Farewell to the last Qantas 747.

Phil_H

Qantas's last Boeing 747 departed Australian skies for the last time yesterday afternoon. QF7474 (VH-OEJ) Departed Sydney airport at about 2:00PM AEST and flew a low and slow lap around Sydney before proceeding to Los Angeles, after which it will enter storage at the Mojave Desert facility. 

Just before departing Australian airspace for the final time, she left a final tribute for those watching her progress on radar tracking apps. (Sorry I can't post an actual video clip - this is a link to Qantas's Twitter post) 

https://twitter.com/i/status/1285873193840816130

 

I remember the first time I saw one.  My office window overlooked the approach end of a runway at STL.  It looked like it was moving very slow.  I kept thinking he was going to stall!  I finally realized, the bigger it looks, the slower it seems to be moving.

Don Stauffer

I remember the first time I saw one. My office window overlooked the approach end of a runway at STL. It looked like it was moving very slow. I kept thinking he was going to stall! I finally realized, the bigger it looks, the slower it seems to be moving.

Had a somewhat similar experience. I was living in N. suburban Chicago when Pan Am was doing its nationwide 'introductory tour'...next stop, O'Hare airport. I was walking home from junior high one day when I heard a/c engine sounds I didn't recognize. [I was an incurable aircraft fan even then...and with a half-dozen major and minor airports around -- plus Glenview NAS -- I was pretty well-schooled on aircraft types, both military and civilian.]

I followed the sound, and looked toward the nearest tree-line...and saw the biggest airliner I'd ever laid eyes on, looking as big as a shopping center, and seeming to be about a hundred feet away. And, as you remarked, it seemed slow: majestic, stately, elegant. (Despite disappearing from view all-too-quickly!)

Been a die hard 747 fan ever since that day. Hard to believe that elegant bird is passing out of service. (At least...until I count the years between then and now....)

I was five when I rode a Pan Am 747 for the first time.  It was awesome!  Wide seats, friendly service, peeks into the cockpit, and the coveted “wings” all the kids got for being lucky enough to fly.  Oh yeah, and that Pan Am bag, which passed from status symbol to laughable cliche’ in short time!

The Jumbo Jet was a 70s icon representative of what great possiblilities were out there.  Now it is no longer economical compared to its twin engined successors.  Gonna miss the Jumbo as is exits the world’s fleets.

I had rides on a number of UAL 747's but only a few on other carriers.

That scale effect of slow speed was really a thing too.

I flew on JAL 747's to Tokyo and back once.

I think that may be it.

We designed Terminal B at SFO for the A 380. International flights; sterile entry on two levels; big deal.

That design is already in the tank.

Probably no more 380's will ever be ordered.

Phil H.

     Thank You so Much. The history of 747( Heavy) is the last to leave . Now who's gonna take it's place? Thank You Phil for a touching Goodbye to a great Big Bird!

    I have never had the privilege to fly or work on that big beautiful airframe. I was on the flight deck of a UPS 747SP cargo, WOW even as an adult it looked like the bridge of the ST Enterprise. Then I got to look back to the pressure dome.....what looked like a half a mile away.

       I too will miss the massive bird, however times are changing, the world is changing....