The plane that changed the world

When you look up in the sky, that thing you see with the sunlight glinting off it is most likely a Boeing. Sky may be the limit for most, but for Boeing, sky is the home.William E Boeing, a wealthy Seattle timber man and aviation enthusiast purchased one of the first Glen L Martin seaplanes in 1915. When an accident damaged the plane, Boeing decided to repair it himself. The rest is history. Within just 13 years of the Wright Brothers taking their first powered air flight in Kill Devil Hills, Boeing incorporated the Pacific Aero Products, later renamed the Boeing Aircraft Company.102 summers later and with $93 billion in annual revenues and more than 155,000 employees, Boeing is quite literally the largest global aircraft producer on earth, bar none. Just one of its airplane models, the ubiquitous 737, has carried more than 23 billion passengers over its lifetime, more than thrice the population of the globe. The 10,000th Boeing 737 came off the production line in March 2018, setting a Guinness World Record for the ‘Most produced commercial jet aircraft model’. By 1960s, airport traffic was becoming congested. Pan Am’s founder, Juan Trippe, idea was to have a fewer and large aircraft that could help it operate more efficiently. He pushed Boeing to come up with a double-decker, a shape that Boeing engineer Joe Sutter, known as the ‘father of the 747,’ called a ‘turkey.’ And was born the 747, which ushered in the era of the twin-aisle, wide-body passenger plane. It was over 2.5 times larger than the Boeing 707, which was one of the most common commercial aircraft at the time. The world’s first ‘jumbo jet,’ known as Clipper Victor, made its maiden commercial voyage in January, 1970 when it flew from John F Kennedy International Airport to London Heathrow.With its iconic hump, the 747 has become one of the most popular and recognisable aircraft in the world. And it’s safe to say it will always be the ‘Queen of the Skies’.A Boeing 747 uses around 207 litres of fuel a minute at maximum cruising speed. For a typical international flight, one 747 operator uses about 5.5 tons (5,000 kg) of food supplies. Boeing didn’t have a facility large enough to build the 747, so they had to construct a new assembly plant in Everett, WA Guinness World Records still list it as the largest building in the world by volume, at 13.3 million cubic metres. The mural on the six factory doors is the largest digital graphics in the world. ‘The Daily Cycle’ is the newest mural on the Boeing Everett Plant.The elephantine planes could have been reduced to a few years of hubristic service, but there’s little doubt that the ‘Queen’s’ impact on aviation is as big as its size. She still hold a few routes today, thanks to Lufthansa, KLM British Airways and Korean Air.