Boeing 747 turns 40 today
By Dominic Gates
Seattle Times aerospace reporter
On Feb. 9, 1969, the first flight of the Boeing jumbo jet was cut short by a minor problem with the wing flaps. The test pilots kept their cool, landed the plane safely, and the rest is history. To date, 1,412 of the jets have been delivered.
About an hour into the first flight of the 747 jumbo jet — 40 years ago today — the pilots moved the wing flaps and heard a bang. The big plane gave a momentary shudder that morning in 1969, but pilot Jack Waddell and his co-pilot Brien Wygle kept their cool. Wygle, now an elegant 84-year-old living in Medina, said he recalls some "mild concern." "We weren't alarmed," Wygle said. Still, they decided to cut short the flight.
Back at Paine Field in Everett, on a cold day with snow on the ground and broken clouds overhead, thousands had gathered to watch. The plane, powered by newly developed fanjet engines, was two and half times bigger than any existing airliner. Boeing Chairman Bill Allen and a retinue of journalists were set to follow the flight in a smaller 727 to take air-to-air photos.
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