a business. The 737MAX is the logical extrapolation of that mistake.

[@krys3526]

The conversion of the 747 to the world's greatest fire bomber would make a FANTASTIC video!!! Esp if you did a collab with Kelsey, a 747 pilot & KZbinr (74Gear) The Global Supertanker is one bad ass fire fighting machine & definitely a bad ass megaproject! They have a website & twitter account. It's also the unofficial State Bird of California 🤣🤣 Love your work!! Or maybe how they built the Golden Gate Bridge to help pull us out of the Great Depression. It's one of the most iconic bridges in the world & the unofficial symbol of California.

[@corinnestefanko5300]

My dad worked at Northrop in the 1960's and helped design the 747 because he was an aerospace engineer. We also got to go to the open house aboard the new 747 at LAX. It was decorated for TWA, red and white seats.

[@prmeth3utempet339]

MEGA project suggestion : ss normandie the largest turbo electric powered ship ever built

[@MarshFlyFightWin]

Do you think you could do a video on the Nevada-Class Battleships as both ships had interesting careers. One of which USS Nevada tried to escape Pearl Harbor, fought at D-Day , Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, and survived 2 atomic bombs. I would say that's a mega ship. Awesome video. Hope more videos are coming.

[@stickmann7363]

I was wondering, could you do one on a rocket from SpaceX or NASA (Starship, Falcon 9/Heavy, SLS...) or the B-17/

[@JamesAnderson-mr2sg]

Was on flight test program for 747. 5 planes to test for one year to get it certified. Great plane . Flew down to NM to test the landing gear and brakes. No thrust reverses during test, fully loaded complete stop three times with out flaring the plane on landing. Looked like the wings flapping when landing.

[@donaldparlettjr3295]

What is impressive was this was designed and built with sliderulers and paper drawings. The engineers deserved the name "Incredibles".

[@happycactus]

Back in the 1980s I was a flight attendant on the B747 for 2 different charter airlines out of JFK. That plane was a joy to work in. I had the opportunity to travel all around the world in that aircraft. It would be too long to list all the places I got to see, rest assured it was all over this planet. She is a grand aircraft and will be greatly missed.

[@Scorpious187]

2:49 - This looks so weird before you realize the picture cuts off the horizontal stabilizer which on the C-5 is positioned at the top of the vertical stabilizer...

[@jasond6604]

I wish you would included the fact that a space shuttle can be strapped to the back of a 747. Try that with any Airbus.

[@olsonspeed]

I worked on the 747 in 68-69, I wouldn't have believed that fifty-two years later production is just now being shut down. A fantastic achievement by Boeing, a revolutionary change in travel and cargo transportation.

[@rahulj8221]

Its kind a emotional and inspiring to think that one of the last 747s in the air will be carrying the president of the country which introduced flight to mankind

[@kitbag9033]

What? A French man? (Thinking of the Montgomery brothers and first balloon flights).

[@sailinbob11]

Since you're a fan of planes,and you mentioned it,do the C5A. Saw the first 1 to land at MacDill AFB,in Tampa, back in the 70s. Step-dad was a Lt. Colonel, so we got the tour. Awesome...

[@raipo]

How about NASA's vehicle assembly facility?

[@selatoski]

My wife and I had our first (and only) opportunity to fly on a 747 back in 1998 on a Virgin Atlantic flight from Orlando Int'l to London Gatwick. It was a nice flight, just remember being amazed at the amount of passengers on board (compared to other domestic flights I had taken up till then).

[@averagegingernut434]

Anyone else see the notification and think "I thought he would have done this by now?"

[@Joe_Potts]

To be fair, he didnt do a skyscraper until like episode 15

[@edrdnc6706]

Great work coming up with methods to visually show metric & and imperial, and original cost vs 2020-cost. This really helps minimize distractions over the numbers.

[@texastriguy]

Wasn't NEAR enough content on the actual project of making the plane Simon! Lots of cool history, but needed more time in the video to cover the design and manufacturing in much more detail.

[@panaberaa]

The tragedy that is the Berlin Airport would be interesting

[@surquhart64]

My most FAVOURITE plane....flew British Airways 747 Jumbo so many times since a child in the 60s...became a member of the Junior Jet Club - remember this anyone? Still have my log books, pins and folder..these were the days when it used to fly from Jamaica to Heathrow via Bermuda...

[@MrAoa344]

I have spent a lot of time in the Everett plant my Dad worked on the 47 for about 30 years. The numbers he gave for the size do not do it justice. When you are in that building it is absolutely enormous and overwhelming when inside.

[@MrWildbill]

My first flight ever was on a 747 from Sydney Australia to San Francisco, the plane was only roughly half filled, stewardesses showed us how the arm rests could be lifted in the 4 seat rows if you wanted to take a nap on the flight. However it was not a non-stop flight, we stopped in Fiji and Honolulu which was fine by me as I loved the take off and landings.

[@mahadiantor6324]

Mega Project suggestion : The Podma Setu(bridge). I know it doesn't seem that much of a big project considering the some of things you already covered but it still is a mega project with it's own right(espically for a small country like Bangladesh to done it). It's the second longest bridge in Indo-Gangetic Plain. It runs at the length 6.241km over the river Padma(or the river Ganges as you foreigners will know it). It estimated cost is about $3.6 billion dollar. I hope you will do it. And bring some recognition to it(because nobody 10-15 years ago would be brave enough to dream that a country like us would be able to do it.)

[@felixxia3604]

i wish you were my professor / teacher in school. your ability to keep on talking on a subject without stopping is awesome. how do you cramp all that into your brain??? and kept doing new episodes very frequently!!! you could write a lot of theses.

[@singular9]

Mega Project, the tsar bomba

[@arkady714]

Regarding airports not having to build new hangers for the wing spans, they also didn't do it for the plane's length. At JFK in NY in the 1970s, they simply left the hanger doors open and let the rear section of the plane just stick out!

[@red5t653]

Air China's Beijing-New York route has probably been my most common exposure to the 747 and I still kinda feel a little down about the fact it's been a little superseded by the 787 on a lot of its routes. Don't think it's been passed on the Beijing-New York route specifically but I know the 787 does New York-Hong Kong where I think the 747 used to do that.

[@texastriguy]

The 747 paved the way for all modern ultra-larfe aircraft. Newer, bigger aircraft exist ONLY because the 747 paved the way for these successes. Amazing history covered here.

[@madmaximus2836]

"not the coolest aircraft". Sorry, you are wrong. It still is the coolest passenger aircraft ever build. It did smash you like button though.

[@gersonboav1]

Please Simon, never stop talking about the planes !!

[@rick67hou]

Smashed that like button!

[@hanschristianben505]

Space Shuttle Program later please, its a definite megaproject for sure P.S. former 747 cruise relief pilot here

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

Megaprojects suggestion: American Dream Meadowlands (Xanadu) mall. Now that it's finally open I think it's worth talking about. It has some very interesting history. A dive into NJ politics

[@richardhoff1626]

Thanks Simon, you make 50 years seem like a long time. And I remember when the first one went into commercial use. Now I feel old..

[@DesertBob53]

Simon, if you are open to another Mega project to review, you might consider the IBM-360. It was as big a 'bet the company' for IBM as the 747 was for Boeing. The IBM-360 line of computers completely rewrote the rules of computer usage. The legacy of the IBM-360 series is will with us today in the IBM Z-series which still runs most of the commercial and governmental transactions in the world. I am sure you could contact IBM or IBM historians to give you content.

[@BLACKAAROW]

suggestion: the twin towers from the world trade center

[@stephendtto]

SUGGESTION: The St. Lawrence Seaway, A mega project from 60 years ago that joined the Atlantic to The Great Lakes for shipping and created over 1,000,000,000 kW of hydroelectric power.

[@vustvaleo8068]

"The Incredibles" a.k.a. not to be confused with the Disney Pixar animated movie.

[@steeljawX]

I'm sure the real Incredibles watched the movie and scoffed. "Pfft. Sure save the world from a bunch of evil. Try designing and building a 333 metric ton airliner faster than anyone else."

[@RayLabs]

I had the honor of being on a 747-SP flight from Seattle to Capetown which at the time was the longest single leg flight. I think it was 18 hours. I would go out of my way to fly on a Singapore Airlines 747 when going to Asia. And my last international flight before Covid lockdown was on a BA-747 from Austin to London. I did not know that lockdown was going to happen, but selected this flight as I knew the days of the 747 were numbered and I wanted one last flight on one.