On Wednesday, Atlas Air took delivery of a Boeing 747-8 Freighter. This unit is the second of four new 747-8 Freighters ordered by the company in 2021, which are also the last 747s ever to be produced by Boeing, putting an end to the ‘Queen of the Skies’ assembly line.Earlier this week, we also learned that the second to last 747 rolled out of Boeing’s factory. Atlas Air will take delivery of the remaining two ‘Queens of the Skies’ this year, and Boeing will put an end to a 54-year history.

In 2020, at the height of the air industry pandemic crisis, Boeing announced it would stop making the classic 747 within the next two years. Atlas Air placed the final order for the iconic model in January 2021, requesting four brand-new 747-8F aircraft, in an order valued at over US$1.6 billion. This order would bring Atlas Air’s 747 fleet to 57 aircraft. The cargo company is already the largest operator of 747 Freighters in the world.

The 747 was truly a pioneer. It was the first-ever commercial widebody jet and opened up doors across the whole travel industry. Pan American leader Juan Trippe wanted an efficient way to place 400 passengers on one aircraft. Initially, he felt the best route would be to stack two single-aisle cabins on top of each other. Boeing's engineers came up with the widebody solution with a partial second deck.

However, in 1968, the program cost was already at $1 billion. This figure may not seem like a lot, but today, the cost would be equivalent to approximately $7.61 billion. The initial 747 rolled out of Boeing's assembly line in Everett at the end of September, and the type conducted its first flight on February 9th, 1969. //

A return flight between New York and London was retailing for approximately $550 in 1970. This is $5,350 with inflation. So, the higher business costs were backed by higher ticket prices to balance operations. Overall, flying was more expensive across the board during this period. Regardless, long-haul rates were generally higher pre-jumbo.

With Pan Am's management heavily involved in the launch of the project, the carrier naturally became the first to introduce the plane. In April 1966, Pan Am placed an order for 25 Boeing 747-100s. The total cost of this order was $525 million (~$4 billion today). So, Boeing was already halfway to matching the cost of the program with this invoice alone. Each unit would have worked out to cost approximately $21 million (~$160 million today).

The show will feature the first supersonic airshow in the US in over 13 years. Due to the location and mission of Edwards Air Force Base, sonic booms are authorized at this location. The Thunderbirds will be in attendance. //

Every tactical fighter in the USAF inventory will be present. B-1 and B-52 bombers will be part of the show.

Gregory “WIRED” Colyer from Ace Maker Airshows will be flying his famous T-33 demo.

The event is free to the public on both Saturday Oct 15th and Sunday October 16th. Gates will open at 8:30am on both days. The base will close when it hits capacity of 50,000 people.