Model Airplanes

It’s not an exaggeration to say Boeing’s future was on the line that Sunday morning at Everett’s Paine Field, exactly 50 years ago.

Feb. 9, 1969, was the first flight for model No. 1 of the 747, the largest commercial airplane in the world, capable of carrying more than 400 passengers.

Boeing had gone into deep debt, using a workforce of 50,000 that called itself “the Incredibles” because of the arduous task, to build the aircraft in less than 16 months. The banks that Boeing borrowed from for the project were worried.

On that winter day there was cheering from the several hundred people at Paine Field — most of them Boeing staff and management — when the 747 landed after an hour and 15 minute test flight over the Olympic Peninsula.

It was on the front page the next day in The Seattle Times, with a story headline that quoted test pilot Jack Waddell, “It’s ‘beautiful.’ ”

The legend of the “Queen of the Sky” had begun.

Since then, Boeing has delivered 1,548 747s. The planes have transported an astounding 5.9 billion people, nearly 80 percent of the world’s population, Boeing says.

Boeing 747 makes its first flight, Feb. 9, 1969. (Vic Condiotty / The Seattle Times)

At just after 11am on February 9, 1969, the first jumbo jet readied to take to the air for its inaugural test flight.

Pilot Jack Waddell fired up one of the huge aeroplane’s four mighty Pratt Whitney jet engines.

As a veteran of World War II, when Waddell flew fighters for the U.S. Navy, he had been on many nerve-racking missions, but perhaps none were as tense as this. For this was no ordinary debut.

With the introduction of the Boeing 747, an opulent age of air travel promised to become affordable for all and change the world as we know it.

Behind Waddell were some 160 tons of aircraft, with a payload of around 54 tons of bulging mail sacks and beer kegs filled with water.

The plane itself was made out of a mind-boggling six million parts, of which a quarter were rivets holding together the 232ft machine.

The Boeing 747 took to the skies on February 9, 1969, and was made out of six million parts, of which a quarter were rivets holding together the 232ft machine

A picture taken on January 13, 1970, shows the aircraft crew from the first commercial flight of the Boeing 747, otherwise known as the ‘Jumbo Jet’, on board a flight from New York to London for Pan American

This fascinating black and white picture shows Pan American flight attendants serving passengers in the first class cabin of the Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet champagne

First Officer Betsy Carroll, the

Article source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6692953/The-plane-shrunk-world-behemoth-turned-air-travel-luxury-holiday.html

About one third of the 737 aircraft that Boeing builds are bought by Chinese customers. – Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images

The Boeing Co. is a force in the global economy. Its America’s biggest exporter and the U.S. Defense Department’s second largest contractor. They’re coming off their best earnings year ever with revenue topping $100 billion in 2018. Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal talked with CEO Dennis Muilenburg at Boeing’s corporate headquarters in Chicago, Illinois. The following has been excerpted from their conversation.

Beoing CEO Dennis Muilenburg talks with Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal at Boeing’s headquarters in Chicago. – Courtesy of Boeing

On manufacturing in America today:

Muilenburg: I think being a manufacturing company in America today is harder than it’s ever been … The economy, the nature of work over time, it’s moved a bit away from manufacturing and building hardware. It’s moved more towards digital software, different sectors. And while we’re a very intense software and digital business we also build big complex hardware. There used to be more of that in this country.

On President Donald Trump:

Ryssdal: The president, for those who might not have seen the news either had just been elected or was about to be sworn in I forget exactly the timing. But the president went after Boeing for the Air Force One contract very early in his time, got on the phone with you, you negotiated a satisfactory deal with the president for the new Air Force One. I don’t want to get the merits of the contract. What
Article source: https://www.marketplace.org/2019/02/11/business/corner-office/ceo-americas-biggest-exporter-manufacturing-america-doing-business

James V. McCoy, 50, of Enfield, beloved husband of Janice (Stokes) McCoy passed away Friday, February 8, 2019 at his home surrounded by his loving family. Born December 16, 1968 in Hartford, son of Mary (Mathewson) McCoy and the late Edward V. McCoy. Jim grew up in Enfield before moving to Windsor Locks, he graduated from Windsor Locks High School with the class of 1986. In 1998 he married Janice, the love of his life, at that time he would move back to Enfield where they would raise their family. Jim was employed for 23 years as a mechanic with Ahlstrom in Windsor Locks. He enjoyed family time camping and boating, putting together model airplanes, trains and tinkering with his cars. He was a family man generous with helping others, he always came to the rescue. Grateful to have spent my life with such an amazing man, that taught me so much in life. Many thanks to family and friends for their support. Besides Janice, his wife of 20 years he is survived by, the apple of his eye, his beloved daughter, Rachel; a mother-in-law, Shirley Stokes; a sister, Ann Cataloni and her husband, John and their children, John and Julianna Cataloni; four sisters-in-law, Elaine Fedo and her husband Ronnie, Mary McCauliff and her husband Steve, Carol Frost and her husband Ben, Christine Korytko and her husband Eddie; three brothers-in-law, Kevin Stokes, Richard Stokes, John Stokes and his wife Angela; and many niece and nephews, P.J., Matt, Sarah, Joey, Brooke,

Article source: https://www.courant.com/obituaries/hc-obituary-james-v-mccoy-20190211-story.html

EVERETT —It’s been 50 years since the world’s first Boeing 747, escorted by a surplus F-86 Sabre military jet to keep an eye on things, took off from Paine Field on Feb. 9, 1969.

Saturday marks the golden anniversary of the first test flight of Boeing’s iconic jumbo jet.

It had 4.5 million parts, weighed 358,000 pounds and spent 75 minutes aloft. A good start.

Boeing risked a huge portion of its net worth on the 747 program, and a miss could have spelled bankruptcy.

Since then, Boeing has produced more than 1,500, all of them built at the big factory in Everett. But the heady days of its youth as a commercial passenger jet have dissipated like yesterday’s contrail. The last 747 in passenger service with a U.S. airline was sent to pasture a year ago.

Today, the handful of 747s Boeing builds each year are freighters, destined to haul cargo.

That might be among the reasons the company has elected to hold a “digital” celebration to commemorate the milestone.

“From now beyond the anniversary, we’ll be using our digital channels to share content,” company spokesman Nathan Hulingssaid. Boeing is asking fans to sing the 747’s praises on Twitter with the hashtag #WhyILoveThe747.

The low-key approach is reminiscent of the “non-celebration” for the 737’s 50th anniversary, said Richard Aboulafia, a prominent aerospace analyst and vice president of the Teal Group.

It seems to reflect “the company leadership’s preference for future technologies over history,” Aboulafia said. “Sometimes that involves good

Article source: https://www.heraldnet.com/business/50-years-after-the-747-first-flew-a-797-is-on-the-horizon/

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Earth’s north magnetic pole is moving, researchers say.

It has moved so much, so quickly that a group of scientists hurried to change a model that helps guide shipping, airplanes and submarines in the Arctic Ocean.

Last week, the scientists released new information on the north magnetic pole sooner than they had planned.

Compass needles point toward the pole. As a child, you might have received a simple compass as a gift. It has a magnetized pointer which shows the direction of magnetic north.

Liquid metal at the center of our planet produces the magnetic field. Unpredictable movements in the liquid mean the field and the location of magnetic north are always changing.

The World Magnetic Model records those changes. The model is a joint product of the British Geological Survey and the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The two agencies were planning to report changes in the magnetic north pole, as they do every five years, at the end of 2019. But the pole has moved so quickly they had to release the information much sooner.

Scientists have found that the magnetic north pole

Article source: https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/magnetic-north-pole-moving-fast/4775913.html

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James V. McCoy – Hartford Courant

50 years after the 747 first flew, a 797 is on the horizon

Magnetic North Pole Moving Faster Than Scientists Expected

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