Details

Today, there is probably no greater recognized passenger aircraft than the Boeing 747. This iconic aircraft is known the world over as a safe, reliable, profitable, and comfortable aircraft, that has served for decades as a trusted workhorse with the world’s greatest airlines.

Flashback to the mid 1960s, when passenger travel was often by propellor driven aircraft, or by narrow body jets operating international services for only the most affluent of travellers. The travelling masses went by ocean liner, and travel by air was a luxury reserved the well healed. At the time, Boeing recognized that a revolution was underway, and before long travel by jet would become a mass, global, highly competitive business, requiring new, better and more efficient aircraft, particularly in long-range overseas markets.

Repeating their track record and gamble on the first generation Boeing 707 development, the Boeing company once again bet the farm in developing a new, high capacity, wide-body aircraft to meet long-term, long range demand of the world’s leading airlines. And the aircraft they developed for the task at hand was the double-decker Boeing 747. With twice the capacity of the next largest aircraft (the stretch DC-8), the 747 could carry 500 passengers on eight to ten hour sectors, between North American and Europe, Europe to Asia, and Asia to North America.

Boeing had to once again win the confidence of the word’s airlines, by proving that their new 747 was safe, reliable and efficient, which was a necessary first step to growing the order book for their new jumbo jet.

This Boeing 747 Development 81 minute show takes the viewer back to the late 1960s, to examine first hand Boeing’s efforts to woo customers for their new jet. This is the remarkable story of perhaps the greatest commercial airliner ever built. All aspects of the early development and flight test of the Boeing 747 are covered from initial design studies, proof of concept, to design, engine test, passenger handling, roll-out, first flight, and the extensive flight test program. As the footage is in many cases over forty years old, the image quality is not up to digital media standards that we are used to today. That said, the Boeing 747 Development story has rarely been told as extensively as presented on this special show, and we are confident that the historical importance of the material more than compensates for the less-than-perfect image quality of the day. We hope you will agree!

Boeing 747 Development Show

Chapter 1) Introduction and Pre-Show

Chapter 2) Welcome Aboard: an early promo film on the then new Boeing 747 Development, featuring the early design and development of the prototype aircraft, from October, 1969. (15 min colour)

Chapter 3) Safety versus airlift: Boeing test pilot Jack Waddell presents the informative details of the Boeing 747 flight test program. (21 min colour)

Chapter 4) 747 Press Flight: ON December 2, 1969, Boeing operated a Seattle to New York demo flight with a new Pan Am 747, specially for the media. Features coverage from the flight, passenger service, flight attendant interviews and the arrival in New York. (11 min colour)

Chapter 5) Seven Forty Seven: A look back at the mid-1970s worldwide operations of the Boeing 747, including British Airways, Air India, Wardair, Singapore Airlines, Avianca, JAL and more. (28 min colour)

Chapter 6) DVD Previews