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Posted by Christopher Hill
on 2/3/2008, 1:55 pm, in reply to "N747PA FIRST JUMBO JET PRODUCED"
66.214.226.17
Let me try to set this straight.
N7470, otherwise known as RA001 within Boeing was the first airframe built and was retained by Boeing as a test aircraft it's whole life. It is stored at Boeing Field currently as part of the Museum of Flight's collection. It has only ever been registered as N7470.
N747PA was airframe number two and the second to fly. It was used by Boeing in the flight test and certification program allong with N7470, N731PA, N736PA, and N53101, a TWA airframe(total of 5 flight test a/c). It was painted in Pan Am colors with Pan Am titles and the name "Clipper America". Like the other airline destined test airframes, it had extensive test equipment installed so it was not delivered to Pan Am until 1970. It was NOT the first delivered.
N731PA was airframe #4 and carried the Pan Am blue cheatline but blue "Boeing 747" titles on the fuselage and "747" on the tail, similar to N7470's markings. It was flown to the 1969 Paris Airshow. as part of its flight test role to test the range of the 747 and the functionality of the INS systems.
There is no such thing as the registrations N7471PA and N747001.
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