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First Boeing 727 Flies For The Last Time: Watch Lovingly Restored Prototype Take-Off For Its Final Destination With #727FinalFlight [Video]

By Alap Naik Desai
Published on: 10:21 PST, Mar 3, 2016

The first Boeing 727 that took to the skies way back in 1963, and ushered in the era of the jetliner that’s still going strong, once again majestically lifted off for one last time. The plane’s final flight didn’t last long, but successfully culminated that restoration efforts that have lasted for 25 years.

The first Boeing 727 ever built completed its final flight Wednesday morning. The plane flew for just 12 minutes, covering a distance of just over 30 miles. However, it was a sight for sore eyes for the workers who had painstakingly made the historic plane airworthy. The workers had lovingly restored the Boeing 727, in the strong hopes of eventually flying the jet about 30 miles south for display at the museum, reported CNN.

After lying immobile in a hangar for 25 years while workers put it together, the first ever Boeing 727 ever to grace the skies, took off from Paine Field in Everett, Washington, reported USA Today. It landed 30 miles south at a Boeing field close to Seattle’s Museum of Flight. There it will rest for the rest of its time for people to marvel at the plane that kick-started the era of jetliners.

The flight, which lasted all of 15 minutes, went off without a hitch. Though the sky was cloudy, it was greeted with a sunny disposition by many members of the flight crew that had worked inside the plane during its service life. The final flight of the Boeing 727 was greeted at Boeing Field in Seattle with a traditional water cannon salute.

The plane took off for the last time at 10:50 a.m. local time from runway 16R. One of the engines experienced a trademark backfire too. The plane flew, leaving its typical trail of smoke and majestically taxied the runway as hundreds of spectators waited for its arrival at its final resting place. Among the attendees were dozens of current and former United Airlines captains, co-pilots, flight engineers, and cabin crew, many of whom were in their ripe old age. The crew, who at some point had flown aboard the iconic airplane, couldn’t help shedding a nostalgic tear watching their favorite aircraft coming in for a landing. United Airlines Capt. Molly Flanagan, who flew the Boeing 727 both as a flight engineer and co-pilot, including in December, 1984, on the very same jet, shared her thoughts.

“It brought back a lot of good memories [seeing it fly], I had some great times on this airplane. Oh I loved it, it was great. It was fast, sleek, and challenging to fly.”

Molly was undoubtedly comparing the three engined plane to propeller driven planes that were all the rage back then. Though available in a variety of configurations, the propeller planes were increasingly falling short of demand and the aviation industry needed something that wasn’t just sleek and fast, but also something that was quiet, efficient, and able to carry a lot many passengers safely.

The answer arrived in the form of Boeing 727, notably, the one bearing registration N7001U that took to the skies about 53 years ago. The plane was originally intended to serve as a commuter jet for smaller cities. Once the 727 proved its prowess, there was no looking back. The aircraft and its 1,831 successors have since flown for numerous airlines around the globe, reported King 5 News. The last of the Boeing 727s rolled off the assembly line in 1984.

The Bowing 727 N7001U was crucial in permanently positioning Boeing as a reliable aircraft maker. The plane served United Airlines faithfully for 27 years, where it clocked a total of 64,495 flight hours, made 48,060 landings, and flew an estimated 3 million passengers until it retired in 1991, reported KTIC.

[Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images]

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