0:00:02 > 0:00:04The Boeing 747,
0:00:04 > 0:00:08the world's first wide-bodied jet, so wide
0:00:08 > 0:00:12the Wright brothers' historic flight was shorter than its wingspan.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15The quantum leap in technology
0:00:15 > 0:00:18of that aeroplane was just extraordinary.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21And it was much more than just a big aircraft.
0:00:21 > 0:00:25This aeroplane allowed every person on earth
0:00:25 > 0:00:28the opportunity to get in an aeroplane and fly anywhere else.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32But there's a hidden story to the jumbo.
0:00:34 > 0:00:35It was a fight all the way.
0:00:35 > 0:00:40It was a billion-dollar gamble that stretched technology to the limits.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43The whole engine would move, and the structure was obviously shaken,
0:00:43 > 0:00:45and you'd hear a very loud bang.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50Pushing the Boeing Company close to financial meltdown.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54Boeing gambled the company... millions of dollars on this project.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58But when it did fly, it soared off into the history books.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02The vision of that aeroplane, as big as it was,
0:01:02 > 0:01:05lifting off for the first time was just magic.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13It became an icon, the most recognised aircraft in the world.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16When a 747 pulls up to the gate, people take pictures of it.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18Little kids point at it.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22The jumbo has transported the equivalent of 80%of the human race.
0:01:23 > 0:01:29The 747, rated on a 1-to-10 scale, has to be a 10.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32It's solid-state, if you will. It's majestic.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37The plane that created a revolution and changed the world.
0:01:37 > 0:01:39ENGINE ROARS
0:01:47 > 0:01:49This is the latest generation jumbo,
0:01:49 > 0:01:52the 747-8.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57One of the world's largest and most advanced jet airliners.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03Its massive engines can take it close to the speed of sound.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07- RADIO:- 'Cleared for takeoff.'
0:02:07 > 0:02:09Lufthansa 796 cleared for takeoff. Runway 18.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12- Ready?- Yes.- Go.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16ENGINES WHINE
0:02:16 > 0:02:20The 747 rapidly accelerates to the speed of a Formula One racing car...
0:02:29 > 0:02:32..effortlessly lifting over 400 tonnes into the night sky.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39But the story of how this iconic aircraft became such a success
0:02:39 > 0:02:41was far from trouble-free.
0:02:51 > 0:02:52BIRDS CALL
0:02:58 > 0:03:03The 747 story started on a quiet fishing trip in Alaska
0:03:03 > 0:03:05with two giants of the aviation world.
0:03:08 > 0:03:13Juan Trippe, the powerful yet suave owner of Pan Am,
0:03:13 > 0:03:16told Bill Allen, the no-frills boss of Boeing,
0:03:16 > 0:03:17of his vision for a super-plane.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22Trippe wanted an aircraft two and a half times larger
0:03:22 > 0:03:24than anything that had gone before.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30This was the early days of commercial jet travel.
0:03:30 > 0:03:35Juan Trippe at Pan American Airways saw an opportunity here
0:03:35 > 0:03:39for a bigger aeroplane to take advantage of this growth,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42an aeroplane with 400 seats that could carry more people
0:03:42 > 0:03:44and make more revenue.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46Both men were reaching retirement
0:03:46 > 0:03:49and they wanted to go out with a bang.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55Gentlemen.
0:03:55 > 0:04:00Trippe signed for 25 of the super-jets, to be called the 747.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04It was the largest commercial aircraft order in history.
0:04:04 > 0:04:05APPLAUSE
0:04:05 > 0:04:09A deal worth a staggering 3.7 billion in today's money.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16And Bill Allen agreed Trippe could have them in just 28 months.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21It set an almost impossible challenge for Boeing's engineers.
0:04:21 > 0:04:23This was all new technology.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26Remember, this aeroplane was going
0:04:26 > 0:04:30to be twice the size of any commercial aeroplane in existence.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33And the time constraints,
0:04:33 > 0:04:37the schedule that they put on themselves, was incredibly tight.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42Nobody had any idea of what it should look like,
0:04:42 > 0:04:46so the first stage was to draw preliminary designs.
0:04:49 > 0:04:54Heading the new 747 division was a young engineer, Joe Sutter.
0:04:55 > 0:04:56It was his first big break.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02They gave me 20 people to do preliminary studies
0:05:02 > 0:05:06and we were on our own. All we knew, it was bigger.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09They wanted the aeroplane to have good range
0:05:09 > 0:05:12and they wanted the aeroplane to go as fast as it could.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16Joe Sutter, now in his 90s,
0:05:16 > 0:05:20has returned to the original 747 prototype.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23Back then, as a junior engineer,
0:05:23 > 0:05:26he sometimes faced a hostile reception from those more senior.
0:05:27 > 0:05:33I had to do a little bit of education that I was the boss,
0:05:33 > 0:05:35and I'd kiddingly tell them
0:05:35 > 0:05:37if they didn't want to go along with my orders,
0:05:37 > 0:05:41I had a good assignment in Bangladesh I could send them to.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44From the start, Sutter's team worked around the clock.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47But despite the size of their challenge,
0:05:47 > 0:05:50they were not Boeing's number-one priority.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55Most of the company's resources and best talent were being diverted
0:05:55 > 0:05:57into another aircraft.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01We were certainly not the only kids on the block
0:06:01 > 0:06:03as far as the 747 programme was concerned.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07The real hot-button item around Seattle was
0:06:07 > 0:06:09the supersonic transport aeroplane.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12This is what Boeing believed was the future,
0:06:12 > 0:06:17a supersonic transporter to travel three times the speed of sound.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22It was designed to outfly its European supersonic rival, Concorde,
0:06:22 > 0:06:25also in its design phase.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28And when Boeing's SST came into service,
0:06:28 > 0:06:31the 747 was to be relegated to shipping freight.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36Now, the SST was the future of flight.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39Nobody was going to want to fly on a subsonic plane
0:06:39 > 0:06:42when you can get on a supersonic transport
0:06:42 > 0:06:45and fly two and a half times the speed of sound
0:06:45 > 0:06:48and get to your destination in a fraction of the time.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51And the 747 was just almost an afterthought.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54They didn't expect to build more than 50 of these aeroplanes
0:06:54 > 0:06:57and they expected most of them to be transports, sort of like a stopgap
0:06:57 > 0:07:00until they got this aeroplane running,
0:07:00 > 0:07:03so obviously the 747 was playing second fiddle the whole time.
0:07:06 > 0:07:11Sutter's team were shoved into old premises and starved of resources.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16The engineers who were working the supersonic transport
0:07:16 > 0:07:19felt, I think, that they were
0:07:19 > 0:07:22a little bit superior to some of the other folks around the place.
0:07:24 > 0:07:29Everybody now thinks that the 747 was the queen of the skies
0:07:29 > 0:07:32and everything was very in good shape.
0:07:32 > 0:07:36Well, that wasn't the case at all. It was a fight all of the way.
0:07:40 > 0:07:46A 747 is the most distinctive airliner in the skies.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49Most of us, when we fly, we don't know what aeroplane we're on.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52A lot of people don't know what type of plane they're flying,
0:07:52 > 0:07:55but when you fly a 747, you know you're flying a 747
0:07:55 > 0:07:57because of that distinctive hum.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02But the shape might have ended up very different from the one
0:08:02 > 0:08:03we know today.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09Pan Am boss Juan Trippe demanded an ocean liner of a design,
0:08:09 > 0:08:13with two narrow decks, one on top of the other.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16The first idea that came about was taking
0:08:16 > 0:08:20a conventional 707-sized aeroplane
0:08:20 > 0:08:24and taking two of those single-aisle fuselages and putting them together.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26And that's the aeroplane you see here.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28And, from what I know from Joe,
0:08:28 > 0:08:31is that they didn't like this idea very well.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35Juan Trippe, you know, he was sort of a Navy man.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38He wanted an aeroplane with round windows, like portholes.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46Sutter's gut feeling was it looked like a turkey.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50We sat and looked at the requirements for an aeroplane
0:08:50 > 0:08:54like that and decided there are so many problems
0:08:54 > 0:08:57with a double-decker, there's got to be a different solution.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00Sutter worried that, in an emergency,
0:09:00 > 0:09:04passengers would not jump off a top deck 25 feet above the ground.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09Then his team had a "eureka" moment.
0:09:09 > 0:09:11Then my people came up with the idea, well,
0:09:11 > 0:09:14why not go to a wide single-deck aeroplane?
0:09:18 > 0:09:22Rather than put two decks on top of each other, Sutter's team
0:09:22 > 0:09:24put them side by side.
0:09:25 > 0:09:30And what would be the world's first wide-bodied aircraft was created.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35But there was a problem for the freighter version.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38Opening the nose was the best solution for loading.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41But where to put the cockpit?
0:09:41 > 0:09:45Then, in a stroke of genius, Sutter decided it should go on top.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50And so the distinctive hump was born.
0:09:51 > 0:09:56To think outside the box to something larger took several leaps of faith.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59Today, it seems commonplace, but 40 years ago, it was not.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03We had a hell of a time convincing our own management, first,
0:10:03 > 0:10:04that that was the way to go.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09Boeing management agonised that Trippe, who was paying,
0:10:09 > 0:10:12would go ballistic if he didn't get his double-decker.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17They decided to tell him the bad news but banned Sutter from going.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23We had this presentation in New York.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27I didn't go to it because my management felt I'd pushed
0:10:27 > 0:10:30too hard and would maybe get Juan Trippe upset,
0:10:30 > 0:10:32so I sent a fella named Milt Heinemann,
0:10:32 > 0:10:39who did our interior design, who was a lot more...amiable guy than me.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43Heinemann set off to the Pan Am offices,
0:10:43 > 0:10:46armed with a secret weapon in his briefcase.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54He had to convince Trippe that his passengers wouldn't be
0:10:54 > 0:10:55squashed in a single deck.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00He had just one shot and it was time for his secret weapon.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04Can you help me, please?
0:11:06 > 0:11:11Heinemann showed with a 20-foot clothes line just how wide
0:11:11 > 0:11:13the 747 would be.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18It was a startling piece of theatre.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21No-one had imagined such a cathedral of the air.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25Almost double the width of any airliner built before.
0:11:25 > 0:11:30It didn't convince Juan Trippe right away, but his people were astounded.
0:11:30 > 0:11:35And all of a sudden, this opened up all these possibilities.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37It was a moment of discovery.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41Trippe eventually bought the idea
0:11:41 > 0:11:44when he saw a mock-up of what his plane would look like.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48Sutter got the go-ahead for the first wide-bodied jet in history.
0:11:49 > 0:11:54But now, they had to turn a wooden mock-up into a real flying machine.
0:11:54 > 0:11:59The race was on. In wind tunnels, they evaluated the aircraft.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04Only the first flight would tell if it would really fly,
0:12:04 > 0:12:06but these tests were critical.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10Get the design wrong now and the consequences could be disastrous.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15The aeroplane business is completely different to any other business.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19You're committing 10 million to just throw it in...
0:12:19 > 0:12:23You're stuck with it, so you better do it right or forget it.
0:12:25 > 0:12:3075,000 drawings detailed how every last part fitted into the prototype.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34I think one of the first impressions one had
0:12:34 > 0:12:35of the real size of the aeroplane
0:12:35 > 0:12:39was when we first put a cross-sectional drawing of the engine
0:12:39 > 0:12:40up on the office wall.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43Then we realised the office wall wasn't quite big enough.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49- NEWS BROADCAST:- 'Inside, the 747 programme becomes a reality.'
0:12:49 > 0:12:52Soon, Sutter and his team were running out of space.
0:12:52 > 0:12:53Boeing had to take drastic action.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01Today, at Boeing's massive Everett Plant in Washington State,
0:13:01 > 0:13:04747s are still rolling off the production line.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08This is the largest building on earth,
0:13:08 > 0:13:11equivalent in area to over 50 football fields.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16So high, clouds can form in the ceiling.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21It was built specially for the 747.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30At huge expense, Boeing flattened the wilderness north of Seattle.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35They even built a railroad to bring materials to the site.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39This was one of the largest construction sites in the world.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45In just six months, Sutter was able to start moving in.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50Soon, it wasn't only the Everett Plant
0:13:50 > 0:13:52that was entering the record books.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56The prototype was made up of 4.5 million parts,
0:13:56 > 0:14:01100 miles of wiring and nearly 75 tonnes of aluminium.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07But it wasn't just the parts that were mounting up.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09The amount of money that was being spent,
0:14:09 > 0:14:13on all aspects of this programme, was pretty astronomic.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19Boeing faced even more expense when new orders from 25 airlines
0:14:19 > 0:14:22meant production models had to be started.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27The 747 was now costing over £20 million a day.
0:14:29 > 0:14:34But there was no real money coming in. Airlines only pay on delivery.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39Boeing faced a cash crisis. The banks threatened to pull out.
0:14:42 > 0:14:47Boeing gambled the company, millions of dollars, on this project.
0:14:47 > 0:14:48They took a big risk on it.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51To help deal with the crisis,
0:14:51 > 0:14:55Sutter was summoned to a high-level meeting.
0:14:55 > 0:15:00My boss, who was one of these people that decided, well, you can
0:15:00 > 0:15:03do anything by just saying you're going to do it,
0:15:03 > 0:15:07so he's told Bill Allen I could drop a lot of engineers.
0:15:08 > 0:15:13His job was on the line, unless he cut 1,000 engineers.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15Almost a quarter of his workforce.
0:15:16 > 0:15:21So here I am in front of Bill Allen and all my management people,
0:15:21 > 0:15:24telling them, "Hey, this is the real facts of life.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27"We can't give up any engineers."
0:15:27 > 0:15:28- ACTOR:- I'll leave it with you guys.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30Sutter refused to back down.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34I figured that was my last day at Boeing.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37But he won the stand-off.
0:15:38 > 0:15:43Boeing had little option but to continue with the project.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46If we had dumped the 1,000 engineers,
0:15:46 > 0:15:50the programme would have collapsed. Then what would you do?
0:15:51 > 0:15:54Throw it out the window and declare bankruptcy?
0:15:58 > 0:15:59Now it was touch and go
0:15:59 > 0:16:02if Boeing would go bust before the 747 was ready.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06And the big press-launch date was fast approaching.
0:16:16 > 0:16:22Today, the first 747 prototype sits at the Seattle Museum of Flight.
0:16:25 > 0:16:31With peeling paint, RA001 is a shadow of its former self,
0:16:31 > 0:16:34as the museum struggles to raise funds to restore it.
0:16:35 > 0:16:36This is the number-one aeroplane
0:16:36 > 0:16:40that was designed never to go into airline service.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43It was designed as sort of a development aeroplane.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47We did a lot of interesting engineering work on this thing
0:16:47 > 0:16:49to get the aeroplane tuned up.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53The prototype still has some of the water barrels
0:16:53 > 0:16:57used to simulate payloads during tests.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59Banks of equipment that could measure
0:16:59 > 0:17:03how the airframe and engines would perform under the stress of flight.
0:17:04 > 0:17:10But 45 years ago, this museum exhibit was a hive of activity.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13Sutter and his team raced to get the prototype ready
0:17:13 > 0:17:15to show to the world's press.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18The media were all excited,
0:17:18 > 0:17:21because here was a new aeroplane, which hadn't happened for a while,
0:17:21 > 0:17:25but there were more parts on the floor than in the aeroplane.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29We were still designing and testing the aeroplane
0:17:29 > 0:17:32and we didn't get an aeroplane put together
0:17:32 > 0:17:34until two days before we rolled it out.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42With paint still wet and parts missing,
0:17:42 > 0:17:46the prototype was rolled out to an expectant press and public.
0:17:48 > 0:17:49But for Bill Allen, it was a relief
0:17:49 > 0:17:53just to have something to show PanAm and the nervous bankers.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59It was also time to reassure the 25 other airlines who'd placed orders
0:17:59 > 0:18:02that this was the aircraft sensation of the decade.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05APPLAUSE
0:18:05 > 0:18:08Roll-out day came to us as a...
0:18:08 > 0:18:10real excitement.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12It was pure adrenaline as far as I was concerned.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17TV cameras were there, everything was rolling.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19We were all invited along to stand outside
0:18:19 > 0:18:21and watch this magnificent thing
0:18:21 > 0:18:23come out of the hangar, and I think...
0:18:23 > 0:18:25It gave everybody a thrill.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28I can't imagine anybody who didn't feel, you know,
0:18:28 > 0:18:30pretty proud of that day.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32APPLAUSE
0:18:32 > 0:18:3526 air hostesses prepared for the christening.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38It didn't quite go to plan.
0:18:38 > 0:18:39Let's not break it yet.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43It's going to be one, two,
0:18:43 > 0:18:45- three. Got it? - CLUNK!
0:18:45 > 0:18:49- WOMAN SHRIEKS - OK, wait, wait!
0:18:49 > 0:18:51Wait!
0:18:53 > 0:18:55All right. We'll do it again.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57One...
0:18:59 > 0:19:02..two, three.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06But behind the excitement,
0:19:06 > 0:19:09there was one thing that Boeing didn't shout about...
0:19:11 > 0:19:13the aircraft couldn't fly -
0:19:13 > 0:19:16the engines were purely decorative.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22Yeah, when they rolled it out, very dramatically,
0:19:22 > 0:19:25a gargantuan aeroplane, with this great promise
0:19:25 > 0:19:27of hauling so many people so far,
0:19:27 > 0:19:30and a great promise of changing aviation.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33The question was, was that promise going to be realised or not?
0:19:33 > 0:19:36So while we enjoyed the day,
0:19:36 > 0:19:40I think we realised that it was eyes down and start working
0:19:40 > 0:19:43as soon as all of the publicity had gone away.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46Sutter and his team had just 54 days
0:19:46 > 0:19:49before the prototype was scheduled for its first flight.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54And they had a major crisis on their hands with the engines.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59Up to now, no commercial engine had sufficient power
0:19:59 > 0:20:03to lift even half the weight of a 747.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05But manufacturers Pratt & Whitney
0:20:05 > 0:20:09had developed a new, untested engine that could.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13A JT9D was a high-bypass turbofan -
0:20:13 > 0:20:14an entirely new concept.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18It promised good fuel efficiency,
0:20:18 > 0:20:22low noise and, above all, phenomenal thrust.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24It's fundamentally like a jet engine
0:20:24 > 0:20:27that drives a big fan at the front.
0:20:30 > 0:20:35The secret of its design was a massive eight-foot fan on the front.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39This drew air not only into the central turbine,
0:20:39 > 0:20:43but also bypassed more than five times as much around the outside.
0:20:46 > 0:20:51The bypassing air added an incredible 70% extra thrust.
0:20:53 > 0:20:54And there was another bonus -
0:20:54 > 0:20:58at the back, the roar from the exhaust of the inner turbine
0:20:58 > 0:21:02was enveloped and softened by the bypassing air.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07Pratt & Whitney promised to make the 747
0:21:07 > 0:21:09quieter than jets half the size,
0:21:09 > 0:21:13yet two and a half times as powerful.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15Everything depended on its success.
0:21:16 > 0:21:21But in tests, it seemed they had promised too much.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24What you'd see first of all was the whole thing shake.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29At the same time, you'd hear a very big bang.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45Sometimes the flames were longer than the aeroplane
0:21:45 > 0:21:48and, of course, when that happens,
0:21:48 > 0:21:50you burn up things like turbine blades.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54No-one could work out what the fault was.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59During the 747's development,
0:21:59 > 0:22:03a total of 16 multi-million-dollar engines were written off.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05But Boeing couldn't wait any longer -
0:22:05 > 0:22:09they had to prove to the world that the 747 could fly.
0:22:20 > 0:22:22Two months behind schedule,
0:22:22 > 0:22:25test pilot Jack Waddell and his crew walked down to the prototype.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29It was time for the 747's first flight.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33Waddell's co-pilot was Brien Wygle.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37It was an incredible day.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41You have to realise there was this enormous pressure
0:22:41 > 0:22:43from all over the world,
0:22:43 > 0:22:45this thing had drawn the attention
0:22:45 > 0:22:49of the aviation industry over the globe,
0:22:49 > 0:22:52and there was a huge mob watching it.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56Bill Allan was a risk-taker.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00He was literally betting Boeing on this aeroplane.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04And there was a lot of nervousness about this.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07There were a lot of people saying that it wasn't going to fly.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09So there was a lot of pressure to make this happen.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14Test pilot Jack Waddell
0:23:14 > 0:23:17and his crew deliberately wore their everyday clothes
0:23:17 > 0:23:19as they entered the flight deck.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21There was so much scepticism about the 747.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23Would this thing really work?
0:23:23 > 0:23:26Is it way too big? You know...
0:23:26 > 0:23:28Will it even fly? And so on.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32So I think Jack's concept was to make it a...
0:23:33 > 0:23:35..an everyday occurrence, kind of thing.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38Yes, this aeroplane's safe, look at us,
0:23:38 > 0:23:40we're just dressed here in our normal suits and ties.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44But despite outward appearances,
0:23:44 > 0:23:48Jack Waddell was worried about the engines.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52On the first flight, Jack Waddell was concerned enough
0:23:52 > 0:23:57that we actually put in about 40 automobile batteries...
0:23:57 > 0:23:59hooked them up to hydraulic pumps so,
0:23:59 > 0:24:02in the case he lost all four engines,
0:24:02 > 0:24:04he'd have flight controls.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08At around 11.20am, RA-001 headed off for the runway.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10It was time.
0:24:10 > 0:24:11RA-001, ready for takeoff.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14TANNOY: 'RA-001, Roger that.'
0:24:20 > 0:24:22All the lights were green,
0:24:22 > 0:24:25so we taxied out to the runway,
0:24:25 > 0:24:27and, of course, checked all the engines.
0:24:28 > 0:24:33The aircraft was empty, except for the two pilots and flight engineer.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36It was too dangerous to risk more lives.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39In that period of history, you didn't have simulators
0:24:39 > 0:24:42to prepare you for the aeroplane flying.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50Nobody knew for sure how the 747 would behave.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52Now was the moment of truth.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56001, Roger that.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10Jack pulled back, the nose came up,
0:25:10 > 0:25:13wheels left the ground...
0:25:23 > 0:25:26The engines were all running!
0:25:26 > 0:25:30At that moment we had a great feeling of relief
0:25:30 > 0:25:33that now we can go about our work, you know.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36It was a glorious feeling.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38The only thing I can compare it to is the birth of your first child.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41I mean, it is cool. It's great stuff.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46The vision of that aeroplane, as big as it was,
0:25:46 > 0:25:48lifting off for the first time
0:25:48 > 0:25:50was just magic.
0:25:53 > 0:25:54And away it went.
0:25:54 > 0:25:56And it overflew the airfield,
0:25:56 > 0:25:59and I think the hair on the back of everybody's neck
0:25:59 > 0:26:02was standing up. It certainly was on mine!
0:26:20 > 0:26:25You also knew the press was listening to everything we said, as well, so...
0:26:25 > 0:26:29we weren't going to say anything bad, in any case, but it was...
0:26:29 > 0:26:32It was a great feeling.
0:26:34 > 0:26:38All went well until Waddell tried out the flaps on the wings.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42We were retracting the flaps...
0:26:42 > 0:26:44SUDDEN CLUNK
0:26:44 > 0:26:48..and there was a distinctive clunk sound when it happened.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53One of the flaps that slows the aircraft for landing
0:26:53 > 0:26:54had come loose.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57There was a danger it might had come off.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02Jack decided that we shouldn't venture any further.
0:27:03 > 0:27:07And we didn't want something more serious to happen.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13Now, at greater speed than planned, came the dangerous part -
0:27:13 > 0:27:17landing 300 tonnes of aircraft.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20Many, many people again said, "OK, she'll take off and fly,
0:27:20 > 0:27:23"but how do you get that big thing down onto the ground?"
0:27:23 > 0:27:27Especially with the pilot sitting 35 feet in the air at touchdown.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30Of course, I was waiting for that landing
0:27:30 > 0:27:33to get rid of the last concern.
0:27:33 > 0:27:34Then when it came on the landing,
0:27:34 > 0:27:37and you're looking down the runway at it, it REALLY looks slow.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39I kept thinking to myself -
0:27:39 > 0:27:42you're too slow, you're too slow, you're too slow.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49He made a nice approach,
0:27:49 > 0:27:51and he looked pretty confident,
0:27:51 > 0:27:54and, of course, I'm sitting there relaxed
0:27:54 > 0:27:58and Jack has to make a good landing in front of all those people.
0:28:19 > 0:28:24When Waddell landed the first time, he had no problem at all.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27The aeroplane proved that it was a good flying machine
0:28:27 > 0:28:29on that first flight.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34The feeling of completion, actually,
0:28:34 > 0:28:36once you've slowed down and start to taxi,
0:28:36 > 0:28:39you feel you're pretty well completed,
0:28:39 > 0:28:40and that huge mob are waiting,
0:28:40 > 0:28:44but the fact that this had come off after all this time,
0:28:44 > 0:28:49was a great feeling of superb satisfaction.
0:28:52 > 0:28:54CHEERING
0:28:54 > 0:28:57The Boeing team had worked miracles,
0:28:57 > 0:28:59turning sketches on paper
0:28:59 > 0:29:01into the largest commercial airliner ever built,
0:29:01 > 0:29:03and all in record time.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07I guess this sounds complacent, or something,
0:29:07 > 0:29:10but that thing is just ridiculously easy to fly.
0:29:10 > 0:29:12It's just a pilot's dream.
0:29:13 > 0:29:15The 747 could fly,
0:29:15 > 0:29:17and the engines did not explode.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20At least, this time.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23But now they had to prove to the aviation authorities
0:29:23 > 0:29:26that the plane was safe enough for passengers.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38No matter how bad the weather, the tests began.
0:29:38 > 0:29:40They had just 11 months left.
0:29:41 > 0:29:45Taking the aircraft to the maximum speed before it took off,
0:29:45 > 0:29:47the brakes were slammed on...
0:29:47 > 0:29:49The wheels caught fire,
0:29:49 > 0:29:52but the crew had to wait an anxious five minutes
0:29:52 > 0:29:53before putting them out.
0:29:57 > 0:30:01Waddell deliberately put the 747 into death-defying stalls...
0:30:06 > 0:30:09And he scraped its tail along the runway
0:30:09 > 0:30:11to simulate too steep a takeoff.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18Above all, the authorities wanted to check
0:30:18 > 0:30:21the plane could be evacuated in just 90 seconds.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26The 747 would be carrying more passengers than ever before.
0:30:26 > 0:30:30A single accident could kill over 400 people.
0:30:31 > 0:30:36But soon the 747 was passing with flying colours.
0:30:36 > 0:30:37Not least
0:30:37 > 0:30:41because Sutter had installed unparalleled safety features.
0:30:43 > 0:30:47Three backup systems that would keep the aircraft flying,
0:30:47 > 0:30:49even if only one was working.
0:30:50 > 0:30:55This was his most important value in designing the 747.
0:30:55 > 0:30:57It was the thing that kept him awake at night.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00What would happen if it crashed on its first flight?
0:31:00 > 0:31:03It would have... It would have been the end of the Boeing company.
0:31:06 > 0:31:11We did I think establish a new standard for aeroplane design,
0:31:11 > 0:31:16and later on, I think, most people tend to follow that now.
0:31:16 > 0:31:18Maybe not as well as a 747,
0:31:18 > 0:31:21but you'll see that safety going into all
0:31:21 > 0:31:24of the other more modern aeroplanes.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30But it wasn't long before the tests hit what every aircraft designer
0:31:30 > 0:31:34considers their worst nightmare -
0:31:34 > 0:31:38the seven letter F-word, flutter.
0:31:38 > 0:31:42Increasing speed to Mach 0.7.
0:31:44 > 0:31:48At certain speeds, as wind tunnel tests show,
0:31:48 > 0:31:50flutter causes violent vibrations
0:31:50 > 0:31:52that can shake an aeroplane apart.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00Pan Am and others wanted us to design an aeroplane
0:32:00 > 0:32:03as fast as we could, which meant that we had
0:32:03 > 0:32:05to thin the wing and sweep the wing.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10And that can cause a condition called flutter.
0:32:10 > 0:32:12And if you tame flutter, that's fine,
0:32:12 > 0:32:15but if you don't, you can lose a wing.
0:32:17 > 0:32:19The wing was a miracle of engineering,
0:32:19 > 0:32:23based on Nazi swept-wing designs of the Second World War.
0:32:24 > 0:32:28It could change its shape to suit every flying condition.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31Massive triple-slotted flaps
0:32:31 > 0:32:35unwound to give 90% extra lift at slow speeds.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37The wing did all this,
0:32:37 > 0:32:40yet could be bent at the tip 20 feet before breaking.
0:32:43 > 0:32:47But the dangerous flutter threatened the entire project.
0:32:49 > 0:32:53Jack Waddell deliberately pushed the aircraft into the danger zone.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57To explore the flutter area,
0:32:57 > 0:33:01which came, normally, with a certain airspeed and altitude,
0:33:01 > 0:33:04you would approach it very cautiously
0:33:04 > 0:33:07by only advancing your speed a little bit at a time.
0:33:07 > 0:33:09'Mach 0.8.'
0:33:16 > 0:33:18The flutter started.
0:33:18 > 0:33:20We knew we were in dangerous territory.
0:33:20 > 0:33:22It's a very dangerous phenomenon
0:33:22 > 0:33:25and has to be carefully controlled.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28'OK, decreasing speed.'
0:33:29 > 0:33:32But, normally, that meant right away, you backed off.
0:33:32 > 0:33:34You pulled the throttles back and you slowed down.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36As soon as he slowed down,
0:33:36 > 0:33:40then you left the danger area with some more information.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45After a month of hard flying, they worked out a fix -
0:33:47 > 0:33:52small heavy weights at the tip of the wings dampened the vibrations.
0:33:52 > 0:33:55We did control it. We found the answers, we got it done.
0:33:55 > 0:33:58But it took a lot of time.
0:33:58 > 0:34:01Time that Boeing didn't have.
0:34:05 > 0:34:09While the tests raced ahead, anticipation of the new jumbo
0:34:09 > 0:34:12was building on this side of the Atlantic.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15- NEWS BROADCAST:- 'They said the jumbo couldn't be built,
0:34:15 > 0:34:18'that no factory could hold it, but Boeing levelled a mountain
0:34:18 > 0:34:20'and built the biggest factory in the world,
0:34:20 > 0:34:24'and the revolution in our travel habits begins in only four months.'
0:34:27 > 0:34:30'The catering vehicle at door one starboard is elevated.'
0:34:32 > 0:34:35Investing millions in new facilities,
0:34:35 > 0:34:39airlines rehearsed arrival day of the new giant.
0:34:39 > 0:34:43'The starboard air-conditioning vehicle is positioned and started.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46'The cleaning vehicle at door five starboard is elevated,
0:34:46 > 0:34:48'and cleaning of the rear toilets starts.'
0:34:48 > 0:34:52International airports were expanded
0:34:52 > 0:34:53to create massive hubs
0:34:53 > 0:34:57ready for the passenger explosion that was to come.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02But all the preparations would be for nothing
0:35:02 > 0:35:04if the engine faults could not be fixed.
0:35:07 > 0:35:12With only months before the first 747s were due to go into service,
0:35:12 > 0:35:16production models started piling up outside the Everett factory.
0:35:17 > 0:35:20Very few of the aeroplanes ever had engines on them.
0:35:20 > 0:35:22They usually had a concrete block
0:35:22 > 0:35:23hanging off of the pylon
0:35:23 > 0:35:26where the engine's supposed to mount.
0:35:29 > 0:35:31The concrete blocks
0:35:31 > 0:35:34stopped the aircraft from tipping up on their tails.
0:35:36 > 0:35:38With all these grounded aircraft,
0:35:38 > 0:35:40the company was closer than ever to bankruptcy.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46I think everybody at Boeing felt
0:35:46 > 0:35:49that we had a very serious engine problem,
0:35:49 > 0:35:52and Pratt & Whitney just wasn't taking it seriously enough.
0:35:52 > 0:35:53They may have been working on it,
0:35:53 > 0:35:56but we didn't feel like they were working hard enough.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03Test pilot Jack Waddell decided it was time to give
0:36:03 > 0:36:06the engine manufacturers a wake-up call.
0:36:07 > 0:36:11He took the president of Pratt & Whitney for a ride
0:36:11 > 0:36:13and showed him the problem.
0:36:18 > 0:36:20It was a very dramatic demonstration,
0:36:20 > 0:36:24because those surges always created a loud boom.
0:36:24 > 0:36:27To prove it wasn't just one rogue engine,
0:36:27 > 0:36:29Waddell throttled up number two.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31BOOM!
0:36:34 > 0:36:36He was about to do it again, and the Pratt guy said,
0:36:36 > 0:36:40"I got it! I got it. I understand, yeah, OK."
0:36:40 > 0:36:42And, erm...that test was over.
0:36:45 > 0:36:49Jack was merciless, he had no sympathy for him!
0:36:51 > 0:36:53The showdown paid off.
0:36:53 > 0:36:57The cause of the flame-outs was found.
0:36:57 > 0:36:59Under certain conditions,
0:36:59 > 0:37:03the large fan distorted the inner engine casing,
0:37:03 > 0:37:07so that it no longer made a snug fit around the spinning turbine blades.
0:37:07 > 0:37:10This caused the air and fuel mixture to break up and explode.
0:37:10 > 0:37:13EXPLOSIVE BOOM
0:37:13 > 0:37:15But by simply stiffening the casing,
0:37:15 > 0:37:18they hoped that they had solved the problem.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21Engineers raced to fit the engines.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23A jumbo at last could go into service.
0:37:24 > 0:37:28For Joe Sutter, it had been a long hard battle.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31The fact that we got the aeroplane done in time,
0:37:31 > 0:37:33and it was a good aeroplane,
0:37:33 > 0:37:38is attesting how well the people that worked with me
0:37:38 > 0:37:43did their job, but it was a fight all the way.
0:37:49 > 0:37:53At 7pm, the first fee-paying passengers
0:37:53 > 0:37:55took their seats for the inaugural flight
0:37:55 > 0:37:58from New York's JFK to London Heathrow.
0:38:01 > 0:38:06It was quite a media event, as you might imagine, with celebrities...
0:38:06 > 0:38:09The aeroplane taxied out, and all of a sudden,
0:38:09 > 0:38:13we see the rotating beacon coming back toward the terminal.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16And it was reported that they had an engine problem.
0:38:17 > 0:38:21The passengers were brought back to the terminal.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23I'd rather be off than on.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25Any sense of fear?
0:38:25 > 0:38:28No, they said something was burning, and we got off.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31Something was burning -
0:38:31 > 0:38:32it was an engine.
0:38:32 > 0:38:36We saw molten metal in the tailpipe of the engine,
0:38:36 > 0:38:39which meant that the engine had to be replaced.
0:38:40 > 0:38:42There was no time.
0:38:42 > 0:38:44Pan Am switched to a stand-by aircraft
0:38:44 > 0:38:47hoping no-one would notice.
0:38:47 > 0:38:49I do remember
0:38:49 > 0:38:53that we re-stencilled the name of the aeroplane
0:38:53 > 0:38:56to the inaugural name.
0:38:58 > 0:38:59After a six-hour delay,
0:38:59 > 0:39:02a 747 eventually took off.
0:39:02 > 0:39:06While, in London, everybody waited.
0:39:06 > 0:39:10I think the man who wrote this on the top of a press hand-out from Boeing
0:39:10 > 0:39:14will have a very, very red face indeed this morning.
0:39:14 > 0:39:16He's right, we haven't.
0:39:16 > 0:39:19It had not been the launch Pan Am or Boeing had hoped for.
0:39:23 > 0:39:27But when the tired passengers did eventually land at Heathrow,
0:39:27 > 0:39:30the 747 was met by excited crowds.
0:39:33 > 0:39:36No-one had ever seen a plane this size before.
0:39:42 > 0:39:46Soon jumbos started crisscrossing the globe.
0:39:46 > 0:39:48With its spacious twin aisles,
0:39:48 > 0:39:52the 747 quickly became a success with the public.
0:39:52 > 0:39:54What do you think, George?
0:39:54 > 0:39:55Harriet, don't rush me!
0:39:55 > 0:39:57TV ads sung its praise.
0:39:59 > 0:40:01George? The kitchens are just perfect!
0:40:01 > 0:40:04And all this room, George!
0:40:04 > 0:40:06- Very nice, dear. - Wow!
0:40:06 > 0:40:09Even engine manufacturers Pratt & Whitney
0:40:09 > 0:40:12were eager to announce the age of the wide-bodied jet.
0:40:12 > 0:40:15- Harriet, we'll take it! - Oh!
0:40:15 > 0:40:16'The 747.
0:40:16 > 0:40:18'The '70s way to fly.
0:40:18 > 0:40:20'Beautiful!'
0:40:21 > 0:40:24The 747 became the must-have aeroplane.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27It was the plane to have in your fleet.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30It was the flagship of any airline fleet.
0:40:30 > 0:40:34And you just didn't HAVE an airline unless you had a 747.
0:40:36 > 0:40:38Well, the 747 was an immediate hit.
0:40:38 > 0:40:41It was the epitome of the jet age,
0:40:41 > 0:40:43and luxury air travel.
0:40:43 > 0:40:45Look at that!
0:40:45 > 0:40:48For the first time in history, people could travel cheaply
0:40:48 > 0:40:50yet quickly from continent to continent.
0:40:52 > 0:40:54'The world has shrunk, they say.
0:40:54 > 0:40:56'It's true.
0:40:56 > 0:41:00'In the sense that air travel has brought places closer in time,
0:41:00 > 0:41:02'the world is smaller.'
0:41:03 > 0:41:05In the first six months,
0:41:05 > 0:41:09the 747 had taken a staggering million passengers.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12Return transatlantic flights,
0:41:12 > 0:41:15dropped by almost a half to just over £100,
0:41:15 > 0:41:19and for airlines, the jumbo was a cash cow.
0:41:23 > 0:41:26Oh, I think they're marvellous. Wonderful machines.
0:41:26 > 0:41:30They're more like a flying town hall, I should think!
0:41:31 > 0:41:33But it wasn't just cheap seats -
0:41:33 > 0:41:37the jumbo introduced a new age of luxurious air travel.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45The company responsible for the new interior design -
0:41:45 > 0:41:48and the world's first overhead locker -
0:41:48 > 0:41:50was Walter Dorwin Teague Associates.
0:41:53 > 0:41:55We did actually go through a period
0:41:55 > 0:42:00where Day-Glo colours and upholstery were actually very, very popular,
0:42:00 > 0:42:03and we did some things there that I think probably today,
0:42:03 > 0:42:05- we'd look back and kind of... - HE CHUCKLES
0:42:05 > 0:42:09..not be so happy with, but they were really beautiful at the time.
0:42:10 > 0:42:14The jumbo was transforming the aviation industry.
0:42:14 > 0:42:18With up to 16 cabin crew to each 747,
0:42:18 > 0:42:20airlines recruited more staff.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26Pan Am stewardess Emilia De Geer
0:42:26 > 0:42:31started working on 747s when they first entered service.
0:42:31 > 0:42:34Pan Am was the iconic airline.
0:42:34 > 0:42:38I would not have flown with any other airline.
0:42:38 > 0:42:40They were very strict about weight.
0:42:40 > 0:42:43We were not required to wear girdles,
0:42:43 > 0:42:45but we had to be slim.
0:42:45 > 0:42:49Emilia soon developed a love affair with the aircraft.
0:42:49 > 0:42:51Not just with any 747,
0:42:51 > 0:42:54but one of the first that Pan Am ever bought.
0:42:54 > 0:42:59Clipper America - registration N747PA.
0:42:59 > 0:43:01It was love at first sight.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04She was an amazing vision.
0:43:06 > 0:43:09It was a relationship that would last 40 years,
0:43:09 > 0:43:14but it started badly with the first serious accident to involve a jumbo.
0:43:14 > 0:43:17I was on Clipper America,
0:43:17 > 0:43:20and we were fully loaded fuel-wise
0:43:20 > 0:43:23to go from San Francisco to Tokyo
0:43:23 > 0:43:26when we hit a big problem.
0:43:27 > 0:43:29Miscalculating his takeoff speed,
0:43:29 > 0:43:31the pilot hit the runway lights.
0:43:33 > 0:43:35SCREAMING AND SHOUTING
0:43:35 > 0:43:38We took one beam with us.
0:43:38 > 0:43:40It came with us, right through the belly,
0:43:40 > 0:43:43and it went through four rows of seats.
0:43:43 > 0:43:46Those four seats miraculously were not occupied.
0:43:47 > 0:43:51Otherwise, it would have been human shish kebab.
0:43:54 > 0:43:57There was one person not so luckily located
0:43:57 > 0:44:00where the beam came up from the floor,
0:44:00 > 0:44:03and it amputated his foot.
0:44:03 > 0:44:06The accident had severed three of the four hydraulic systems
0:44:06 > 0:44:08and damaged the landing gear.
0:44:08 > 0:44:11The situation was critical.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14They had no alternative but to attempt a landing.
0:44:14 > 0:44:16We start to make our descent...
0:44:18 > 0:44:22..and it was the loudest landing.
0:44:42 > 0:44:45And then...everything was quiet.
0:44:45 > 0:44:47SIRENS
0:44:58 > 0:45:00It was a miracle.
0:45:00 > 0:45:05It could've been possibly the worst crash,
0:45:05 > 0:45:09but in my mind, the 747 saved our lives.
0:45:09 > 0:45:13Incredibly, Emilia's 747 was repaired
0:45:13 > 0:45:15and went back into service.
0:45:15 > 0:45:17My love affair continued
0:45:17 > 0:45:20and I did enjoy flying her from time to time,
0:45:20 > 0:45:23then all of a sudden she disappeared.
0:45:28 > 0:45:32Emilia learned of the fate of her jumbo, now 40 years old,
0:45:32 > 0:45:35and renamed after Pan Am's founder, Juane T Trippe.
0:45:36 > 0:45:42She ended up, apparently, in South Korea as some kind of restaurant?
0:45:42 > 0:45:45How demeaning!
0:45:45 > 0:45:49Then I heard they finally dismantled her and she doesn't exist any more.
0:45:52 > 0:45:56Why couldn't they have kept an aeroplane like her? You know?
0:45:56 > 0:45:58For all posterity.
0:46:02 > 0:46:05The jumbo revolution was now in full swing,
0:46:05 > 0:46:08but Boeing had not recovered financially
0:46:08 > 0:46:12from the massive investment it had made.
0:46:12 > 0:46:14And it was about to be dealt another blow.
0:46:16 > 0:46:18Everybody, I think, was concerned.
0:46:18 > 0:46:22Nobody took it for granted that they would have a job tomorrow morning.
0:46:22 > 0:46:23It was that palpable.
0:46:26 > 0:46:30In May 1971, the project that was supposed to make the 747 obsolete
0:46:30 > 0:46:32was scrapped.
0:46:34 > 0:46:36On grounds of noise and pollution,
0:46:36 > 0:46:40environmentalists persuaded Congress to cut funding
0:46:40 > 0:46:42for the ambitious supersonic airliner.
0:46:45 > 0:46:49Boeing cut its workforce by nearly two-thirds -
0:46:49 > 0:46:5160,000 jobs were lost.
0:46:52 > 0:46:55Somebody who thankfully had a sense of humour when he left
0:46:55 > 0:46:58put up a big board down by the airport...
0:47:02 > 0:47:04..and you know, it wasn't funny.
0:47:04 > 0:47:07That was a bittersweet piece of humour.
0:47:08 > 0:47:10It was a close call,
0:47:10 > 0:47:12but as more orders rolled in,
0:47:12 > 0:47:16the plane that was supposed to be the underdog saved Boeing.
0:47:18 > 0:47:20TANNOY: 'British Airways regret to announce the delay
0:47:20 > 0:47:22'to the departure of this flight
0:47:22 > 0:47:25'due to late servicing of the aircraft.'
0:47:25 > 0:47:28Soon it had become part of our everyday life.
0:47:28 > 0:47:30Yeah, I live at Reading,
0:47:30 > 0:47:34but the old M4 was a bit crowded this morning, I can tell you that.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43Through the '80s, airlines like British Airways
0:47:43 > 0:47:45encouraged passengers to travel
0:47:45 > 0:47:47to ever more exotic locations,
0:47:47 > 0:47:49with the promise of cheap fares.
0:47:52 > 0:47:56# Fly... #
0:47:58 > 0:48:01And by the early '90s, the numbers of passengers carried by jumbos
0:48:01 > 0:48:06was no longer in the millions but the billions.
0:48:06 > 0:48:08The 747 had shrunk the world
0:48:08 > 0:48:12in a way that no-one could ever have imagined.
0:48:14 > 0:48:17But by now, this child of the '70s
0:48:17 > 0:48:19was in need of a face-lift.
0:48:22 > 0:48:24Boeing completely overhauled the jumbo,
0:48:24 > 0:48:27with the introduction of the new 747-400.
0:48:27 > 0:48:32Advanced computer systems eliminated the flight engineer.
0:48:32 > 0:48:35Little winglets smoothed turbulence at the tip of the wings,
0:48:35 > 0:48:37saving fuel.
0:48:38 > 0:48:41With extra tanks, the 747 could now travel
0:48:41 > 0:48:44a third of the way around the planet without stopping.
0:48:47 > 0:48:52The improvements made the jumbo the all-time favourite of crews,
0:48:52 > 0:48:55among them celebrity pilot John Travolta.
0:48:57 > 0:49:02The 747, rated on a 1 to 10 scale, has to be a 10.
0:49:03 > 0:49:05As a QANTAS ambassador,
0:49:05 > 0:49:08Travolta was able to realise a lifelong ambition
0:49:08 > 0:49:10to learn to fly a 747,
0:49:10 > 0:49:13but his instructor didn't make it easy.
0:49:14 > 0:49:16He threw a doozy at me -
0:49:16 > 0:49:17he killed two engines,
0:49:17 > 0:49:19I had hydraulic problems,
0:49:19 > 0:49:21I had electrical problems,
0:49:21 > 0:49:25I had about five major failures,
0:49:25 > 0:49:28plus...others.
0:49:28 > 0:49:30Instrument failure, what-have-you.
0:49:30 > 0:49:32Travolta landed safely,
0:49:32 > 0:49:35and the experience didn't dent his love for the 747.
0:49:35 > 0:49:39In fact, quite the reverse.
0:49:39 > 0:49:42You are dealing with a pedigree aircraft,
0:49:42 > 0:49:45and you feel that when you're flying it.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48You know you have that aeroplane beneath you.
0:49:48 > 0:49:50It's solid-state, if you will.
0:49:50 > 0:49:51It's majestic.
0:49:53 > 0:49:56There's a saying... If it's not Boeing, I ain't goin'.
0:49:57 > 0:50:00QANTAS offered Travolta his own 747,
0:50:00 > 0:50:04but he reluctantly had to turn it down.
0:50:04 > 0:50:08I loved it, I was so impressed that I was being offered it,
0:50:08 > 0:50:10but I'm not a shaker,
0:50:10 > 0:50:15you know, I don't have this kind of money to support that kind of plane.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18At half a billion dollars plus,
0:50:18 > 0:50:23a personal 747 may be too expensive for John Travolta,
0:50:23 > 0:50:26but there are mega-rich who can afford
0:50:26 > 0:50:28their own jumbo flying palace.
0:50:28 > 0:50:30Greenpoint Technologies
0:50:30 > 0:50:32offers the Aerolift, which takes you
0:50:32 > 0:50:34directly from your car into the aircraft,
0:50:34 > 0:50:37and eight private suites in the loft area.
0:50:39 > 0:50:43To date, 12 of these pimped aircraft have been sold.
0:50:45 > 0:50:47The names of those who can afford
0:50:47 > 0:50:49the half-billion-dollar-plus price tag
0:50:49 > 0:50:51are kept strictly confidential.
0:50:55 > 0:50:58With its wide body and massive capacity,
0:50:58 > 0:51:01the 747 has proved endlessly adaptable.
0:51:04 > 0:51:06For nearly 35 years,
0:51:06 > 0:51:09jumbo has piggybacked the space shuttles,
0:51:09 > 0:51:11returning them to Kennedy Space Center.
0:51:13 > 0:51:18The Evergreen tanker is the world's largest fire extinguisher.
0:51:18 > 0:51:22This jumbo can drop 20,000 gallons of fire retardant
0:51:22 > 0:51:24over a swathe of land four miles long.
0:51:29 > 0:51:31And this 747 has on board
0:51:31 > 0:51:35the world's largest airborne astronomical observatory,
0:51:35 > 0:51:37NASA's SOFIA.
0:51:38 > 0:51:43At 45,000 feet, the thin atmosphere offers views of the universe
0:51:43 > 0:51:46not possible from ground-based telescopes.
0:51:48 > 0:51:53Jumbos have also been adapted to become warplanes.
0:51:53 > 0:51:58This is the experimental YAL-1 Airborne Laser,
0:51:58 > 0:52:02designed to fry enemy missiles at a distance of several hundred miles.
0:52:05 > 0:52:07But there is one 747
0:52:07 > 0:52:10that is the most recognised aircraft in the world, Air Force One.
0:52:14 > 0:52:16Wherever this plane goes around the world,
0:52:16 > 0:52:18when it carries our President,
0:52:18 > 0:52:22it's a visible symbol of the United States.
0:52:22 > 0:52:26It shows what we can do as Americans.
0:52:27 > 0:52:31Inside, is a mix of secret communication systems,
0:52:31 > 0:52:34offices and suites for the President and his staff.
0:52:36 > 0:52:39It can carry a full press corps
0:52:39 > 0:52:41and even has its own fully equipped hospital.
0:52:42 > 0:52:45All of us that flew 747 in the military were...
0:52:45 > 0:52:48we developed a love for the aircraft.
0:52:49 > 0:52:52It was just the perfect machine.
0:52:52 > 0:52:54This is not only a flying White House,
0:52:54 > 0:52:57it's also a military aircraft.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00The self-defence on the aircraft I can't really talk about,
0:53:00 > 0:53:03but there are other classified modifications for the aircraft,
0:53:03 > 0:53:07to allow the President to survive in a nuclear environment.
0:53:07 > 0:53:11Air Force One costs nearly 180,000 an hour to fly
0:53:11 > 0:53:14and is lovingly looked after by a team of 100.
0:53:15 > 0:53:19It had to be hand polished every time it came in after a mission.
0:53:19 > 0:53:21Because it had to be perfect -
0:53:21 > 0:53:23you represent the United States of America.
0:53:23 > 0:53:26But the other part is that you're representing the Boeing 747,
0:53:26 > 0:53:30and it was just an immaculate aircraft.
0:53:30 > 0:53:35Air Force One is now over 20 years old,
0:53:35 > 0:53:39and the US Government is searching for a replacement.
0:53:39 > 0:53:43Boeing may just have the perfect plane for the job -
0:53:43 > 0:53:45a new 747.
0:53:51 > 0:53:53In February, 2011,
0:53:53 > 0:53:58Boeing rolled out the 747-8 Intercontinental.
0:54:00 > 0:54:03There to see this latest incarnation
0:54:03 > 0:54:06was the father of the 747, Joe Sutter.
0:54:09 > 0:54:14747-8 shows how the basic architecture of the initial aeroplane
0:54:14 > 0:54:19was right, because it looks just like the original aeroplane.
0:54:19 > 0:54:22But the thing that annoys me a little bit,
0:54:22 > 0:54:25is that I talk to the pilots that fly it,
0:54:25 > 0:54:27and they used to tell me that the 747-400
0:54:27 > 0:54:30was their favourite aeroplane.
0:54:30 > 0:54:33Now they're saying that the 747-8's the favourite aeroplane.
0:54:38 > 0:54:42Boeing is eager to boast about the -8's latest advances.
0:54:43 > 0:54:47The 747-8 is really an entirely new aircraft.
0:54:47 > 0:54:52By far the most fuel-efficient aircraft in aviation today.
0:54:55 > 0:54:58This wing is completely new,
0:54:58 > 0:55:00and it is a wing that results
0:55:00 > 0:55:03in very minimum drag,
0:55:03 > 0:55:05even flying at very high speeds.
0:55:07 > 0:55:10While Boeing can't claim it is the largest,
0:55:10 > 0:55:12it is still the longest... and the fastest.
0:55:12 > 0:55:16In test flights, it came within 8mph of going supersonic.
0:55:18 > 0:55:20It is also ultra quiet.
0:55:20 > 0:55:24We've had control towers not realise the aircraft has taken off
0:55:24 > 0:55:27because they didn't hear it.
0:55:29 > 0:55:32When you get on the aeroplane, I think it's absolutely stunning.
0:55:32 > 0:55:34You know that this is a 747,
0:55:34 > 0:55:37but it's not like any 747 you've ever seen.
0:55:41 > 0:55:43But for all their boasts,
0:55:43 > 0:55:47the order books for the -8 are pretty near empty.
0:55:47 > 0:55:49Airlines have been looking elsewhere to replace
0:55:49 > 0:55:52their now ageing fleet of 747s.
0:55:52 > 0:55:55Is this the beginning of the end for the jumbo?
0:55:58 > 0:56:04A serious rival has been Airbus's super-jumbo, the A380 -
0:56:04 > 0:56:06with two decks and a wider body,
0:56:06 > 0:56:09it can carry another 150 passengers.
0:56:11 > 0:56:15But the real threat comes from a whole new generation of aircraft
0:56:15 > 0:56:17with only two engines,
0:56:17 > 0:56:22aeroplanes like Boeing's own 787 Dreamliner.
0:56:22 > 0:56:25These can fly as far as the 747,
0:56:25 > 0:56:28but because they take smaller numbers,
0:56:28 > 0:56:31they don't need to use big airport hubs.
0:56:31 > 0:56:36Instead, they can take you direct to your international destination.
0:56:36 > 0:56:39Less hassle, and cheaper all round.
0:56:39 > 0:56:42How did the original creators of the 747
0:56:42 > 0:56:44view this threat to their baby?
0:56:45 > 0:56:48Two engines have done so well
0:56:48 > 0:56:51and have turned out to be such a success,
0:56:51 > 0:56:54that they are very serious competition
0:56:54 > 0:56:57for any four-engined aeroplane.
0:56:57 > 0:57:00To me, it will still be around for a long time,
0:57:00 > 0:57:04but two-engined aeroplanes are more efficient
0:57:04 > 0:57:06than four-engined aeroplanes,
0:57:06 > 0:57:09and when we were putting this aeroplane together,
0:57:09 > 0:57:12four-engines were flown because we didn't have the levels
0:57:12 > 0:57:14of engine reliability that we have today.
0:57:14 > 0:57:17Whatever happens, it's likely that
0:57:17 > 0:57:20we are going to be flying 747s
0:57:20 > 0:57:22for many years to come.
0:57:22 > 0:57:26Meanwhile, it's estimated that, at any single moment,
0:57:26 > 0:57:31around 100,000 people are seated high in the skies in a jumbo.
0:57:38 > 0:57:41Until you're in the ground, they will be flying, certainly.
0:57:41 > 0:57:44I don't see an end to when the 747 flies.
0:57:44 > 0:57:46I don't think the 747 is going anywhere,
0:57:46 > 0:57:48because there are too many of them
0:57:48 > 0:57:50and there's too much investment in its future.
0:57:50 > 0:57:54So I think we're going to see them probably through my lifetime.
0:57:56 > 0:57:59It will go out of service maybe 50 years from now?
0:57:59 > 0:58:01Who knows?
0:58:01 > 0:58:03When the time does come, when they're no longer flying,
0:58:03 > 0:58:05I think we'll all miss them very greatly.
0:58:05 > 0:58:08747 was built in just 28 months
0:58:08 > 0:58:11and against all the odds.
0:58:11 > 0:58:14Its engineers take pride that their creation
0:58:14 > 0:58:18will be looked at with wonder well into the future.
0:58:19 > 0:58:22I've always felt that the 747 was my aeroplane.
0:58:22 > 0:58:26It's part of me, and I'm part of it. That's the way I feel about it.
0:58:27 > 0:58:31The proud feeling I have is that we did a hell of a good job.
0:58:31 > 0:58:34We designed a safe aeroplane
0:58:34 > 0:58:36that the pilots love to fly,
0:58:36 > 0:58:38and little old ladies like to fly on it.
0:58:38 > 0:58:41So it's turned out to be quite a success.