- Start
- Feb 9, 196990% CONFIDENCEfrom the source
The Boeing 747 Makes Its First Flight
- The 747’s first flight took place on 9 February 1969, with test pilots Jack Waddell and Brien Wygle at the controls and Jess Wallick at the flight engineer’s station.[1]
- Despite a minor problem with one of the flaps, the flight confirmed the 747 handled extremely well and was largely immune to Dutch roll.[1]
- The aircraft was conceived for Pan Am, which wanted a jet 2½ times the size of the 707 to cut seat cost by 30%, and ordered 25 in April 1966.[1]
- Boeing had no plant big enough, so it built one on a 780-acre site next to Paine Field near Everett, Washington – the world’s largest building by volume.[1]
- The first 747 was rolled out on 30 September 1968; the programme cost US$1 billion in 1968 money.[1]
- The type was certified in December 1969 and entered service with Pan Am on 22 January 1970 as the first wide-body airliner.[1]
Notable features
- The 747 is a four-engined, two-aisle, partial double-deck airliner; its cockpit is raised above the main deck, creating the hump, so freighters can load through a nose cargo door, and the upper deck behind it holds a lounge or extra seats.[1]
- It was built around the high-bypass turbofan: Pratt & Whitney developed the JT9D for it with Boeing and Pan Am, a technology expected to give twice the power of earlier turbojets on one-third less fuel.[1]
- The wings are swept 37.5° for a cruise of Mach 0.84 to 0.88, triple-slotted flaps keep landing speeds low enough for standard-length runways, and the weight rests on four main landing gear legs, each with a four-wheel bogie.[1]
- Ten-abreast (3–4–3) economy seating lets it carry 366 passengers in three classes, and the first 747-100 had a maximum take-off weight of 735,000 lb (333 t).[1]
References 381% CONFIDENCE
The first entry is always the pin's source. Overall confidence is a weighted average of how firmly each reference supports the start and end times used above; a reference counts half as much for every 180 days older than the newest.
- [1]90%en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_747en.wikipedia.org· Posted Sep 21, 2026· Starts Feb 9, 1969 ✓· 50% of score
Happened as dated, per en.wikipedia.org: "The 747’s first flight took place on February 9, 1969, and the 747 was certified in December 1969."
- [2]72%Jumbo History: When Did The Boeing 747 First Fly?simpleflying.com· Added Sep 21, 2026· 50% of score
Adds the prototype’s name, City of Everett, the departure from Paine Field and the one hour 15 minute duration, none of which the source[1] article gives.
- [3]75%Today in history: The first Boeing 747 test flightaerotime.aero· Published Feb 9, 2022· 0% of score
Trade-press anniversary account confirming the 9 February 1969 first flight from the Everett factory.[1]
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