Boeing 747

[Dazz]

  A fine(ish) day in HKG for the first time in months! And one of "Connie's Classics"

[Bernardo Malfitano]

I know I haven't posted on FenceCheck for a long time. I've been mad busy with work, friends, and other things. And even at the few airshows I did go to, I don't think I got any pictures that were wildly better than anyone else's. But over the winter I'll go over them again and pick some good ones and post them in their respective threads. (But I don't expect to have time to do this until the Holidays...)

ANYWAYS... This evening I did get some cool shots that I am confident nobody else got, since I was the only person with a long lens in sight.

The very first 747-8, the new derivative of the 747, incorporating a lot of 787 technologies; quieter, more fuel-efficient, and stretched. (Yes, stretched! From the very first 747 to the last 747-400, they were all built the exact same length (except for the little SPs of course). The new "Dash 8" is a little longer). It just left the factory for the first time. I thought that was pretty exciting. The queen of the skies, reinvented.

Here it is being pulled out of the world's largest building.

[Bernardo Malfitano]

Some cool nose-on shots.

And look at that big crowd!

[Bernardo Malfitano]

Leaving the factory and going to the paint hangar:

[Bernardo Malfitano]

Meanwhile a younger cousin watches from across the street  

I must say that I do resent Boeing for making me stand outside on the street to take these pictures. They have a strict no-photo policy on Boeing property so that information is not leaked, but I can't imagine taking any pictures from INSIDE the factory that would show more of the factory than pictures like these do. Despite the fact that pictures taken from inside the fence wouldn't really show more than pictures taken outside the fence, they make us go outside the fence. Oh well.

To be honest, though, this doesn't come anywhere close to spoiling the moment. It was amazing to watch this graceful behemoth emerge from the world's largest building, so many unprecedented feats of engineering depending on each other than you can't begin to grasp it. Getting to watch something like this in the making, and to be a small part of it, makes all those years of studying and boring work more than worthwhile. When I walk through this factory, I still feel that I have reached the Promised Land  

[Tonyz]

Now that is cool!   Who will these be flying for?

[Les Baldwin]

Meanwhile a younger cousin watches from across the street  

I must say that I do resent Boeing for making me stand outside on the street to take these pictures. They have a strict no-photo policy on Boeing property so that information is not leaked, but I can't imagine taking any pictures from INSIDE the factory that would show more of the factory than pictures like these do. Despite the fact that pictures taken from inside the fence wouldn't really show more than pictures taken outside the fence, they make us go outside the fence. Oh well.

To be honest, though, this doesn't come anywhere close to spoiling the moment. It was amazing to watch this graceful behemoth emerge from the world's largest building, so many unprecedented feats of engineering depending on each other than you can't begin to grasp it. Getting to watch something like this in the making, and to be a small part of it, makes all those years of studying and boring work more than worthwhile. When I walk through this factory, I still feel that I have reached the Promised Land  

Well done my friend, I relly like the way they look from your vantage point. I don't thonk getting inside would be as cool.

Cheers,

Les

[Dazz]

Nice shooting Bernardo, with a bit of luck I might get to have a drive of one of those in about 12months time 

[Sagar Pathak]

Awesome B! Def worth braving the cold. And yeah, I agree about the whole no photography on the property thing being a bit odd. I'm sure they had their house photogs inside.

[xnir]

Nice shooting Bernardo!!!

[Bernardo Malfitano]

Thanks! Glad you guys liked them!    It was a real pleasure taking them and sharing them.

Who will these be flying for?

Wikipedia's page says that Cargolux and Nippon Cargo Airlines will take the first freighters (the airplanes you see above), and Lufthansa will take the first passenger jets. There are a whole bunch of freighter orders, something like 100 (especially since the A380F was basically postponed indefinitely), but I think Lufthansa's is the only confirmed passenger-carrying order at the moment (plus a few private owners). I'm just going by what I read on the web and the extremely-infrequently-published Boeing order book, and those have a way of not matching reality, so who knows for sure.

I really like the way they look from your vantage point. I don't thonk getting inside would be as cool.

I did eventually figure out that, since it's a few meters above the factory floor, the road does make for better pictures (in the small number of spots where there aren't plants or signs or lamp-posts in the way and where it's safe to stand without having to watch for oncoming cars).

I'm sure they had their house photogs inside.

I saw quite a few lights and video cameras around the airplane as I was walking past it on my way out, about an hour before the roll-out. And of course Boeing's photog was there, but I think only one picture has been released. I've been searching blogs and news sites for stuff about the roll-out and the same one picture shows up over and over again, except for this additional one (by Liz M) which doesn't show much.

(There are two or three other photogs who spend a lot of time around Paine Field. Matt Cawby runs the KPAE blog and somehow seems to photograph just about every takeoff and landing (and event and construction and anything else) at that airport, and Liz M goes for the Boeing factory shots like the ones I took last night, and then there's the one guy who caught the 787 rolling out of the factory for the first time. I'm amazed that none of them seem to have been there! Was I the only one? Matt just asked me if he could use my pictures on his blog, and as you can see on the Things With Wings blog Liz just caught the tail end of things... I guess I got lucky.)

[Bernardo Malfitano]

I saw quite a few lights and video cameras around the airplane as I was walking past it on my way out, about an hour before the roll-out. And of course Boeing's photog was there, but I think only one picture has been released. I've been searching blogs and news sites for stuff about the roll-out and the same one picture shows up over and over again, except for this additional one (by Liz M) which doesn't show much.

Actually, Jon "FlightBlogger" Ostrower somehow found more Boeing pictures. The second shot in his post (taken from under the wing, shown right after my nose-on shot) is particularly nice:

http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/flightblogger/2009/11/photos-of-note-boeings-first-7.html

[Bernardo Malfitano]

They just finished painting the thing. It's sitting outside, That was fast! Pictures soon.

[mycole]

Can't wait!

[Dave Cibley]

SP at LAX