Museum restores first ever Jumbo Jet

The Boeing 747 test aircraft was the first ever widebody airliner in the air. The aircraft dubbed 'The City of Everett' (RA001) took off for the first time on February 9, 1969. It still exists. It is part of the collection of the Museum of Flight in Seattle, one of biggest air and space museums in the world. However, the aircraft, parked in the open air, is not in a good condition. But the museum is working hard to restore it.


Seattle has a damp climate and that is not good for the condition of aircraft. This summer the museum started an ambitious project to give the "Queen of the Skies" a complete external restoration to return her to first flight condition.

After a thorough wash and sand, the old 747 will be painted in almost the exact colour scheme when it rolled out of the factory on September 30, 1968. Visitors of the museum can watch the work, which happens in the open air at the museum's air park. The interior is also being restored to flight-test configuration, including a lot of technical equipment.

More about the restoration of the first 747 you can read here or on the website of the Museum of Flight.

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