An era of aviation history truly ended on December 6,2022, when the last Boeing 747 jumbo jet to be manufactured rolled out of the Boeing factory in Everett, Washington. The airplane, a 747-8, was the last 747 of 1,574 the company had built since the first one emerged from the same factory in 1968. "For more than half a century, tens of thousands of dedicated Boeing employees have designed and built this magnificent airplane that has truly changed the world," Kim Smith, tne vice president ana general manager of the 747 and 767 programs, said in a press release. "We are proud that this plane will continue to fly across the globe for years to come." A freighter (not a passenger plane), the last 747 was delivered to its owner, Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, on January 31 of this year. Designed under the direction of Boeing's Joe Sutter, the 747 was, noted author Simon Winchester, "the most remarkable aircraft of its time" and "the largest financial and technological gamble in the history of aviation." Committing to it brought huge risks-to Boeing, which would be designing an unprecedentedly large and expensive airliner; to Pan American World Airways, whose president, Juan Trippe, ensured the 747 would happen by pre-ordering 25 of them; and to Pratt Whitney, which took on the challenging task of creating engines to power the jumbo jet.
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