Yesterday (Feb 1), Atlas Air Cargo took off from Boeing’s factory in Everett, WA with the very last 747 that will ever be made. But there was some interesting artwork painted below the cockpit.
It’s a tribute to Joe Sutter, known as the Father of the 747. He led the engineering team at Boeing that made the “Queen of the Skies” nearly 60 years ago.
Forever Incredible
Sutter and the thousands of folks on his team delivered a plane that would forever change history. And they did it in record time, for what was then the biggest plane in the world – 29 months from concept to rollout.
Sutter and his team became known as “The Incredibles” for the astounding job they did, the first to build and work on the 747. They didn’t even have a building to build the first plane in when they started! At times they would build the plane in snowstorms, while the building was being constructed around them.
Sutter was the right guy for the job too, and had a hand in other commercial airline projects like the Dash 80, 707 and the 737.
He passed away in 2016, as many of The Incredibles have over the years. But their gift to the world is felt every single day by millions of people, directly or indirectly, and their example continues inspiring others.
Some of The Incredibles were at the ceremony with Boeing this week in Everett, as the company honored them and their legacy. We had an opportunity to speak with some of them too, and will have a story up about that soon.
Make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel too! Where we will upload those interviews.
