Final Flight

It was a day 25 years in the making.  This Boeing 727 was the prototype aircraft, the first off the line.  It has not flown since it was donated to the museum in 1991 after United Airlines retired it.  "First flying in 1963, the sleek, innovative 727 introduced the jet age to millions of new passengers around the globe, and was for many years the most successful airliner of the modern era."  Museum's info page here https://www.museumofflight.org/727-final-flight

To my great disappointment, I couldn't be there this morning for the arrival as I had an appointment.  When I made the appointment, the flight was scheduled for Tuesday.  They rescheduled due to the weather prediction.  The 12 minute flight from Paine Field in Everett was to be VFR (Visual Flight Rules), so they couldn't fly in rain.

After the appointment, I was able to get over to the Museum by 1400 and see the static display.  I also got to walk through it. 

The cockpit. The docent said to a young visitor (I'm paraphrasing): "Do you know why there are so many seats? It's because they really had to fly the aircraft. No computers here."

First I sketched the standard side view.  I was right near the walk way so several people stopped to look and comment.  



Next I sketched the rear view.  I liked the dramatic height of the tail.  While working on this sketch, I met Carol S.  She worked 39 years for Boeing in design and mock-up. She worked on this aircraft!  There were probably lots of people there today who did but it was nice to actually meet one and have an interesting conversation about her experiences.