Greetings

I am sending you this e-mail because I cannot state in 140 characters why I love the 747. It's a personal story. I have been part of the Boeing family (literally) for 50 years and while I have not personally worked for Boeing, my family has played roles in the 747 program over the years, so this is a story of pride as much as it is love.

On February 9, 1968, I was an eight year old and I remember watching the first flight of the 747 on TV. At that time, I had no clue of the significance of the 747, it was just a big airplane. What I can say about that day is it reinforced the relationship I would have with airplanes in general and Boeing in particular over the next 50 years.

My first flight on the 747 was on December 6, 1979. That evening, SK 934 from Seattle to Copenhagen made a one off stop at Gardermoen in Oslo to drop off a group of Norwegian soldiers who had been at Ft. Lewis for training with US forces. At the time, I was a travel agent having started my career 18 months earlier and it was my first flight to Europe, first flight on SAS, first flight to Europe and my first flight on the 747. Thanks to the SAS Area Manager, I had been upgraded to First Class, so I had a window seat in the nose. The aircraft, SE-DFZ (Knut Viking - Boeing 747-283BM). My first impressions were that the airplane was big... very big. Sitting in the nose was different than any other aircraft that I had every flown and to this day, Zone A is my favorite spot on the 747. Not because it's First Class, but because of the unique views that I had from my seat. The views of the window seats on the other side were unobstructed and so what I could see from this position was more than I had ever seen on any other aircraft.

What was impressive about the takeoff was the unique "buzzsaw" sound of the GE engines and the fact it took forever to get airborne. Even after nearly 40 years, I can clearly remember the wheels not coming off the runway until we were over So 188th St and how long it took to climb.

My second impression was when we took off from Gardermoen to Copenhagen on a one hour flight with very little payload. Contrasted to the takeoff in Seattle, this was a rocket, the climb was simply breathtaking. Between December 1979 and October 1980, I had made four round trips to Europe, all on 747s: December 1979 - SEA-OSL-CPH (SK)/ ZRH-JFK (SR), February 1980 - DFW-BOS-FRA-DFW (BN on "Fat Albert"), March 1980 SEA-LHR-SEA (PA), October 1980 - SEA-CPH-SEA (SK). I would not see the 747 again until October 1988 when I flew on Pan Am, for the last time SEA-LHR-LAX. In the 1980's alone, I had logged some 100,000 miles on the 747.

I have flown on the 747-100, 747-200/200C, 747SP and 747-400. I have yet to fly on the 747-400C or the Boeing 747-8i. My chances of flying Lufthansa First Class on the 747-8i are very slim; while I had that ability in the 1980's, today, my best is Economy. Nonetheless, I hope to have the combi and the -8 flights completed by 2020. As a flight dispatcher, I can fly on the 747 freighters and hope to have that opportunity soon, so I can experience the flight deck of the 747 in something other than a simulator.

With respect to my family, My uncle worked as an engineer on the first 747-300 aircraft that went to SR, I have a cousin who worked on the first 747-8 that went to LH, and various other family members who have worked for Boeing over the years that have contributed to the 747. So the airplane is deeply personal as is the depth of pride I have for the people who built this magnificent aircraft and to those that have kept her going all these years. Looking back upon the years that I have been flying (over 50 now), I have flown on all the following Boeing aircraft: 720B, 707-320B, 717, 727-100, 727-200, 737-100/200/300/400/500/700/800/900/900ER, 747-100/200/200C/400, 757-200/300, 767-200/300/400, 777-200/200ER, 787-9. I will not be able to say I have flown them all, since I never flew the 747-300. I've not flown the 77W yet, but there is time as there is for the 787-8 and 10, and the 737 max. I dare the say of the 1.5 million miles I've logged in my lifetime, the vast majority of these miles have been logged on Boeing aircraft.

The reason, it's a family affair. The photos attached are of the first 747 I flew and from my last 747 flight in 2009.

Congratulations Boeing on 50 years of the Boeing 747 and the incredible journeys it has taken us on over the years, and the journeys that on which it will still take us for a few years to come.

All the best,

• David L. Lamb