CONFIRMEDDate confidence: CONFIRMEDStated as firmHow firmly the source words the date: confirmed, scheduled, estimated, delayed or unverified.Show all CONFIRMED pins82% CONFIDENCEOverall confidence: 82%How well the pin's source and references back up its dates.Weighted average of how firmly 5 references, the source included, support the pin's start and end times; a reference counts half as much for every 180 days older than the newestShow all pins at 75% confidence or better
HistoryLink[1][5]: "On September 30, 1968, Boeing rolls out the first 747 'Jumbo Jet' in Everett, Washington."- Start
- Sep 30, 196890% CONFIDENCEfrom the source
Boeing Rolls Out the First 747 Jumbo Jet in Everett
Main competitors
- McDonnell Douglas DC-10 · McDonnell Douglas
About 270 seats in two classes (399 maximum) - DC-10-10 range 3,500 nmi (6,500 km), DC-10-30 up to 5,200 nmi (9,600 km) - three engines - in service since 5 August 1971
Source - Lockheed L-1011 TriStar · Lockheed
Up to 400 passengers - range over 4,000 nmi (7,410 km) - three Rolls-Royce RB211 engines - entered service with Eastern Air Lines on 26 April 1972
Source
Boeing rolled out the first 747 from its new Everett, Washington factory on 30 September 1968 before representatives of 26 airlines. The 231-foot jumbo jet was the first widebody and was christened by 26 flight attendants, one from each customer airline.
- The first 747 was towed out of the Everett plant's hangar doors on 30 September 1968, ahead of an original 1 October deadline, in front of invited guests, the press and representatives of the 26 airlines that had ordered it[1][2]
- The aircraft was only about 78 percent finished and not yet ready to fly; it carried the logos of its 26 airline customers on the nose and was christened by 26 flight attendants, one from each airline[1][2]
- Speakers included Commerce Secretary C. R. Smith, who noted more than US$1.5 billion of contracts already signed, and Boeing president T. A. Wilson; a replica of Boeing's 1916 B&W flew over, followed by a 707, a 727 and a 737[1]
- To build it Boeing erected the world's largest building by volume at Paine Field; the first aircraft, named City of Everett, flew on 9 February 1969[1][5]
- Aerotech News gives the rolled-out aircraft's weight as 710,000 lb and length as 231 feet[4]
Notable features
- Length 231 ft 10 in and wingspan 195 ft 8 in (the 747-100 as built)[5]
- Engines: four Pratt & Whitney JT9D-3 turbofans, 43,500 lbf each; maximum takeoff weight 710,000 lb at certification; maximum payload 220,000 lb[3]
- Seating: up to 490 passengers, with most airlines planning 350-365 in mixed-class layouts[3]
- Landing gear: 18 wheels in four main bogies of four plus a twin-wheel nose gear, spreading the load so existing runways did not need strengthening[4]
- Cabin width about 20 ft, almost twice that of the 707[4]