Happy Birthday - Boeing 747, 40 years old!

[Puggit]

(actually it was yesterday)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7880808.stm

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/ind...

As an all too frequent visitor to Heathrow, what is striking now is the lack of 747s. Replaced with mostly A340-600s and a smattering of A380s.

[Crimson Tide]

Really? Seemed to be plenty when I visited the tower in August. Maybe i'm not used to how many there used to be. They are a much more handsome thing than the A340/rolled up newspaper with wings.

I recently read Joe Sutter's book on the 747 design and development (titled '747' if you're interested). It is an interesting read, although his bias against anything non-Boeing or non-US is rather frustrating.